In this day and age, I think we can all agree that a little side hustle never hurt anybody! When approached and undertaken in all the above-board ways, making a little extra family income on top of the main parental or guardian salaries can help to relax the purse strings a little bit and open the door some more family fun throughout the year.
As the saying goes, ‘every little helps’, and if you are dedicated and creative enough, there are dozens and dozens of side projects you can take part in that will help to make some extra cash. To help you get in the right frame of mind, here are five of the most popular family side hustles that are a great idea to get involved with.
Tech Consulting
If you or an older teen in your home has a higher than average understanding of technology, then why not offer your services for hire in the form of lessons and consulting sessions? This can be a small or large scale as you like. For example, there are always elderly neighbours who want to get to better grips with the internet. For a small fee, you can give them a beginner’s guide lesson to make it easier for them to socially network with their family in different locations.
Sell Produce
If you have a lot of land at your disposal, then why not start selling your own produce? Local, organic fruits and vegetables are more popular now than ever before. Lots of neighbors and families from further afield will love the opportunity to buy goods that have come from their own area.
Rental Service
If you have a second property that isn’t always in use, make the most out of it by making it available for holiday rental. There are plenty of online facilities that allow you to advertise your property and set a nightly rate, enabling tourists and visitors to book up instead of staying in a hotel or bed and breakfast. This is a simple and effective way to make extra cash.
Arts & Crafts
If someone in your family is particularly gifted in the arts and crafts department, then you should consider opening up a small side hustle business for things like homemade greetings cards, labels, small sketches, knitted/crochet items or whatever. These types of businesses are especially popular during the Christmas and other celebratory seasons and with secure and safe parcel delivery through ParcelBroker, your small business can be really professional.
Reselling Goods
If your household is the kind that always has extra and unused items in it, then you can swap those items for cash through websites like eBay and Amazon Marketplace. Keep in mind that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, so rather than simply throwing away the items that you don’t want, see if they gain any interest on the online marketplace sites. It’s an easy way to add to your family’s income.
All it takes is a little thought and effort and you can find side hustles to make extra cash with and for the family.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Business is the status quo for adults but when it comes to kid entrepreneurs, we love hearing about them doing big things. I wanted to highlight extraordinary children who have started a business and have set out to change the world. They are making a difference in the community and influencing other kids around them.
This is just the beginning of my Kids in Business posts. I plan to highlight them at least once a quarter. If you have a kid in business, submit them here and perhaps they will show up on this list.
In the spirit of being supportive, be sure to click on their website and social media links to buy their products and follow them too!
KidNewsMaker
Media outlet by an award-winning kid reporter with a print magazine, videos, and app on the way.
About Kidpreneur Alejandra Stack
Alejandra Stack is an award-winning journalist, speaker, and activist. She’s the NAACP Youth Council President, an actress, and daughter of a reporter who started her media outlet after seeing that kids were not being highlighted in her local paper. While she has interviewed celebrities, she prefers highlighting everyday kidprenuers, community helps, scholars, athletes and more. “We’re not waiting, we’re creating!”
Kidpreneur Website
Visit www.kidnewsmaker.com to learn more about the magazine and order a subscription for your kids.
Destiny provides fun educational & interactive workshops & classes to youth by teaching them how to code. Coding is a fundamental skill within Computer Science. It is the “language” of technology & the foundation of our world.
About Kidpreneur Destiny Adams
Destiny is a budding teen Entrepreneur! She aspires to be a Computer Scientist. She has traveled around the world locally & internationally teaching & studying Steam (Coding). Her passion to help others learn this vital skill. She is excited about her future mission & future!
Mia’s Treats Delight provides homemade baked goods all made with love. Cookies, brownies, and cupcakes can be purchased for events or for your own personal consumption. 🤗
Tamia, founder & CEO of Mia’s Treats Delight, is an 11 year old baker from St. Louis, MO. She started her business in 2015 at the young age of 8 years old. She’s always had a love for baking, but decided to take it to the next level by becoming an entrepreneur and being her own boss.
Daddy’s Girl is a book based on a true story. It’s about a tough time in Jakayla’s life when her parents separated and her Daddy moved out of the home. Moms and Dads are not the only ones going through a separation when the family unit is broken. It is also a tough time for the children. Jakayla writes about how she was able to cope with the help of Daddy-Daughter Dates. This book will help any child who may be going through parent separation or divorce.
