If you’re a stay-at-home mom looking to earn some extra income, the good news is you can enjoy your time at home with your kids while still earning a side income. Here are the best side hustles for stay-at-home moms in 2024.
It’s no secret that being a mom comes with an almost endless number of daily responsibilities, and it can seem like there’s no time left in the day for anything else. At the same time, a record-breaking number of women lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, and many stay-at-home moms are eager to find a way to earn some extra cash on the side.
The good news is, that if you’re a stay-at-home mom looking for a side hustle, there are a ton of great options for you. Whether you’re saving up for a dream vacation, a car, or just a little extra help paying the bills, it’s never been easier to earn money working from home.
Some of the side hustles on my list require more time than others, but you’re sure to find an option that fits your unique needs and talents. So, without further ado, here are the best side hustles for stay-at-home moms in 2024.
Best Side Jobs for Stay at Home Moms in 2024 (TL;DR)
- Sell your arts, crafts, and handiwork online
- Turn your gift for language into a career through freelance writing
- Make your time spent on social media profitable by becoming a social media manager
- Turn your good habits into a side hustle by becoming a professional organizer
- Make some serious cash while helping people find their dream home by getting a real estate license
- Make money with your opinions by participating in research studies
- Help take the burden off someone else by working as a virtual assistant
- Translate your love for language into a rewarding career by teaching English as a second language (ESL) online
- Make money on the go by driving for Lyft or Uber
- Use your spare time to transcribe videos
- Turn your athletic abilities into a paycheck by teaching yoga
The Best Side Hustles for Stay-at-Home Moms
Check out my list of the best side gig ideas for stay-at-home moms and start earning extra money today.
1. Sell Crafts Online
Are you an artist at heart? Do you have a passion for arts and crafts? You can turn your hobbies into a profitable side hustle by selling your crafts online.
Etsy is the most popular site for artists, makers, and creators to sell their work in 2024. The online marketplace was founded all the way back in 2005 and now has over 4.36 million independent sellers offering products ranging from unique works of art and gifts to home accessories, clothing, and jewelry. There are even products for pets.
In other words, whether your talent is art, cooking, jewelry making, digital design, or something else entirely, you can find your niche on Etsy and start selling.
There are some downsides to selling on Etsy, of course. The site takes a 5% transaction fee on every item sold, plus an additional 3% + $0.25 if you use Etsy Payments to process sales. However, the added fees are worth it when you consider the size of Etsy’s consumer base, a whopping 81.9 million buyers in 2021.
You can visit Etsy’s site to learn more about selling on Etsy. Check out my list of the best Etsy alternatives out there.
Another popular site for selling artwork and crafts is Redbubble. Although you won’t find as wide a range of products on Redbubble as on Etsy, it’s a site devoted to platforming young and upcoming artists and makers since 2006.
Redbubble processes payments on the 15th of every month, but artists are only paid once they’ve passed Redbubble’s $20 profit threshold. Their payment structure is a bit complicated: Redbubble sets a base retail price for all of its items and takes 80% of that price.
This may sound like a huge cut, but artists get to control their own profit margin on top of the base retail price. So, in addition to the 20% cut from the base retail price, you could set a 20% profit margin and receive those profits as well. This gives artists more control than on many competitor sites.
Redbubble’s help center tells you everything you need to know about designing and setting up your online shop.
2. Become a Freelance Writer
Maybe you’re more of a writer than a visual artist? If that’s the case, you can turn your way with words into a lucrative side hustle by working as a freelance writer.
There are lots of places to find freelance content writing jobs. You can check out popular job search websites like Upwork, Indeed, or Ziprecruiter, or sign up to receive daily or weekly freelance writing job opportunities from Content Writing Jobs.
If you don’t want to wait for jobs to come to you, you can advertise your services as a freelancer on social media or on popular freelancing sites like Fiverr. The downside there, of course, is that Fiverr will take a cut of your profits.
Freelance writing is a great side hustle for stay-at-home moms because you can work on your own hours and take on as much or as little work as you can handle in a given week or month. It’s as flexible as you need it to be, while still putting a decent amount of extra cash in your pocket.
Visit Fiverr.com .. or check out my list of Fiverr alternative sites.
3. Manage Social Media Accounts
With over 92% of all businesses using social media for their marketing, it’s not surprising that the market for social media managers is growing, too. Although many social media managers work full time, social media management can be a great side hustle for stay-at-home moms, too .
