Balancing parenting with earning money can be a challenge, especially with rising child care costs making the decision to stay home even tougher. However, today’s flexible work options provide opportunities to add to family income while caring for your kids. Whether you want to use skills from your past career on a more flexible basis or try simple ways to earn extra cash that fit your schedule, there are numerous side hustle ideas that you can balance with parenting.
Best side hustles for stay-at-home parents
Care and service-based side hustles
Child care
Child care can be an ideal side business for stay-at-home parents. You’ll care for other children while being there for your own, using your parenting experience to help other families.
Pros: Your kids get built-in playdates and social interaction, you can work from home in a familiar environment, and you’ll use skills you already have as a parent.
Cons: Managing multiple children requires extra energy and attention, your home becomes a workplace, and some states require licensing for informal home child care.
Earning potential: The average hourly rate for sitters is $21.50, though rates vary by location and local market prices.
How to get started: Chat with other parents in your neighborhood and see if they need daytime child care.
Pet sitting
If you want to earn money caring for others without watching more children, consider dog walking or pet sitting.
Pros: Work around your family’s schedule, spend time outdoors with your kids while walking dogs, and choose which services to offer based on your preferences.
Cons: Some pets need special care or have dietary restrictions, you may need to travel to clients’ homes, and high-energy pets require more attention and time.
Earning potential: Pet sitters typically charge $25 for a 30-minute visit. Overnight pet sitting in your home can earn even more.
How to get started: Create profiles on Rover or Wag, or advertise your services on Nextdoor.
Fitness coaching
If you’re passionate about fitness, coaching could be your ideal side business.
Pros: Set flexible hours for in-person or virtual training, stay active while earning money, and build connections in your community.
Cons: May need to travel to gyms or training locations, child care costs could affect your earning potential, and initial certification required.
Earning potential: Fitness coaches earn between $40 and $100 per hour, with $60 as the national average. Your location and specialty will affect your rates.
How to get started: Get certified in your chosen fitness specialty, then contact local gyms about training opportunities.
Online tutoring
Share your expertise by teaching others online.
Pros: Reach students worldwide from home, set your own schedule, and choose subjects you’re passionate about.
Cons: Keeping students engaged virtually takes extra effort, competition from established tutoring platforms, and finding consistent student bookings.
Earning potential: Tutors typically earn $18 to $30 per hour through online tutoring platforms. Set your own rates when working independently.
How to get started: Connect with mentees live through networks like Wyzant and Preplay.
Photography
Turn your eye for capturing family moments into a photography services business.
Pros: Schedule shoots around family commitments, work from home or on location, and build a creative portfolio.
Cons: Photo editing takes significant time, equipment costs can be high initially, and managing client expectations and deadlines.
Earning potential: Experienced photographers can earn $100 to $300 per hour, according to VSCO.
How to get started: Start by offering your services to families in your network and increase your portfolio and business through social media and word-of-mouth referrals.
Creative and design side hustles
Freelance graphic design
Use your graphic design skills to create logos, social media graphics, and marketing materials for clients.
Pros: Work remotely on your schedule, express creativity through work, and choose projects that interest you.
Cons: Building a consistent client base takes time, managing multiple project deadlines, and staying current with design trends.
Earning potential: The national range for freelance graphic designer is $19 to $48 per hour on average.
How to get started: Create a portfolio of your work, including logos, social media graphics, and marketing materials. Then, connect with potential clients through freelance networks like Upwork or Dribbble.
Freelance video editing
With 88% of businesses prioritizing video marketing but lacking time to produce content, freelancers with video editing skills are in high demand.
Pros: Work remotely on flexible hours, choose from diverse projects, and set your own rates.
Cons: Balancing video editing with child care, managing multiple project deadlines, and keeping up with editing software updates.
Earning potential: Rates vary by experience. Beginners can earn $20 to $50 per hour, on average, while intermediate editors charge $50 to $100. Experienced editors are looking at $60 to $120 per hour.
How to get started: Share your portfolio with businesses, publishers, and editors who need help editing footage.
Freelance web development
Web development jobs are growing 16% faster than average, creating opportunities for parents with technical skills.
Pros: Work remotely with flexible hours, stay current with industry trends, and choose projects that match your expertise and interests.
