When you’re at home with the kids, there are so many ways you can make decent money from various side hustles. Whether you’re saving up for a future trip with your partner, or starting a savings account for your youngest, these brilliant side hustles will earn you some extra money in your spare time, giving you the freedom to choose what to spend your extra dollars on.
Sell unwanted items on eBay or Craigslist.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or something like that! If you’re having a clear out at home, you’d be shocked at what people are prepared to spend money on. Used clothes, old gadgets, and various other trinkets you’ve found at the bottom of your wardrobe could fetch you a decent amount of money when sold online. Just make sure you take some decent pictures, write a compelling description, and price them appropriately, and you’ll make money by selling your unwanted items in no time at all.
If you’re active across different social media platforms, you can create a gig and market yourself as a social media content creator or manager. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t have time to manage their social media accounts but recognize their importance. As such, they’re willing to pay a social media manager to stay on top of their accounts and post quality content to engage with their followers. If you love posting on social media and have a creative side, reach out to local businesses and offer to manage their accounts.
Sell stock photographs on Shutterstock.
If you’re a keen photographer, you can turn your hundreds of high-quality pictures into money, by selling them on a stock photography site like Shutterstock. While you won’t become a millionaire by selling your photos, you will earn a small commission per download, and will be content in the knowledge that someone is using a picture that you captured on their blog, website, or perhaps even in print media. The more images you sell, the more money you get!
Become a dog walker.
Dog walkers are highly sought-after by working professionals and offering your services as a dog walker is an excellent way of making money while you exercise! While you don’t have to do it full time, just taking on a couple of clients each week gives you the chance to be out in the fresh air with some canine companions, and you can even take your kids to the park at the same time. Dog walkers charge a decent hourly rate, so it can be a profitable way to make money on the side.
Create tutorials on YouTube.
Do you have a skill or talent for something interesting? Perhaps you’re awesome at yoga, or maybe you know how to teach conversational German. Whatever your skill, you can create easy-to-follow tutorials that can inspire and help others. While you won’t make money straight away, if you invest your time in creating quality videos that are widely viewed, you can start to earn income over time. You could even use free tutorials to encourage people to sign up to a paid service or purchase a product that you sell. Either way, YouTube tutorials are a fun way of doing something you love and helping people at the same time.
Become an English tutor.
You might be surprised to hear that you can earn money as an English tutor, even if you don’t have any relevant qualifications. How? Well, people are willing to pay native English speakers to be their conversational tutors, meaning all you have to do is set up a video call, and speak English with the other person for an hour. As long as you’re friendly, outgoing, and willing to correct minor mistakes, you can earn great money in your spare time on a platform like Italki.
Qualify as a personal trainer.
If you like to keep yourself in good physical shape, and exercise is a big part of your life, you could qualify to become a personal trainer. You can take most of the required classes online and set yourself up a professional website. In the early days, share your workouts on Instagram and maybe even YouTube, and build yourself a portfolio. When you become qualified, reach out to your followers and offer your services. If you’re good, you’ll find that your clients will snowball and you’ll be making excellent money on the side.
Teach a musical instrument.
For those of you that are musically inclined, you have the perfect opportunity to offer private music lessons in your spare time. You can either teach online or dedicate a couple of hours in the evening or at the weekends to teaching an instrument that you’re confident with. Music tutors can earn serious money, and it’s an excellent way of turning one of your core skills into a source of income generation.
Set up an Etsy store.
Are you a creative person who loves to make things with your hands? If so, you could set up an Etsy store and market your products online. You could make candles, bespoke jewellery, greetings cards, or even sell some of your artwork or pictures that you’ve taken and had framed. Etsy is the perfect place to sell unique gifts, so if you’re good with your hands, think about setting up a store and marketing some homemade products.
Bake.
Although you will have to comply with food hygiene regulations, you could turn your home kitchen into a mini bakery. You could serve up delicious cookies, celebration cakes, or fruit loaves fresh from the oven. You could setup a store on Shopify and use your social media platforms to market your little baking business. You could even reach out to local coffee shops and independent restaurants and offer them samples of your produce. If you currently enjoy baking in your spare time, there’s no reason why you can’t turn it into a side hustle and make some decent pocket money at the same time.
Closing thoughts.
There has never been a better time to market your services or products online. Thanks to the explosion in popularity of the gig economy, people are looking for freelancers to complete all sorts of tasks for them and are willing to pay people to undertake projects for them. The ten brilliant side hustles that we’ve introduced here allow you to work from home and spend time with the kids, while earning a little extra money on the side.
