11 Side-Hustles for Full-Time Mums

If lockdowns and the Covid-19 pandemic did anything, it gave otherwise busy mums the opportunity to develop a side hustle.

A good way to help pay the bills and allow you to enjoy the odd luxury here and there, side hustles come in many different forms. One of the best things about them is that they often do not involve a huge effort or investment upfront. Instead, all they require is a little imagination, drive and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Side hustles can be built around your lifestyle too. So you can easily fit them in around school runs, play dates, coffee with the girls, date night and of course your day job.

If you are looking to make some more money to improve your financial position, here are 11 side hustles for full-time mums you should consider.

1. Become an accommodation host

Perhaps the easiest way to make some extra money is to rent out your spare room or granny flat. Assuming zoning regulations allow you to do this (you will need to check with your local council) there are plenty of platforms like Airbnb, Homeaway and Flipkey, which you can sign up to become an accommodation host.

The good thing about these platforms is that they invest a lot of time and effort to ensure both the users and hosts enjoy safe and secure environments. One of these measures includes a host’s ability to specify that the room is only available to people of their gender.

The process of becoming an accommodation host and these platforms and listing your property is always free. So it is very low risk in terms of financial outlay.

2. Rent out other things

As well as renting out your spare room, there are several other things you can make money from by putting them up for hire. This includes your shed, driveway or even your car.

It may not have occurred to you previously, but there is a high demand for affordable storage space. Just think of how many commercial storage facilities there are in your local area (and how expensive they are). Therefore, why not take advantage of this growing market and rent out your shed for storage?

Services like Spacer connect members of the local community who need space to store their possessions with others who offer it at a very cost-effective price.

Similarly, if you don’t have a car yourself, or have room in your driveway for another vehicle, consider hiring out your space. This can be a great option if you live near a sports stadium or major concert venue that has limited parking. Sites like Parkhound present those requiring a parking space with available options from local businesses or residents.

Something else you might not have been aware of is the possibility to generate an income from renting out your car. This is a particularly good option if you have at least two vehicles in the household, one of which you don’t use that often.

If this is the case, signing up for services like Car Next Door, DriveMyCar and Private Fleet might be a good option.

3. Become an Uber Driver

If you don’t fancy hiring your car out, then why not use it to become an Uber Driver?

Some drivers can earn up to AUD$35 an hour in ride-sharing or delivering food via Uber Eats. The best thing about doing it is that you can work as few or as many hours as you want.

You might even be able to fit in a drive on the way to school pick-ups or from school drop-offs.

4. Run a car boot or garage sale

As a way to make a little extra money, it is always good to run a car boot or garage sale. The good thing about doing this is you can sell anything – after all one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

It also gives you a good excuse to declutter your home too. Garage sales are essentially free to run, although depending on your location, you might not get too much foot traffic. Car boot sales, by contrast, might involve a nominal cost, but they are generally visited by lots of people.

5. Sell your possessions online

If you don’t have that many items you want to part company with or can’t find the time to run a car boot or garage sale, then why not turn to Facebook Marketplace or TradeMe?

This is a popular side hustle for many mothers as you can easily make a bit of extra cash selling clothes, toys, books or other miscellaneous items you no longer require.

6. Become a tutor

If you excel in one particular academic subject or if you have developed quite a bit of knowledge from helping your kids with their homework, then you might consider becoming a tutor.

You can do this either through home tutoring or via online platforms like tutorly. Both of which can be lucrative ways of making money on the side.

7. Offer to look after dogs

Love dogs? Then why not channel this passion for fur babies into a revenue stream?

By creating a profile on Mad Paws, you can offer your services for dog walking, doggy play dates, grooming or pet-sitting. Again this can fit into your lifestyle, so you can spend as much or little time doing this as you want. It is also a great way to keep in shape too!

8. Design and sell products online

If you are a creative type, you can embrace your skills to design and sell arts and crafts.

This could take the form of anything from canvas art, photography and towels to stickers, phone cases or t-shirts. Websites like Printify and RedBubble allow you to mock up a range of products just by uploading an image or design you created. They even take care of printing and fulfilment for you through their network of suppliers.

You can sell these products via Etsy or your website. You can promote through social media channels like Facebook and Instagram – both of which have their online shops too.

9. Sell at markets or a pop-up store

Once you design and have the products produced, you can even sell them at markets or a pop-up store.

On any given day, there is bound to be a market happening in your local area. So if you have the time, it would be worth setting yourself up with a stall. There are also usually plenty of empty retail outlets around which you can hire out for a day or week. If this is something you would consider doing regularly, you should consider getting a Smartpay EFTPOS machine to help you quickly and easily process payments.

10. Become a freelancer

Another option many mums decide to do is to become a freelancer.

Sites like Upwork, Fiverr and Airtasker provide plenty of opportunities to do short-term projects for people. This includes everything from writing articles, graphic design and secretarial work to performing voice-overs, gardening and cleaning.

There is always a huge volume of work available, and on these platforms, you can earn anywhere from $10 to 100+ per hour. Alternatively, if you work on a project basis, a fixed price can be determined beforehand.

11. Write an eBook

If you love writing, then why not use this talent to write eBooks which you can sell on Amazon? You can write a book about any subject you want – whether it be instructional or fictional and you can publish it for free via Kindle Direct Publishing.

Need inspiration? Well, you are a mum, so how about parenting tips?

This article was written by Lucy Mitchell, Content Manager for Current.com.au | The Home of Australian Product Reviews, with editing by Kidspot NZ.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by Kidspot NZ of the website, information, products or services contained therein. All views are those of the author.

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