200+ PROFITABLE HOBBIES
for Moms
This in-depth guide will show you over the 100+ best stay at home jobs and 100+ profitable hobbies for moms or anyone who wants to work from home.
I’ll share with you the crazy jobs I’ve tried and which jobs were successful and which ones were terrible. I’ll even share with you how I’ve been able to stay at home and make 5X my previous engineering salary.
The extremely helpful mini ebook also includes hourly rates for each stay at home job. The jobs below are legitimate ways to stay at home and make money. They have either been tried by me or by a close friend or family member.
Want to find the best stay at home job for you? This guide is your answer! 72 LEGITIMATE HOME JOB IDEAS
When I first became a mom I prayed to be able to stay at home with my little ones. Even though I studied for years to become and Industrial Engineer, and worked for amazing companies such as Walt Disney World and General Electric, I knew deep down, that my mommy heart wanted to be home with my kids.
But what I didn’t know at the time when my first was born, that I would miss my job too. I would miss the ability to bring in an income and knew my husband was under a lot of pressure to provide for us.
I was torn. I loved being a mom, but I also missed a sense of self. So I tried all kinds of stay at home jobs. Some were more successful than others, and some were complete disasters.
I finally found the best stay at home jobs for moms, and I fell inlove with it so much that I helped other moms achieve it too! Many of my students are making $1,000+ per month from home with some rockstars breaking $20,000 per month! Wow! But more on that later! Here are a few of the jobs I tried while being home as a mom.
ODD STAY AT HOME JOBS I’VE TRIED Teaching English over Skype – $25 per hour. Walking dogs – $5 per walk. Selling stock images – $19 per package. Make printables – $9 per printable. Sell items on Ebay/Craigslist – $10 to $100 per item. Written and sold ebooks – $7 per ebook. Launching courses – $9 to $97 per course.
JOBS MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY HAVE DONE FROM HOME: Offered virtual assistant services – $15+ per hour Direct sales business – $1,000+ per month Painting courses – $10 per course Proofreading – $15+ per hour Drawing journal spreads – $20 per page
HERE ARE REAL STAY AT HOME JOBS
We are so blessed to live in a time when almost the entire world is connected via the internet. You can create something amazing, and someone on the other side of the world can buy it from you!
As you read through this list, there will be many online jobs for stay at home moms. So while baby sleeps or the kids are at school, you can build your business from home!
And don’t worry, many of these ideas are great stay at home dad jobs too! My husband is now a stay at home dad – well, we’re both stay at home / work from home parents. And it’s ah-mazing!
If your dream is just to make a little bit of money from home, or to retire your husband completely, read on, because if I can do it, you can too!
If you have any questions or need help, shoot me an email at [email protected]
Contents 72 STAY AT HOME MOM JOBS ...... 6 BLOGGING ...... 6 GHOST WRITING ...... 7 HOME ORGANIZER ...... 7 71 AWESOME HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY IN YOUR SPARE TIME ...... 28 HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY YOU CAN DO AT HOME ...... 28 BAKING ...... 28 HEALTHY MEAL PREP ...... 28 GARDENING ...... 29 GAMING ...... 29 MAKING T-SHIRTS ...... 29 REVIEWING MERCHANDISE ...... 29 BEEKEEPING ...... 30 FOOD PRESERVATION ...... 30 BONSAI TREES ...... 30 COMPUTER TECHNICIAN ...... 30 HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY ONLINE ...... 30 FREELANCE WRITING ...... 31 BLOGGING ...... 31 WRITING ...... 31 VIDEO EDITING ...... 31 WEB DESIGN ...... 32 EDITING ...... 32 STOCK MARKET ...... 32 SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER ...... 32 CODING (DEVELOP APPS AND WEBSITES) ...... 33 STARTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL ...... 33 WEBSTORE ...... 33 SELL USED BOOKS ...... 33 TAKING PAID SURVEYS ...... 34 WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION ...... 34 PROOFREADING ...... 34 WATCH MOVIE PREVIEWS (INBOX DOLLARS) ...... 34 GRAPHIC DESIGN ...... 34 HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY FOR STAY AT HOME MOMS ...... 35 HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY FOR RETIREES ...... 36 BEST MONEY MAKING CRAFTS...... 37 FREE HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY ...... 38
72 STAY AT HOME MOM JOBS
If you fall in love with any of the work from home jobs below, you can easily turn it into a full time six figure business. I did it while raising three little kids – and you can too! It sounds silly, but all you need is dedication. That sole pursuit of your ultimate goal, that laser focus, that daily dedication – that’s they real key to success! BLOGGING
Blogging is flexible, easy and can generate income exponentially. There are mom bloggers making over $1,000 per month within a year, and some rock stars breaking $10,000+ per month. Blogging is also a great way to brush up your writing, photography or video skills. Not only is a great creative outlet, it can become a real business too. That’s what happened to me. After three years I was able to pay off the mortgage and retire my husband from his corporate job. Below is the plan I followed to start making a full time income from blogging. Download it for free!