About Kidpreneur Jakayla Green
Jakayla Green is the 9 year old author of Daddy’s Girl. She is a straight A student in the 3rd grade. She is from Bennettsville, SC, but currently resides in Columbia, SC. Jakayla is the host of Kayla’s Korner on Jojo’s PersonaliTV and also serves as an assistant creative director and co-host for other shows on Jojo’s PersonaliTV. Jakayla is an avid reader. One of her favorite things to do is to read to her baby brother, JJ. She is also an award-winning track star with SC Express. When Jakayla grows up, she wants to become a scientist and an artist. She is the daughter of Jason and Tamell Green and has one older sister, Jasiya and a baby brother, JJ.
Kidpreneur Website
Visit https://www.jakaylamgreen.com to learn more about her book and purchase a copy for your child or another child.
Precious Designs is a redesign and refurbishing home furnishings company (pillows, trays and vases collections). Additionally, the kidCEO owner, Jasmine Benton, also offers design upgrades for chairs and ottomans, along with special event design services. She is also an Amazon.com Best Selling co-Author, as a contributor to newly published book, KidCEO.
About Kidpreneur Jasmine Benton
Jasmine Benton started her business at the age of 11 by opening her own retail home furnishings center in the Allen Antique Mall in Allen, Texas. Her work has been seen on Steve Harvey Show and she was the youngest professional to intern with HGTV’s Mikel Welch, former designer for Steve Harvey Show and the Obama’s. Jasmine is a speaker and Best Selling Author, Certified STEMpreneur, and Credentialed Interior Decorator.
K-lock is an identification locket custom designed and personalized to prevent misidentification of children in schools and daycare. Lockets are $10 other items $2 and up.
About Kidpreneur Kennedi Harris
Starting this business helped Kennedi cope with the effects of being misplaced and having a total mistrust of the school system. It took her mind away from things as she enjoyed adding a personal touch to each product. K-lock also has African American dolls coming soon. K-lock’s inception began when Kennedi was misplaced by school officials due to a mix up in names. She created these lockets to properly identify kids in school, daycares and on field trips. She also has signature t-shirts, hats, lip balm, and lotions.
Kidpreneur Website
Visit the K-lock website to learn more about the safety lock system for kids.
A line of soap, sugar scrubs, lip balm, lip scrubs, body butter, liquid soap and the much-coveted bath bombs and bubble bars created by Zori Thomas.
About Kidpreneur Zori Thomas aka Jammy Girl
Zori, a 13-year-old entrepreneur, has been in business since she was 11 years old making bath and beauty products and recently designed her own pajama line. She calls herself “Jammy Girl” because she likes to make products while in her “Studio Only” pajamas. She was adopted when she was 5 months old and suffers from a learning disability and severe anxiety. While looking for an activity to help her cope with these issues, she discovered the art of soap making and eventually turned her hobby into a business. Her mission is to inspire others to Choose greatness and Crush life’s obstacles while feeling confident in the skin they’re in.
Delphine makes cupcakes made from scratch and is the author of Kid-trepeneur
About Kidpreneur Delphine N. Dauphin
Delphine is an 8-year-old entrepreneur and published author. She is making a difference in her community by sharing success tools to her peers. She was a panelist at the Miami Book Fair on kid-trepreneurship. She is a princess and Pearl Ambassador.
Kidpreneur Website
Visit www.princessdelphine.com to learn more about Delphine’s cupcakes and order some for your special occasions.
Bubbly Bricks and Beyond is a Soaps and Fragrance Satchels company started by Xavier Morgan. Xavier makes fun, playful, and practical soaps and fragrance satchels. The soaps are shaped like Lego Bricks and Minifigures. They come in a rainbow of colors. What makes his bricks different is that he invented a way for you to play with and stack the bricks. Now when you take your bath you can use his soap to get clean and you can build something great all at the same time. He also makes superhero soap for men. The superhero soap is designed using the different superhero logos. The superhero soaps have a special fragrance for men.
Finally, are his fragrance satchels. You can hang these up anywhere. In the bathroom, in your car, in your gym bag, even in your shoes. His fragrance satchels go anywhere you want to smell fresh. Coming up in the soap collection are more superheroes and characters. What makes Xavier’s soaps stand out is that he also created a toy with which kids can play. Parent’s can use the soaps and the satchels to decorate their homes. This is an inexpensive way to get your kids to take a bath and give them a toy. Everyone will love Bubbly Bricks and Beyond’s products because it all smells so good!
