After my second son was born in 2021, we decided that I would leave my teaching job to stay home full-time with the hopes of homeschooling in the future. Towards the end of 2021, I began exploring ways to bring in a little side income without needing childcare for my children.
I began exploring how to create and sell digital printables on Etsy, and my homeschool items really took off so I began to focus on that. I wanted to create things that I could or would use with my own children. Now that I've been on Etsy for about 1.5 years, it's been interesting to see the seasonal ups and downs of sales. The best sale months have been back-to-school time and preparing for the Christmas season. Sales have ranged from $100-$800 per month. I like selling digital printables because you make them once, and then you don't have to think about them again unless you want to make updates. I also have many items from my teaching days on Teachers Pay Teachers and that also brings in a little residual income each month.
I've taught online with a variety of companies. I taught English to children in China with VIP Kid and Magic Ears for a few months, then moved to Outschool where teachers develop their own classes and recruit students. I'm currently loving my job at Writing Symphony where I teach grades 2-5 for four hours a week in the evenings while my husband is home.
In 2022 to early 2023, I taught four seasons of nature classes with Tinkergarten. I've since developed my own nature curriculum for ages 2-7 and am in the midst of teaching an 8-session season. I've really enjoyed doing this since it allows me to use my teaching skills, bring my children with me, and work on our 1000 Hours Outside challenge at the same time!
So far in 2023, I've averaged about $800 per month with the following:
Teaching Online = $360 per month
Teachers Pay Teachers = $20-$60 per month
Digital Printables on Etsy = $130 - $420 per month
Nature Class - $300 per month (for two months)
Consignment Sale - $200 one time
Contributing to a homeschool curriculum bundle - $200 one time
Other occasional things I've done:
- Catering
- Tutoring
- Basketball training
- Twice per year consignment sales
- Created classes to teach on Outschool.com
I always have new projects on my mind too! I just finished my first full-year preschool curriculum that I'm excited to launch this summer. My natural postpartum guide ebook is almost complete and ready to be published. Soon, I will hopefully lead a summer season of my nature class as well!
The best part about all of these side hustles is that I truly enjoy them all. Nothing feels like a job.
Now it's time for you to think about what you're good at and enjoy doing. Some common side hustles for stay-at-home moms to consider include:
teaching online
tutoring
work from home jobs like call centers
consignment sales
selling on ebay
creating digital printables
house cleaning
babysitting
delivery services
creating Fiverr gigs such as beta reading or editing
Let me know in the comments what side hustles you have enjoyed or that have been helpful financially!
- Morgan
Thank you for sharing! Love this so much, you are truly an inspiration!