Interested in learning more about this? Read all about how to start a mom blog here. Rate: $0 – $10,000+ per month GHOST WRITING
Love to write but don’t really want to manage your own blog? Why don’t you ghost write for large companies or big bloggers? All websites need new and fresh content. And if you know how to write, people would love to pay you for your words! Rate: $30.00 per hour
HOME ORGANIZER
Kon Mari any one? Have you binged watched the shows on Netflix? Aren’t they amazing?! If you’re a super star at organizing, decluttering and minimizing – people NEED you! You can do a virtual tour with a client and help them organize their messy pantry, cluttered garage or overflowing closet. If Kon Mari is so huge, just imagine the demand from real people needing personal help. Rate: $30-50 per hour
SELL BOOKS ON AMAZON
Do you like to write? Why not create your own ebooks? Amazon already has an enormous customer base that you can tap into. If you get a few great reviews, your book can do really well selling on Amazon. Rate: $34 per hour CREATE PRINTABLES
Are you a creative planner? Can you organize things visually? You could make a fantastic printable creator! It’s easy to use programs such as PicMonkey or Canva to create gorgeous printables. You can also use them to grow your email list as well if you’re a blogger. Rate: $10 per printable
CREATE ONLINE COURSES
Do you love to teach? Do you have a skill you want to share with the world? You can reach millions of people and change thousands of lives through online courses. They are easier than ever to create with platforms such as Teachable. Rate: $97 per online course
SELL CRAFTS ON ETSY
Are you crafty? Do you know how to throw a Pinterest party with things you DIYed from your craft drawer? What about selling those amazing unicorn charms or woodland creature paintings on Etsy? Rate: $10+ per handmade craft
TAKE ONLINE SURVEYS
This is legitimate. You can really stay at home and make money by taking surveys. It is really possible. I have heard amazing things from SurveyJunkie. But if you have any issues with them, send me an email directly!
This won’t make you a millionare, but it definitely can cover your monthly grocery bill! Look out Whole Foods, I’m coming for you! Rate: $0.50 – $5 per survey
IN HOME DAYCARE
You already have one or two or more little ones around you all day long. Why not invite some friends over and run a in home daycare? My sister personally did this when her children were little, and it worked out really well. There are lots of tax deductions you can claim by running a business from home. Rate: $25 per hour
MLM – DIRECT SALES
MultiLevel Marketing, or MLM, also known as direct sales – is a legitimate stay at home job. You can sign up with any MLM company such as Cabi Clothes, Mary Kay Makeup or BeatyCounterand have a business model ready to go. It’s a great way to get free or discounted products from a company you already use and love, and help others at the same time. Since I like to diversify my income, and I adore the products since they’re safe and effective – here’s proof that this work. This is my first check from
Beautycounter.
