But it’s definitely not without its share of challenges. We don’t sleep much, do we ladies? We also don’t have a lot of spare time to ourselves, especially for you single moms who have to keep it all together by yourselves. It’s especially hard when it comes to balancing our workload and spending time with our babies, and there’s very little time to develop our hobbies and skills so that they benefit us in the rest of our lives.
Yeah, there’s no doubt that being a mom is tough, especially for single and stay-at-home moms. That’s why I’ve put together the following five ways that you can develop your skills, make some extra cash, and still spend plenty of time with your bundle of joy!
1. Make Arts and Crafts to Sell
There are plenty of moms out there who love to sew, knit, sketch, felt, and many other creative endeavors! Besides passing the time and helping us relax, it’s a great way to make clothes for our babies or decorate their rooms without spending a lot of cash. What you may not have thought of, though, is that those handcrafted creations can make you a pretty good chunk of change!
Depending on the type of crafts you pursue, your crafts can make a healthy profit, and aren’t necessarily that expensive to make. Dependent on how much time you have to pursue your craft, you can either sell them locally to your closest friends and family, or consider starting your own business! It really depends on what you want to do, how much time you want to devote to your handmade wares, and how good you are (or know you can become)!
2. Start a Blog
Blogging is a great outlet for moms in so many ways! Aside from allowing us to chronicle our mommy life online, so that we can always preserve the memories, we can share ideas with others, get advice for ourselves, make a lot of online friends, and potentially make some money for our families.
If your blog starts generating enough followers, you may start receiving invitations (or you can ask on your own) to host ads on your blog, accept guest posts from other blogs or businesses, or potentially even start an online store, if you do crafts too!
Starting a blog is very easy to do as well. First, need to decide your focus area for writing. This can include things like raising a parent, balancing mommy life and work, education and development for babies, etc. The point is, start with a specific focus first, so you can establish credibility and expertise early on. You can branch out more as your blog grows. Then, you just have to register a domain name, set up your blog with a basic template, and voila! You’re ready to blog!
3. Give Music Lessons From Home
If you’re a mom who’s blessed with the gift of music, you should consider giving music lessons to students in your off hours. There are plenty of young people, and even some older folks, who are desperate to learn an instrument or to sing.
You don’t have to be a music ‘expert’ to teach, especially if you cater to brand new, untrained students. Understanding basic music theory, being able to play an instrument decently, or even being able to sing well, are all you need to start teaching. And aside from making you some decent money, you’ll be developing your own musical skills, so that you improve along with your students!
Just be careful not to wake the baby!
4. Teach English as a Second Language
In the same vein as teaching an instrument, you could consider teaching English in your spare time to those who want to pick up a second language. There’s definitely a growing demand for it: a study by the Center for Immigration Studies showed that, in 2015, more than 21.5 million people in the U.S. reported that they spoke English less than very well.
With the influx of immigrants across the world, now is the perfect time to start offering something that you do in your everyday life as a tool that others can use to better their own lives, and adapt better to their new environments, while you make some extra money and learn a second language of your own.
5. Babysit in Your Spare Time
At times, being a mom can be overwhelming. We mentioned the lack of sleep already, but there’s also the stress of listening to a baby crying, who just won’t stop, the fatigue of never being able to truly relax while you’re watching your baby, and the lack of free time. With all of that, bringing yet another child into the mix might sound sound like utter insanity! But hear me out.
Babysitting is a method for making money that works no matter your age, and there’s always a demand for it. Depending on your conditions for watching the kids, including the number of children, whether you’ll provide diapers, formula, and the like, or leave that for the parents to provide, you can expect to make anywhere from $12 to $20 an hour. Even if you’re only watching for two to three hours, that’s around $50 extra for you, which is none too shabby.
Aside from the monetary benefits, babysitting allows you the opportunity to develop your own parenting skills. Other children will behave differently than your own, and require different types and levels of attention and care. By adapting your parenting to match what these kids need, you’re adding to your own repertoire of mommy skills that you can apply in your own life. Additionally, you can grow your list of friends with the moms and couples who bring their children to you, and potentially babysit for you when it’s your turn for mom time!
Better Every Day
As we’ve discussed, there’s plenty of ways that you can make money for yourself, develop the skills you already have, and stay close to your little angel. It all depends on what you want to do in life, and how much time you have to devote to it. But you’re a mom: you’re not going to find a tougher job, so you might as well dive in and explore a new role that’s perfect for you!
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When I transitioned from being a working mom to a stay-from-home mom, it was not easy. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find a source of income while staying at home with my kids.
ReplyDeleteTo add to your list, there are a number of reliable freelancing sites where moms like us can look for work, like Upwork, Fiverr, Outsourcely, and Guru.
Best of luck to all other moms out there who want to have a good source of income while taking care of their kids! :)