Cons: Meeting tight deadlines, managing client expectations, and balancing complex projects with family time.
Earning potential: Web developers typically earn around $75 per hour.
How to get started: Get started with web development by applying to freelance opportunities on sites like LinkedIn or Indeed.
Printables or digital designs
If you’ve got artistic talent or are developing your design skills, creating and selling digital designs or printables can be a profitable side business.
Pros: Create flexible, scalable income selling digital products, no inventory or shipping costs, and work on your own schedule.
Cons: Competitive market, takes time to build visibility, and requires consistent new designs.
Earning potential: Your income will vary based on your competition and pricing strategy. Research similar products in your niche to set competitive prices.
How to get started: Create original art and then decide where you’d like to sell it. A great option is to start your own Shopify store.
Content creation
For creative and driven stay-at-home parents, content creation offers exciting opportunities to build a business around your interests and expertise.
Pros: Work on your own schedule, build multiple income streams like sponsored posts, brand partnerships, affiliate links, or even your own online store, and express creativity daily.
Cons: Income can be unpredictable, high competition, and takes time to build an audience.
Earning potential: Influencers creating content for businesses like blog posts, social media posts, or videos earn $30 to $50 per hour at entry level, and $100 to $150 per hour with expertise.
How to get started: Choose a niche, decide on a platform (like TikTok or Instagram), and start creating. If you’re going the corporate route, a detailed portfolio is essential.
Voice-overs
With a quiet space and proper equipment, you can build a voice-over business from home. You’ll find opportunities to narrate commercials, audiobooks, video games, and educational content.
Pros: Work from any quiet space, choose diverse projects, and set flexible hours.
Cons: Competitive industry, requires quality equipment, and need a consistently quiet environment.
Earning potential: Rates range from $35 to $850 per hour, depending on the type of work, according to Career Sidekick.
How to get started: Create a demo reel, set up a home studio, and join voice-over websites to connect with clients.
Writing and content side hustles
Freelance writing
Put your copywriting skills to work creating content for magazines, blogs, websites, and other publications. Whether you excel at long-form articles or snappy copy, there’s demand for skilled writers.
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Freelance proofreading and editing
If you have a sharp eye for detail and strong language skills, proofreading and editing can be an ideal side business.
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Podcasting
Give yourself a creative outlet and connect with others by starting a podcast. You can record episodes on your schedule while sharing your expertise or discussing topics you love.
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Social media management
Turn your social media expertise into a business by helping small businesses grow their online presence. If you’ve built a following on TikTok, you can leverage that experience to make money from your hobbies.
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Virtual business side hustles
Virtual bookkeeping
Put your financial management skills to the test by helping businesses track their finances. Managing your family’s budget gives you valuable experiences in tracking expenses and managing cash flow—skills that could lend themselves to a bookkeeping side hustle.
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Virtual assistant
Your skills in multitasking, time management, and organization make you ideal for helping busy professionals manage their work. Virtual assistants handle schedules, meetings, emails, and other tasks remotely.
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Online customer service
Help businesses support their customers through chat, email, or phone. Many companies need customer service representatives during all hours of the day.
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Data entry
Put your attention to detail to work entering information from documents, updating records, or transcribing audio files. Data entry jobs can fit well around your family schedule and don’t require extensive technical skills.
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Consulting
Use your professional experience to help businesses enhance performance, solve problems, and achieve their goals. Consulting lets you use your expertise without committing to full-time work.
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Digital products and marketing side hustles
Online courses
Share your experience by creating and selling online courses. If you’re knowledgeable in a particular niche, online courses can generate ongoing income once you’ve done the initial work.
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Dropshipping
Start an online dropshipping business to earn passive income without managing inventory by having suppliers ship products directly to your customers.
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Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing lets you earn commission by driving traffic or sales to other companies’ products through your social media presence, blog, or website.
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Ready to turn your skills into a business? Shopify gives you the tools you need to build a professional online presence and start earning extra income as a stay-at-home parent. Whether you’re building social media strategies, trying your hand at podcasting, or offering pet sitting, you’ll find everything you need to create a professional website, process payments securely, market your services, and manage your business on the go. Don’t let your great idea sit on the shelf. Start exploring how Shopify can help you build a sustainable business that works around your family life.