My cousin runs a full time business as a stay at home mom selling Mary Kay Makeup. You can work at home in direct sales as part of your money making ideas. Rate: $0-$3,000 per month
DO LITTLE THINGS ON FIVERR
Fiverr is a marketplace of services. You can do little and big jobs from home and get clients easily using Fiverr. Are you great at creating printables, designing infographics, making logos or proofreading posts? Anyone of these can be a great gig on Fiverr. Just browse the website to get a huge list of jobs you can do as a stay at home mom. Rate: $5 per gig
PROOFREAD
Are you good at spotting a grammatical mistake? Know when to use their vs they are? Maybe becoming a proofreader is just your thing! You can build a 6 figure business from doing this – even from home! Rate: $17.68 per hour
FLIP THINGS
My good friends Melissa and Rob have made over $100,000 while flipping things from amazing flea market finds. Wow! And they have three little kids – so goodness – if they can find the time to become successful flea market flippers, you can too! Rate: $5-$1,000 per item
WALK DOGS
Love puppies and dogs and all things furry? I did this and made $5 per walk. You can easily make a few hundred per month from walking dogs around your neighborhood. And the exercise and fresh air is a great bonus! Rate: $17.50 per walk
FREELANCING
Free what? Freelancing is when you find jobs to do for clients. Imagine writing blog posts for a big website, or creating inforgraphics for a lifestyle influencer, or editing videos for Facebook ads. In a few years from now, there are estimates that over 50% of the American workforce will be a part of the Gig economy. Rate: $15.25 per hour SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE CREATOR
This could fall into a category of Virtual Assistance, but every website needs image to promote their content. If you love creating graphics, images or have an eye or graphic design, then you can easily make a full time income as a social media image creator. Go here if you want the shortcut to learn how to do this – quickly! Rate: $16+ per hour
FULFILLED BY AMAZON
Also known as retail arbitrage, fulfilled by amazon is when you purchase something at the store for a cheap price, and resell it on Amazon for a profit. There are successful FBA-ers that make millions per year. It does take a bit of luck and skill to find cheap items, but very possible to make this your full time stay at home job. Rate: Depends of items sold
TEACH ART ONLINE
Are you an art teacher? Can you paint and draw and sketch? People will line up to learn from you! You can showcase your skills through YouTube videos and >sell more advanced techniques through online courses. What a fun stay at home job! Rate: $17+ per hour
BECOME A VIPKID TEACHER
The internet is so full of possibilities. With VIPKid you can teach English online, pick your own hours, and make up to $22 per hour! With over 500,000 students, there is someone you can help! They are also ranked #1 by FlexJobs. It’s definitely a great option. Rate: $14-22 per hour
LIFE COACHING
Nope, I’m not making this up. People do pay for life coaches. And why wouldn’t you? If you pay for a fitness coach or health coach, your life even more important. If you can help others manage their life, you can become a life coach. Trust me, there are even mom life coaches! Love that! Rate: $160 per hour
SELL STOCK IMAGES
Bloggers, influencers and large companies need beautiful stock images to use in their marketing campaigns. If you’re great with a camera, why not take and sell stock images? It is a fun and lucrative stay at home job you can do – and bonus – it’s super flexible with little inventory! Rate: $10+ per photo
NATURAL PARENTING
Are you a natural parent? Do you cuddle and co-sleep and carry your baby all day? Do you have tips and advice you can share with other parents to help them become natural parents? My friend Tracy sells natural parenting books and courses through her website. Rate: $10+ per ebook or course
VIRTUAL ASSISTING This is one of the best jobs for moms during school hours because you can work a few hours helping out others with their business needs. Most hours are during the day or late at night when the kiddos are sleeping and can be done easily from the comfort of your own home! There’s never a better time than now to learn how to work from home as a virtual assistant.