If you have a knack for branding, spotting trends, and keeping up with changing social media discourse, being a social media manager might be the right side hustle for you. You can look for social media management jobs that are part-time or allow you to work from home on your own schedule.
To break into the field, look for jobs managing the social media accounts of small businesses, online entrepreneurs, bloggers, or sales consultants. You may have to volunteer your time for a while to build up your portfolio, but with a little time and effort, you can turn it into a profitable side hustle.
4. Become a Professional Organizer
As a mom, you may already feel like your job is to be a professional organizer. But did you know you can get paid for your organizational skills as well?
Professional organizers are hired to bring order to the chaos of everyday homes and offices. Many people find that they don’t have the time or the skills to keep their own spaces organized, which is where a professional organizer comes in.
Downsizing, moving, having a new baby, starting a new online business, or any other big life transition are all times when many people turn to professional organizers for help.
As a professional organizer, you would help your clients by analyzing their needs, organizing their spaces accordingly, and then offering them advice and techniques for how to keep their spaces clean and tidy in the future.
Although you can get a certificate from the Board of Professional Organizers, it’s not really necessary when you’re first starting your career. You can advertise your services on social media sites like Facebook, Nextdoor, or Craigslist, or look for people posting on those same platforms who want to hire an organizer.
5. Get a Real Estate License
This one may seem intimidating, but becoming a real estate agent is a fantastic side hustle for stay-at-home moms. Why? Well, like most of the other side hustles on my list, you can set your own hours and take on as much or as little work as you want.
Although the requirements vary a bit by state or country, in the U.S you just need a high school diploma or equivalent to qualify for certification. You’ll need to finish these three steps:
- Take a prelicensing course (these are offered in-person or online)
- Take the licensing exam
- Activate your license and join a brokerage
Independent real estate agents (that is, agents who aren’t working for a firm) have the freedom to choose how many hours a week they want to work. You can be your own boss and have the satisfaction of helping people find their dream homes all while earning some serious cash: according to Ziprecruiter, the average salary for a real estate agent in the U.S is $82,000 a year.
The downside, of course, is that you have to find your own clients and hustle pretty hard to make this kind of money. Many real estate agents do this by keeping an eye out for “For Sale By Owner” signs outside of houses and knocking on doors to see if the owners are looking for an agent.
You can also advertise your services on social media platforms and/or pay for commercial advertising on billboards, bus stops, or other publicly visible areas.
6. Participate in Research Studies
Does getting paid just for telling people what you think sound good to you? Then sign up to participate in research studies and earn money just by sharing your opinions.
Now, you won’t get rich from this particular side hustle, but it’s a great way to earn a little extra cash with almost no effort required. Consumer studies are hugely important for marketing, and companies pay big money every year to hear what their customer base thinks.
There are several major companies that conduct both in-person and online research studies across the United States and across the world.
If you live in the U.S, you can sign up to be eligible for studies with L&E Research, one of the foremost market research companies in the country. After filling out a profile and answering a few questions, L&E Research will email you with updates about studies that you’re eligible for.
After that, it’s as simple as applying for that specific study and seeing if you’re chosen. L&E Research doesn’t guarantee that you will be chosen, but they do make it easy for you to find studies you’re eligible for by sending them directly to your email inbox, saving you time and effort.
Another popular market research company is American Consumer Opinion. Despite the name, people from all over the world are welcome to sign up and participate in monthly consumer surveys.
7. Become a Virtual Assistant
This is a bit like being a professional organizer, except that instead of going to your clients’ houses or office spaces, you can do all of your work from the comfort of your own home.
As a virtual assistant, you’ll help online companies or entrepreneurs manage the daily needs of their businesses by performing technical and administrative tasks.
So, what does that mean exactly? Some (but not all) of the common tasks performed by an administrative assistant are:
- Answering and organizing emails
- Organizing spreadsheets and entering data
- Transcribing virtual meetings or documents
- Making appointments
- Editing, proofreading, and organizing documents
Working as a virtual assistant is an entry-level job, which means it’s easy to break into the field without needing prior experience. It offers great flexibility and independence, while also providing a steady, reliable paycheck.
8. Teach ESL Online
English is the global language of business and education, so it’s no wonder that the demand for ESL teachers is growing every year.
Teaching ESL online has never been easier, and it’s a fantastic side hustle for anyone with native knowledge of English, a strong WiFi connection, and a love for meeting new people.
