Who doesn’t want to be their own boss? Whether you fancy a change, want to work around school hours or need extra money, working from home could be your answer. There are countless side gigs you can do without leaving the house or disrupting family life. From making money online, being creative or having a passive income, cooking up a dream job is completely achievable while having a work-life balance. The other great thing about working from home is that your initial costs will be so much lower than if you had to rent somewhere or commute to a job. If you’re not sure where to start, then read on and start here!
1. Set up a small business
One popular business idea many moms do is making jewelry as a side hustle. Using precious metals to design earrings, rings, necklaces and bracelets can all be done from the comfort of your own home without needing much space to work either. Similarly, designing and sewing clothing, printing t-shirts or knitting blankets are all worthwhile small business ideas. If you’re not creative, maybe you already have a small nest egg and want to invest in another business. In this instance, quality silver prices per gram, such as coins or collectibles, can easily be flipped and make you money. If you’re a wizz with numbers, think about investing in crypto, or selling stocks and shares. The possibilities are endless!
2. Go digital
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If you’re the type of person who’s a digital pro, then maybe you should turn your computer skills into a side hustle. Even when you’re not that technical, there are numerous free online courses where you can brush up on your talents. Choose from web design, writing a blog, doing book reviews or hone your interests to become a social media marketer. It could be that you’re an expert at something, such as cooking, bookkeeping or a language. If this is the case, why not consider teaching online? Or setting up a course that others can buy from you? Alternatively, investigate in becoming a Virtual Assistant for someone and organize their schedules from home. Think about what you are good at or passionate about and capitalize on your strengths.
3. Use your home
Do you love gardening and have space to grow flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables? People love homegrown produce so they’d be easy to sell to neighbors or at a local farmer’s market. You can either sell seedlings or the final product, and providing you have enough space, you can alternate throughout the seasons. If cooking is your thing, then use your kitchen to make jams, chutneys and other food that can be sold in jars. Or, you could be a baking queen and who doesn’t like cake?! If you feel you don’t have these kinds of skills, renting out your driveway, garden or even hiring a space out to a film set to make cash from your property could be the solution.
4. Use your local area
People often think they have to do something that requires expensive outlays to start working from home. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case. Think about what’s popular in your local neighborhood and turn it into something lucrative. For example, if you love taking photos, then start collecting great shots of what’s on your doorstep. You can then sell prints, or even have an exhibition within the local community. Maybe you’re a wordsmith, in which case, write and sell articles about interesting places in the locality. Alternatively, you can organize mini tours of the area, either for history buffs or a tour in combination with local food. Ask around in local businesses and see if they want to team up.
5. Stuck with no skills?
It doesn’t matter if you feel you don’t have any skills to be creative or a computer wizz; there’s still plenty of opportunities out there where you can make more than a few dollars. For animal lovers, offer to pet-sit in your own home or take up dog walking. If you’re really keen, learn about pet grooming and slowly build up a business. You can also buy and sell items online, anything from clothes to homeware or even gold bars! Over time, you could build up a niche business in vintage clothing, old records or retro knick knacks. Other opportunities include doing surveys online, selling beauty products through a franchise or testing websites for money.
The most important thing to consider when working from home is to look at what you love or would like to do. Brainstorm where you believe your knowledge and experience lies and think about what resources you already have to kick start an idea. There are a range of online tools to help you develop your skills so use them to your advantage. You might feel you don’t want to go it alone so ask friends or neighbors if they’d be interested in a small sideline business – the more you involve your local community and spread the word, the better chances you have of making a success. Finally, never give up and keep motivated by doing something you enjoy doing…for money!
