Single Mom Income: 10 Ways to Earn Extra Money

Inside: Ten ways single moms can make more money on the side. These ideas help make up the missing income for many single moms if you’re willing to put in the effort they may require.

This is a guest post.

10 Ways Single Moms Can Make Money on the Side

Raising kids as a single mom qualifies to be a full-time job. However, the pay isn’t so great. And even if you earn a paycheck, it may not be as huge as you want – or your work as fulfilling as you desire.

Because of this, more and more single mums are searching for side hustles that will pull in that extra buck. The good news is there are so many ways to boost your income even if you don’t have the energy or time.

Let’s see them.

1. Reselling Online

With the emergence of e-commerce, it’s quite seamless yet profitable to resell products online.

Online retail allows you to make an extra buck from a virtual shop. And you don’t even have to own the products.

You can effortlessly resell products from manufacturers on platforms like AliExpress, Amazon, and Alibaba via Shopify, Woocommerce, Amazon Bigcommerce, etc.

And if you don’t want the hassle of creating and running a store, you can resell on various Internet platforms like eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari. Using a cross-listing app that enables you to list your products on multiple platforms seamlessly will save you a lot of re-post work and consequently save you a lot of time, which are major benefits if you decide to resell for extra income.

All of this can be done from the comfort of your couch as you play with your children.

Some profitable and conventional products you can resell online include clothing, jewelry, and accessories.

Earning Potential: Varies, depending on what you have to sell.

2. Kid Care

You already know how to take care of and engage your little ones, so why not take advantage of this knowledge and make a profit from it?

You can offer your services to other mothers you know (picking up their children after school and watching them at your house until their parents are out from work). Or search for a gig on websites such as Sittercity or Care.com. There are so many ways you can kick-start a side hustle in this line, and the great thing is that you can easily watch your kids simultaneously.

Earning Potential: This is geographically and numerically (the number of kids being watched) dependent but typically $13 to $23 per hour.

3. Kids Party Planner

As you probably already know, planning a great birthday party (or children’s church event or baptism) takes a lot of effort and time. And many busy mums would love to outsource the whole process.

Referrals are an excellent way to kick-start the side hustle. So, if you’re able to throw a stellar bash in your locality, your reputation will spread pretty fast.

Earning Potential: Your rate is dependent on the size of the events you’ll be planning, what it involves, and if you’re going to include supply costs. However, average flat fees are anywhere from $200 to $1000.

4. Become a Tutor

If you can help your children with their homework, there’s a high probability that you’ll be able to help other parents’ kids too. This is especially true if you’re great at a particular subject.

That said, tutoring is a convenient option if you’re an extremely busy mum because most sessions typically last one hour. And you can even tutor in your own home or via the web using platforms like Wyzant.

Earning Potential: Earning potential of this side hustle is $40 to $100 an hour on average. This is dependent on the complexity of the subject and the age of the child.

5. Catering

Whether you fantasize about being a world-renowned chef or just happen to make the best meals ever, every kitchen skill you’ve acquired making meals for a family could be generating you serious income.

During the holidays, you can approach friends and family with a list of meals you’re willing to make and deliver for the celebration. Or you can market yourself to parents in your locality who just brought home a newborn and need some homemade meals.

Earning Potential: Knowing what to charge for a catering gig can be tricky, but a rule of thumb is to charge approximately three times the cost of making the food. So your rate can range from $40 for a cake to $1000 for a party featuring a decent-sized crowd and upscale food.

6. Photography

The cute photos of your kids that you take and upload on Instagram are already pulling tons of followers your way – why not monetize the skill? Thanks to the rise of digital photography, you don’t require a darkroom for this gig.

An aspect to try for this hustle is birth or pregnancy photography. Both are rising in popularity by the day. You can also sell your photos to websites like Snapwire for royalties.

Earning Potential: You can earn between $100 to $500 hourly, depending on your experience and the project.

7. Random Tasks

There’s a high probability that you spend ample time already running errands and handling random chores and projects for your family. So why not include something extra on your to-do list and make money for doing it?

Websites like Thumbtack and TaskRabbit can help you get tasks like pet sitting, house cleaning, furniture assembling, and a lot more, all at your convenience.

Earning Potential: You can earn from $15 to $100 hourly, depending on the job.

8. Coaching

If you’re a talented artist, musician, or athlete, you can teach private lessons in your student’s house or at home. This is an excellent option for mothers because it is flexible. You can even hold your classes online via websites like Udemy without stepping out of your home.

Earning Potential: You can make anywhere from $30 to $80 hourly, depending on your location.

9. Upload Videos on YouTube

You’re probably very familiar with videos on YouTube that feature parents unwrapping presents with their kids, playing with toys, and doing what you do every day with your children. But believe it or not, some of those parents earn thousands of dollars daily – legit!

While your videos may not be that successful, uploading videos on YouTube for monetization can be a strong side hustle (especially for mothers who already know what kids love watching).

Earning Potential: Unlimited, but you may not make much at the beginning. On average, YouTube uploaders earn about $2000 per 1,000,000 views. However, YouTube takes a 45% cut.

10. Direct Sales

If you’ve ever wondered why you get many invitations from your friends on social media to buy products from brands like Stella & Dot and Scentsy, it’s the potential.

Direct sales are a convenient and easy way for moms to boost their income from home. It offers flexible hours and zero experience requirements. You just need to research properly to ensure that you’re not part of a pyramid scheme.

Earning Potential: You can make an average of 20% to 40% commission on sales. Certain brands also give cash incentives for getting new sellers.

Conclusion

That’s a wrap! Single parenting is hard work but sadly doesn’t pay well – monetarily. But with the right ideas, such as the ones listed in this article, you can create a side hustle to boost your income.

Why the wait? Get started!

Author bio:

This was a guest post.

Gilles Couvreur is the founder of Crosslist, a productivity tool that allows sellers to list quickly on the world’s largest online marketplaces. In his free time, he loves to share his knowledge gathered through years of experience.