About Kidpreneur Xavier Morgan
Xavier is aspiring to become an engineer. He loves to put together puzzles and build with bricks in his spare time. He has mastered putting together most 150 pieces in 15-25 minutes. Recently, he decided to turn his hobby into a business and become an entrepreneur. Xavier is a 3rd-grade student living with his mother in Georgia.
The Dream Chasers is a Kids investment club started by Chase Robinson-Simmons. Chase is smart about her money. She loves to save and invest in stocks. She recently just saved over $544 and purchased 3 quarter candy vending machines.
About Kidpreneur Chase Robinson-Simmons
Chase is smart about her money. She loves to save and invest in stocks. She recently just saved over $544 and purchased 3 quarter candy vending machines.
A Unique Afrocentric and empowering clothing, shoes and accessories line created by sisters Madiah & Maliah.
About Kidpreneur Madiah & Maliah
Owned and operated by 14 and 16 y/o sisters who love martial arts, reading, fashion and rocking their natural hair. Their two unique styles are reflected in their one-of-a-kind designs.
Kidpreneur Website
Check out and order their merchandise at www.TwoAndFro.co. Prices start at $18+
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Business is the status quo for adults but when it comes to kid entrepreneurs, we love hearing about them doing big things. I wanted to highlight extraordinary children who have started a business and have set out to change the world. They are making a difference in...
Introduction This little guide is an introduction to the 13 money lessons that will bring you peace, prosperity, and a brand new outlook on money. I have learned these lessons my life as a single mom. Being financially responsible for my children basically forced me...
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Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
During this time of year, it’s easy to overextend yourself with buying gifts, decorating, and special meals. If you haven’t saved for the Holidays all year long you may be strapped for cash.
What if you could make some quick cash to pad your account and come out on the other side of the Holidays debt-free?
Here are a few ways to make extra money during the holidays as a single mom or any time of the year. NOTE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. I will receive a small referral fee which helps keep this site going and growing for you! 🙂
1. Uber Eats or Door Dash Delivery Driver
People gotta eat, right? But many are too busy or exhausted from work and after-work holiday shopping to cook.
They reach for the phone, open up the Uber Eats or Door Dash app, and order a hot meal for delivery. They are probably in your neighborhood or city which makes it super easy to deliver their food and make extra money a night.
If you can go to a restaurant, pick up food, and find an address with a GPS app you can be an Uber Eats delivery driver.
You can use your car and it doesn’t matter what year, make, or model it is; unlike what the Ride Share programs require.
The great thing about the Uber Eats program is you can take your kids with you so no looking for a babysitter to pay all the money you just made. Deliver with UberEATS and earn on your own schedule.
2. Sell Your old diamond wedding rings
This way to make extra money during the holidays is both cleansing and practical. This is the perfect time to let go of the diamond engagement ring you have been holding on to for so long after your breakup.
The holidays can be hard especially after a fresh divorce. It’s even harder years down the road if you get depressed every year around this time. Selling your diamond ring is empowering and releases you to get on with your life.
You can also get yourself and your family wonderful gifts that hold a special sentiment or begins a new tradition for your family.
If you are ready to begin the process of selling your diamond engagement ring check out Worthy and let them help you get the highest price possible because God knows you’ve earned it after all you have been through!
People do not want to fight traffic or parking at the shopping centers so they will pay for a ride in a clean car. Your car.
People are also going to the airport, train stations, and bus stations to travel for the holidays. They are going to need a ride so they don’t have to worry about maneuvering through traffic or paying parking fees.
I use Lyft and Uber a lot when I travel and it is such a convenience!
You must have a newer model car and insurance so if you meet the criteria you should sign up. The approval time varies from city to city but it might be worth your while.
You will be able to drive any time you want during and after the holidays so this is a legitimate side hustle for making extra money as a single mom.
The holiday parties are in full swing. Why not make some extra cash as a holiday helper? Private homes, caterers, and hotels hire extra help for the pre-and post-holiday party chores.
Check out the Task Rabbit app or Craigslist for gigs in your area. You can also place your own ad on Craigslist or other free local papers offering your services.
