30 Side Hustles for Single Moms Who Need to Make Money Now

Are you a single mom that is looking to make some extra money on the side? Or perhaps you are looking for something more serious that offers similar financial security to a regular full-time job?

In this post, we will be taking a look at some of the best ways to make money for single moms, housewives, or anyone for that matter!

Why Side Hustles for Single Moms?

When I was busy raising my young children, I explored all options to make money. I had my hands full most of the time, so I needed something with flexibility and something that provided a reliable source of income.

At first, I started out trying to sell things online, but soon discovered it took way much time. I soon discovered other roles that were more appropriate, including writing and being a virtual assistant.

The advantages of having a side hustle as a single mom include the following:

  • Extra money is always helpful when raising a family.
  • Earning money with flexibility allows you to avoid missing time with your kids.
  • Allows you to save money to reduce debts.
  • Allows you to gain experience and pursue your own financial targets.

Ready to begin making money? Let’s explore the options…

What Are the Most Profitable Side Hustles for Single Moms?

The reality is that raising kids is a full-time job all on its own, so some tasks just aren’t appropriate for a mother’s busy lifestyle.

Therefore, when putting together this list, I concentrated on the two most important factors:

  • The start-up fees i.e. how much money is required to do the job
  • How much money can it make you ultimately?

Side hustles for single moms 

The following money making methods include a combination of those that require some investment to begin and those that require zero money to start.

And don’t threat, none of the ideas listed involve having to do the hard sell to your friends and family!

Become a Virtual Assistant

1. Become a Virtual Assistant

As you probably know the online job space is very active and shows no sign of slowing down, businesses of all kinds are now found on the web, which means there are lots of opportunities and job openings for virtual assistants (VAs).

What does a  virtual assistant do exactly? The list of activities a VA can be tasked to complete is almost endless but commonly includes proofreading, responding to emails, writing, and editing. You may also be asked to manage a website or companies social media accounts, such as their Facebook page or Pinterest account.

Ultimately, you can be picky about the tasks you wish to complete, simply browse for a VA job that you think fits with your current skillset. However, don’t be scared if something is out of your comfort zone, you can easily get the hang of a role with a little perseverance, so just go for it!

Here is a more concise list of some of the most common tasks VA’s may be asked to complete:

  • Bookkeeping
  • Writing & Proofreading
  • Social Media Mangement
  • Email management
  • Content & Keyword Research

How do you become a Virtual Assistant? 

It’s easier than you think to land a job as a virtual assistant, the majority of roles will be offered on a freelance basis, but sometimes you will find full-time roles advertised as well.

The best places to find VA positions are on websites such as Upwork, Freelancer, as well as more obscure places such as Facebook groups and forums.

Realistically, individuals who post VA jobs are looking for candidates with experience and ideally positive reviews on their profiles. However, everyone has got to start somewhere, so when first starting out try to remember that. Submit friendly and professional pitches regularly and you’ll eventually succeed.

When I was working as a VA, I was running my own blog at the same time, which wasn’t making much money. So working as a VA on the side allowed me to boost my income, while I secured my own. My role involved writing for a few big blogs and managing Instagram and Pinterest accounts for clients.

When first starting, you need to stay motivated and apply for a few jobs every day, try to aim for a certain number to apply for. When I first started applying, the work was not consistent, but once I built a reputation the jobs came consistently, so much so that I had the luxury of being picky about the job offers I accepted.

2. Make Money with a Blog

Blogging is nothing new, but there is certainly a lot of money to be made from high-quality blogs run by passionate individuals. I now run multiple blogs that target different audiences and topics and generate a consistent monthly income from it.

My websites are themed around a central topic and when I publish content I can promote various different offers that allow me to make money. For example, my blogs currently make money through a combination of ad placements, affiliate offers, sponsored posts, as well as my very own products and courses.

Read my full guide on how to start and make money with a blog here. I cover everything from niche research to blog promotion and most importantly monetization.

How do you start a money making blog?

You can start a blog about absolutely everything, literally, the list is endless, however, in order to succeed in the present day you need to niche down and do proper keyword research.

That’s the main mistake I made when I first started with my blog (not this one). I just wrote about anything and expected my audience and traffic to come. It didn’t and I didn’t earn anything at all, so I ended up feeling like a failure and felt like almost giving up.

Through trial and error, I eventually learned my way to success, but I really wouldn’t advise anyone to take that route. It costs both time and money to learn. That’s why I would always advise anyone thinking about starting a money making a blog to enroll in a proven and trusted training course. There are many available and they cover everything you need to know to establish a successful blog including keyword research, niche selection as well as how to monetize your blog.

