Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship: My Journey to Passive Income

When I was pregnant with my first child, my mind was still firmly entrenched in work mode. Since starting my company, Bridesmaid for Hire, in 2014, I had often worked 70-hour weeks, traveled extensively for business opportunities, and tied my identity to my hustle. The thought of becoming a mom didn’t mean I wanted to relinquish that drive. I planned to take just six weeks of maternity leave, meticulously lining up childcare and business gigs—working weddings and speaking at conferences—right afterward.

However, everything changed after my daughter was born in early 2023. Suddenly, the allure of being pulled in a dozen different directions faded. While I still wanted to run my company, I also yearned for quality time with my baby.

The Shift in Priorities

Initially, I managed to squeeze in 40 to 50 hours of work each week while my daughter napped during the day and when my husband returned home from work. But as she grew out of the baby phase, parenting became more hands-on, and my available work hours dwindled. I realized I needed to shift how I was working to earn money while giving my daughter the attention she deserved. Today, I generate about $6,300 a month in passive income. Here’s how I made it happen.

Monetizing My Website with Ads

As an entrepreneur, I’m always eager to create new products and services. However, with limited time, I decided to monetize the resources I had already established. One effective strategy was placing Google ads on my website, which attracted around 463,000 users in the past year. While ad income can fluctuate based on traffic, I earn an average of $391 per month with minimal effort involved.

It’s worth noting that this monetization method can sometimes detract from the user experience on my site. Therefore, I turn off ads during significant product launches to focus on quality and conversions.

Recommending Products to My Audience

I send out weekly newsletters to over 100,000 subscribers and post regularly on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, where I have over 90,000 followers. Much of my content revolves around wedding advice, which allows me to incorporate affiliate links seamlessly.

By joining programs like Amazon Associates and RewardStyle, I created curated storefronts and shared links in my social media bios and newsletters. This strategy takes about two hours a week and generates an average of $129 a month in commissions when followers purchase recommended products.

Creating AI Tools to Scale Services

One of the most time-consuming services I offered was writing maid of honor speeches, which could take five to six hours per speech. This was not scalable, and I often had to turn clients away due to time constraints. In fact, I found myself drafting speeches just hours after giving birth.

To solve this problem, I collaborated with a developer to create an AI maid of honor speech writing tool. By programming the tool to replicate my writing style and structure, we could offer this service at a lower price point ($35 instead of $397) and cater to an unlimited number of customers. This innovation has expanded to include various wedding speeches and vows, and even eulogies.

These tools now generate an average of $5,380 a month, requiring only about five hours a week for marketing, SEO-related blog posts, and social media content.

Selling Digital and Physical Products

One of my earliest sources of passive income was an online course I launched in 2017, aimed at those wanting to start a wedding side hustle like mine. It took weeks to create, but the effort paid off. Since then, I’ve launched over a dozen courses, including ones on public speaking and personal branding, which I promote through social media and newsletters.

I also offer three books and a newlywed card game. Recently, I began monetizing my weekly newsletter by introducing a paid subscriber tier that includes added benefits like access to archives and surprise gifts. Managing this tier takes only an additional hour a month, contributing about $380 to my monthly income.

Embracing a New Work-Life Balance

These passive income streams have allowed my business to thrive while giving me the freedom to focus on projects I’m genuinely excited about, such as new products and a podcast. Most importantly, I don’t regret working less to spend more time with my toddler.

As I navigate this new chapter of motherhood and entrepreneurship, I’ve learned that it’s possible to balance both worlds. By leveraging existing resources and embracing innovative solutions, I’ve created a sustainable business model that aligns with my values and priorities.

Jen Glantz is the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, author of Finally the Bride: Finding Love after Walking down Everyone Else’s Aisle, and creator of The Pick-Me-Up newsletter. Follow her adventures on Instagram @jenglantz.

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