5. Create and Sell merchandise on Gear Bubble, Sun Frog, or Spreadshirt
If you are a graphic designer or simply have a sarcastic (or funny) wit you can design and sell T-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise online. This is one of my favorite ways to make money.
Head over to Gear Bubble, Sun Frog, or Spreadshirt, create an account, then follow the steps to create your designs. You can decide how much you will sell them for and then add them to the marketplace.
When your shirt sells you get paid. If people use your design you get paid. It’s a win-win for everyone.
6. Babysitting during holiday parties
Place an ad on Craigslist or create a flyer to post in your local grocery store or bakery.
People are going to company parties and New Year’s Eve parties so they need a reliable childcare service that is available at night. Since you are a mom you are the answer to their prayers.
Check out the Care.com website. You can add yourself to the site as a provider and when you include that you do holiday childcare in your profile you could get more opportunities.
Are you a fantastic gift wrapper? Use your skills to wrap holiday gifts and get paid.
Get gigs at the mall or contract yourself out to bookstores, grocery stores, or corporate offices a few days a week.
Busy executives need their gifts wrapped so they don’t look like a complete failure on Christmas morning.
Place an ad, call friends, or visit places of business to offer your service. You will need a counter or table to work from, sharp scissors, tape, and a selection of wrapping paper, ribbon and bows.
8. Baked goods sales
The smell of baked cookies, cakes, and pies is what makes the holidays special.
If you have a gift for baking you can clean up during the holidays. Package your goods and sell them to family, friends, and co-workers who want last-minute gifts.
You can bake from scratch or from a mix but just don’t buy ready-made baked goods and pass them off as your own.
Put the baked items in pretty paper, cellophane, and tins then top it with a bow.
Sell it at a higher rate than store-bought goods because of the labor and supplies you used to make those yummy treats.
9. Gift Basket sells
If you have a talent for pulling together themed gift items the gift basket business is calling your name.
You can make money creating and selling gift baskets of baked goods, spa treatments, movie night, and other themes baskets for people who don’t know what to get their loved ones.
Create a sample basket of at least three themes then photograph them. Post your pictures in the Facebook swap and sell groups along with a description and price for the baskets. You can also repeat it on your page or in local business groups on Facebook and Instagram.
If you are feeling adventurous go to car dealerships and other businesses that have salespeople or caregivers standing around. They will buy from you because it’s one less thing they have to do at the last minute.
10. Donate goods for a tax break
This is not exactly a make extra money idea for the holidays but it is a get more money at tax time idea.
There is still time to donate clothes, furniture, and kids items to your local charity to get a tax credit. But If you are like me you procrastinate and mess around and don’t get your stuff to the donation center in time.
What if there was an app you could use to schedule a donation pick-up? The good news is there’s an app for that!
You can download and schedule a pickup through the Resupply app.
There has never been an easier way to donate your stuff. The best part is the app keeps track of your donations and the value you give it so at tax time you don’t have to remember or gather up scraps of paper you gathered throughout the year.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Did you pick up the Single Mom Survival and Success Kit? If so you know part of the kit includes 200 side hustles to make extra money, because, let’s face it, sometimes you just need extra money. That sounds great at first but how do you choose the right side hustle or method for you?
To choose the best business for you I’ve put together a quick guide for choosing the right business for you. Download the Side Hustle Business Worksheet to come up with the right business for you.
1. Look at Your Past Jobs
In looking at your past jobs decide if you want to continue doing that kind of work. My professional career was technical writing so I decided to use my writing skills to make extra money on the side.
2. Take a Second Look at Your Hobbies
Is it something you can turn into a business? Do people rave about your knitting, cooking, photography? One of the things I enjoyed doing was baking. My mom taught me how to bake when I was 10 years old. I turned that hobby into a cake business at a young age.
3. Take Inventory of Your Skills
Make a list of all the skill you have learned over the years. You could have learned these skill on the job or in school. That skill is the thing that could bring in $1,000 or more in extra income per month.
4. Make a List of the Results
Once you think about all the jobs, hobbies, skills and natural talents, make a list and pick the top three things that appeals to you the most. Next do an informal survey of your family, friends, and network to determine if they would pay for the service you are thinking of offering.