The great thing about being a virtual assistant is that it’s such a big umbrella for a variety of skills. You can virtually help someone with their email management, by creating infographics for them or taking stock images that they need. Basically anything in their business that is just taking too much time, you can help with! Rate: $15.00 per hour
FREELANCING Being a freelancer is another great work at home gig because you have the flexibility to say “yes” or “no” to projects that you want to work on. If you need a few weeks or months off to help with your children during various times, you are free to decide how much or how little you want to work. This is a super legitimate way to make money from home. This stay at home mom makes a full time income from freelance writing! Rate: $15.00 per hour
PHOTOGRAPHY Did you know that bloggers and other companies actually pay for great photography and stock images to use on their blog? If you have an eye for detail, you may be able to sell some of your photos for use on other sites! Rate: $50-$100 per hour
MAKE PRINTABLES Is creativity and graphics your thing? If so, I’m totally jealous! Mommy bloggers all over the world will be knocking down your door to get the cutest and most creative printables for their crafts and posts! Not only do bloggers use them to draw attention to their site, but printables offered also help to grow their email list as well. Rate: $10 per printable
ONLINE COURSE CREATION If you have a background in teaching or just like to research and write, creating online courses are high in demand. Businesses and other online educational outlets are always looking for online courses that are simple and easy to offer to potential customers. And it’s easy to create courses online with all in one platforms like Teachable. Rate: $97 per online course
SELL EBOOKS Calling all mom authors! If you like to write, why not try and create your own ebooks? Places such as Amazon are a great place to list them and try to earn some extra cash, plus with them being digital, you don’t have to worry about the overhead costs and worry of storage as you would with real books! Rate: $10 per ebook
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Have a love for Facebook, Pinterest, or anything else online? You may have what it takes to rock as a social media manager! Rate: $25 per hour
INFOGRAPHIC MAKER If you love graphs and charts and everything nice (ha, see what I did there!), then you may just have a future in infographic making! Rate: $80 per infographic
ETSY SHOP Calling all you creative moms! If you love to craft, you can earn some great money by selling those items to the general public! Rate: $0 – $10,000+ per month
CATERING No one can turn away melt-in-your-mouth cookies, so if you have that gift, it’s time to capitalize! Holidays and birthday parties are a time when everyone wants those sweets so it can be an easy way to make money from home as a mom. I know I’ve personally paid my friend to cater the cupcakes to my daughter’s birthday. Thank you Christine!! Rate: $15.25 per hour
BABYSITTER Whether you decide to run an in-home daycare or not, there are always parents looking for help during random times so that they can work or go out. This may be one of the easiest ways to be making money from home. Rate: $13.44 per hour
DATA ENTRY This is one work at home job that can be done online for various businesses with ease. Plus, you can do this job at random times that work around your schedule as well. Rate: $13.07 per hour
REAL ESTATE AGENT Selling home and giving tours doesn’t mean that you can’t work from home! In fact, being a real estate agent is one of many legit ways to make money from home. Rate: $23.00 per hour
DROPSHIP Learning how to dropship effectively can actually be a really lucrative job. If you have the time and energy, this is one of the best ways to make extra money. It is also becoming more and more popular. And you don’t have to store the inventory. Rate: $0 – $10,000+ per month
WEDDING PLANNER Does anyone ever truly get tired of weddings? Being around people in love all the time sounds like a great way to make a living! Bonus – Pinterest is full of ideas so you’ll never run out of inspiration. Rate: $5,000+ per wedding CUSTOMER SERVICE All you need is some a quiet space and great listening skills and you could work from home as a customer service rep for a ton of different companies. This guy did it as his side hustle! Rate: $14.00 per hour
ONLINE TEACHER Who says that you have to physically go to school anymore to teach? There are many different ways that you can teach online now to a variety of different ages and school levels.