Starting a new blog is free for the most part, but you will need hosting (I recommend Bluehost), as well as a theme – although you can get many free themes, I don’t recommend them as their customization is very limited.

3. Make Money as an Affiliate Marketer

Do you know how Youtubers, popular bloggers and websites commonly generate a large part of their revenues? By promoting a companies products and services and earning commissions through any qualifying sales made via the links they promote.

For example, if you set up and run a blog or YouTube channel discussing fashion and clothing, you can provide genuinely helpful insights and reviews about certain products and in the process recommend products based on the results. This is one the easiest and most popular methods of earning money online since it requires very little investment as you don’t need to buy anything, simply offer your personal insight.

How can you become an affiliate marketer?

There are many places you can find different offers to promote on your blog, but one of the most popular is through Amazon and their Amazon Associates Program. It costs nothing to sign up as a member and you can earn up to 8% commission depending on the category of products you choose to promote.

Over the years I have made thousands of dollars with the program, so I recommend anyone giving it a go, especially if you already have an established blog or audience. Signing up is easy, all you need to do is log in to Amazon, scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a link to “Amazon Associates”. Signing up is very quick and simple and once complete you will be able to promote products from the site with your very own link.

These links can be promoted in many other places as well as your blog, such as social media sites including Facebook.

Amazon is just one place to start your affiliate marketing journey too, the good news is that there are many, many more places to find offers to promote. Some popular sites to find offers include Commission Junction and Share a Sale.

For me, affiliate marketing is by far one of the profitable side hustles for single moms.

4. Make Money as a Freelance Writer

Writing is a big business and with the rise of the internet, the demand for freelance writing has only continued to increase. You will find freelance writing jobs advertised everywhere online, primarily on sites such as freelancer and UpWork, but on job boards too. Websites and blogs are typically the most common places you will find jobs, but it’s common to find requests for ebooks and creative writing projects as well.

For me, freelance writing was always a quick and easy way to make some extra cash. Businesses post jobs every day, so once you build up a reputation and portfolio, it’s very easy to secure some work. The types of topics you will be requested to write can be incredibly diverse in nature, ranging from finance to pets and everything in between. In terms of word count, they normally expect articles to be writing anywhere from 700 words, all the way up to 2,000 words in length.

Make Money as a Freelance Writer

How to Become a Freelance Writer

Just like Virtual Assistant jobs, you will discover the majority of new openings on freelancing websites such as UpWork and Freelancer. However, you can also find some good success by promoting yourself and your work on Linkedin. I find quite a few popular writing groups on Facebook too, so I would also recommend doing a search for “writing groups” on there too.

Since writing is in demand, many websites are actively looking for freelancers to write for them and many offer payment for writing about certain topics. Often these will be very specific topics, so be prepared to do a little bit of reading and research.

You can easily find many of these jobs by searching “Get Paid to Write” into Google Search.

5. Publish Your Own eBook

In the past, if someone wanted to publish a book, they would have to submit numerous drafts to publishing houses in the hopes of ever being accepted. However, thanks to the internet, today all that has changed and you can now very easily author and publish your very own book on websites like Amazon.

The best part of all is that these sites will often do all the marketing for you, saving you the time and money of having to promote your book to your target audience.

I’ve mentioned this story before, but a few years ago I wrote a series of romance books and sold them on Amazon. I had always been a fan of the genre, so it was easy for me to get into the flow of writing. Anyway, the point is that the series did extremely well and I made a good amount of money from them and continue to do so today.

How to Write a Book & Self Publish

To get started writing you can use simple word processing software such as Microsoft Word, or you could use completely free software such as Google Documents. It’s worth noting that short novels are around 50,000 words in length, while novels don’t usually have any limit at all. You don’t have to limit yourself to fiction either, you can just as easily write guides and informational books, such as guides on knitting, crochet, photography or arts and crafts.

Once you have written the book you will need to edit and format it in the required way. Most sites and publishing platforms have their own requirements, so make sure to read them. Amazon also allows you to offer your book in printed paperback format too, which is a great advantage.

If you are considering taking this route, it’s certainly worth learning about the marketing side of things as it can have a huge impact on the sales and long term success of your book. Things like choosing the right category, title and keywords are all very important factors to consider. I failed in this area at first, but when I took a Kindle course (I completed the Kindle Money Mastery course) I knew how to optimize my listing and my sales soon picked up.

Writing a book is a popular side hustle for single moms, since there are some genuinely supportive communities that are also ready and prepared to support you.

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