5. See if There is a Market for Your Side Hustle
Another way to determine if the service you might offer will be profitable is to see if there are many people looking for the service online. Use Google keyword tool to do an exact search for phrases related to your service. For example, if you plan to offer dog grooming service enter the phrase “dog grooming service in [your city]” into the keyword tool. Be sure to click the exact phrase option on the left side of the screen. Your search results should be at least 10-20K or more searches for your phrase.
6. Do the $100 Side Hustle Business Test
Finally, place an ad on Craigslist or other free classified ad for your service. If you make at least $100 you may have a good service to offer. If not choose the next thing on the list and repeat the process. You will find the right business for you.
Additional Side Hustle Business Advice for Moms
Do you need more help deciding what business to start. I can help you come up with at least 5 profitable businesses to choose from. I offer Business Start-up Coaching for Moms in a 45 minute conversation. Click the link above to find out more and start making extra money now!
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Maggie Mistal, Career Coach, Martha Stewart Living Radio
Here are Maggie Mistal’s insights and tips to help make the decision about starting your own business a little easier:
How to decide whether you’re too old to start a business:
No matter what your age, if starting your own business is something you want to do you can do it. Once you have an idea you can do a couple of things to get started. You can tap into your friends to see if they want to get involved or have ideas for starting a business. You can also access local resources like your chamber of commerce where you can actually go to some meetings and see other entrepreneurs making it happen and begin to network.
Resources to help you decide what kind of business to start:
If you want to start a business but you aren’t sure what kind of business to start there is a great web site you can access called www.vocationvacations.com. Once on the site, you can test out lots of entrepreneurial adventures and really see what kind of jobs suit you best. You can try being a bed and breakfast owner, a spa owner, or a wine bar owner. You can even test out being a private investigator. Before starting your own business you can “try it on”.
Determining whether you’re suited to be an entrepreneur:
It’s important to assess your skills and lifestyle to determine whether you are cut out to be an entrepreneur; to be your own boss. You need to think about whether you are a quick learner and if you like to learn, because when starting your own business you’ll be learning a lot of new things almost every day. Ask yourself if your lifestyle allows you the time on weeknights and weekends to devote to starting/owning your own business. Another good “how to start a business” resource you can access is the Small Business Administration’s web site www.sba.gov. Their web site provides lots of examples where you can see what it really takes to be an entrepreneur.
How to know whether the business you’re considering is a good fit for you:
There are a few really great ways to investigate if a business idea or a new career is right for you. One way to learn about a business is to job shadow someone, where you can physically follow someone around and work side by side with them. The great thing about a job shadow is that you can actually see if doing that kind of work or owning that kind of business suits you. If you can’t participate in a job shadow you can do an informational interview, in which you talk to someone to learn about the business. This talk can take place on the phone or in person and can provide excellent insight into how to start your own business. Throughout the interview you can ask them questions like: What do you love about your job? What do you hate about your job? If you were going to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Keep in mind you don’t need to recreate the wheel, especially in the age of the Internet. Everybody is doing interesting and creative things. If you just do a little bit of research you can get a lot of insights and avoid the pitfalls yourself.
How to match passion with career:
Some people are at a point in their lives when they don’t have to work to support their family and instead can create a business or find a new career that they are passionate about. For many the biggest question around how to start a business is figuring out what to do. To help yourself figure out what kind of business to start or what kind of career to get involved in, you should ask yourself this question: What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail? Or, think back to what you enjoyed doing as a child. Often those childhood activities that were fun for you (that you weren’t paid to do) such as conducting science experiments or doing arts and crafts will inspire you to find a new career that’s right for you.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
The main way I make extra money is through Freelance Writing and Editing. It’s a very good way for people who love writing and know a lot about different subjects to make money.
I got started in freelance writing over 12 years ago. I started out editing my church bulletin and writing the newsletter. Then I ventured into resume and report writing for a few friends and clients.
After I got my degree in English and Communications I went into technical writing and editing for engineering firms. It has been a progression for me and I’m happy to say with each progression the money has gotten better. (more…)
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Hi! Welcome to RichSingleMomma.com. I started this website almost a decade ago because I couldn't find any blogs back then that helped single moms with money. I was having some success in that area so I decided to share what I knew about side hustles, making extra money, and managing money. Read more...
People gotta eat, right? But many are too busy or exhausted from work and after-work holiday shopping to cook.
![[Video] How to Start a Business](https://i0.wp.com/richsinglemomma.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/start-a-business-4-RSM.png?resize=199%2C110&ssl=1)