Most online ESL teaching websites have an application process, and some of them will require you to get a certificate in ESL teaching. But don’t let this discourage you: many certificate courses can be completed online for around $300, and it’s worth it to make sure you’re giving your students the best educational experience possible.
Well-known, reputable sites like Cambly pay $10 an hour, and offer the ultimate scheduling flexibility – you can sign up for as many or as few hours you want each week, as well as schedule recurring lessons with regular students.
If you have time to work during Cambly’s busiest hours (these are usually on the weekend), you can earn a bonus fee of $12/hour. Best of all, Cambly pays all of its tutors weekly, so you never have to wait too long to see the benefits of all your hard work.
Other popular ESL teaching websites include VIP Kids (which pays teachers $14-18 per hour) and Preply, where teachers can set their own rates.
9. Drive for Uber or Lyft
Chances are you’re already familiar with this particular side hustle. Ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft have skyrocketed in popularity since their inception in the early 2010s, and an estimated 540 million people used ride-sharing apps in 2021.
If you have a car and a bit of extra time on your hands, driving for one of these popular ride-sharing apps is a great way to earn money while setting your own schedule.
Uber and Lyft collectively dominate the ride-sharing market in the United States, as they account for 99% of the ride-sharing industry. Uber has the majority share, but Lyft has been rapidly increasing in popularity. Both companies pay for time-driven as well as mileage, and customers can leave tips for a good driving experience.
The more you drive, the more you get paid. And ride-sharing can be a seriously lucrative side-hustle. According to Indeed, the average yearly salary for a Lyft driver in California is $53,378, which is 8% more than the average salary in the state.
10. Transcribe Videos
Video transcription is a lesser-known side hustle, but it can be a great way to earn a bit of extra cash from home on your own time.
Here’s how it works: companies or organizations that need transcription work done will send audio or video files to transcriptionists, who then turn those files into text (i.e transcribe them) and send them back.
Some at-home transcription jobs will require you to complete training before you get started, but it’s a pretty intuitive job that’s easy enough to learn.
The salary is pretty low for beginner transcriptionists, but you can raise your rates after you’ve gained a bit of experience.
You can look for video transcription jobs on job search sites like Indeed or Ziprecruiter.
11. Teach Yoga (Or Any Other Sports Fitness Activity)
Do you have a passion for fitness? You can turn it into a profitable and rewarding side hustle by teaching! Some of the most popular fitness classes are yoga, pilates, Zumba, and spin – all of which require nothing more than a certificate and a bit of experience to teach.
If you’re already a practitioner of any of these (or other) sports fitness activities, you can take your commitment to the next level by becoming an instructor. You can easily find the individual requirements for getting certified to teach your chosen sport online, but let’s look at yoga as an example.
There are many different styles of yoga, so the first step is to decide which style is best for you as an instructor. Once you’ve made the decision, there are courses in most cities that you can sign up for to get your instructor certification.
The most important thing about choosing a program is that it needs to follow the Yoga Alliance Guidelines in order to give legitimate certification – anything else is a scam!
All programs will require a minimum of 200 hours of training experience, meaning this particular side hustle isn’t something you can just decide to do on a whim. It takes commitment and a true love for yoga as both an exercise and a philosophy.
Even though it can be a long road to getting certified, being a yoga or sports fitness instructor can be a majorly rewarding side hustle. Not only can you set your own hours and take on as much (or as little) as fits with your schedule, but you’ll also be helping people improve their mental and physical health and live their best lives.
Summary – Best Side Hustles for Stay-At-Home Moms in 2024
If you’re a stay-at-home mom, chances are you sometimes feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. Thankfully, if your biggest concern about finding the right side hustle is time management, there are plenty of options for you.
You can sell your artwork on Etsy or Redbubble, participate in paid research studies, work as a social media manager, teach ESL online, transcribe videos, work as a freelance writer, or drive for Uber or Lyft in your spare time.
If you have a bit more time and are looking to take on a bigger commitment, you can get certified as a sports fitness instructor, get your real estate license, or become a professional organizer.
The AI landscape has exploded with opportunities in 2024. Here is a list of some of the best AI-based side hustle ideas.
With more and more people demanding flexibility and a better work-life balance, there’s never been a better time to find a side hustle that fits with your lifestyle and your schedule. Happy hustling!