In college I taught English to two sweet little Korean children on the other side of the world! $25 per lesson was a sweet deal for a college kid. Rate: $14.00 – $23.00 per hour
MUSIC TEACHER Teaching the love of an instrument to someone in your community is a great way to earn some extra money in your spare time. Rate: $28.19 per hour
DOG WALKER If you’re already spending some of your days pushing your little one around town in a stroller, why not make some money from home as well and walk the neighbor’s dog?
My mom in law did this when my husband was a little guy. Rate: $17.50 per walk
PRODUCT TESTER Yes, it’s true! There are companies out there that will actually pay you to test and review their products. (If you find one that deals with chocolate, let me know!) Rate: $20.41 per hour
VOICE OVER Have a cool voice? Look around online as there are always different companies looking for voice overs. Rate: $20.00 – $100+ per hour
HAIRDRESSER Running your own hair salon from the comfort of your own home is an option as long as you have the space for it! Your friends and family will love knowing that they have you for all their hair styling needs. Rate: $19.95 per hour
TRAVEL AGENT Booking vacations for people sounds like a dream come true! Plus, interacting with people all day long who are excited about a vacation seems like a fun work environment as well. Rate: $15.10 per hour
HEADHUNTER Companies and other businesses are always on the lookout for great employees, and if you have a knack for finding them, you’re going to be in high demand! Rate: $45.00 per hour
WEBSITE DESIGNER Bloggers, businesses, and companies are always needing help with their websites. It’s typically a great paying gig for little time investment, especially if you know what you’re doing! Rate: $50.00 per hour
EDUCATIONAL TUTOR In person or online, you can tutor others in school subjects that they need help in. Skyping those who live far away is always a good option as well. Rate: $8.59 – $25.90 per hour
CONTENT WRITING Did you know that people will actually pay you for your words? Just put ’em on paper (or online) and let the money start rolling in. You can easily make $15-$1,000 per article depending on the amount of research required! Rate: $23.99 per hour
RECIPE CREATOR Magazines and other online publications actually pay for recipes and creations to feature on their site. If you have the skill set of cooking and taking great photos of it, you may be able to make some pretty decent income working from home. Rate: $17.89 per hour
COPYWRITING Love products, research and finding a way to put it all together for the general public to read and enjoy? Copywriting may be just what you’re looking for! Rate: $50.00 per hour
MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST Just how fast can you type? If you have the skills to type a hefty amount of words per minute, the medical field is always looking for more help!
You can make up to $60 per hour. Rate: $15.00 per hour SEAMSTRESS You never know how many people are looking for a seamstress until you offer this as your job! Jeans, slacks, and dresses often need to be hemmed and sewed so this is a job in high demand! Rate: $28.00 per hour
VIDEO EDITOR Believe it or not, not all videos that you see online start out in that perfect condition. If you have a skill set for editing, you may just have a lucrative work at home job waiting.
Just think of all the YouTube stars you can help! Rate: $29.04 per hour
EMAIL RESPONDER Did you know that some businessmen and women get so many emails that they literally hire out the task of answering them? If you like to read, write and respond, look into this possible idea to get paid from home! Rate: $15.69 per hour
COMPANY TRAINER If you have the gift of being able to teach others, and are an expert in your field, why not contract yourself out to train others for companies? This is something that could be done in your spare time but could be a great way to supplement income for yourself and your family. Rate: $19.21 per hour
BOOKKEEPER Just how organized are you…If you like numbers and like to have everything organized and in a row, becoming a bookkeeper can be a great job as well! Rate: $20.00 per hour
RESELL ITEMS ONLINE Take a look around your house. More than likely you have items, toys, and clothes just lying around that you could sell for money. While your little ones are taking a nap, you can take pictures and upload to sites such as eBay to see just how much money you could get.
I know stay at home moms who make bank with this! I personally have made a few hundred from selling unwanted things around my house. Rate: Varies per item.
TELEMARKETER Having a phone job from home can be nice because you don’t have to commute anywhere to work. There are always companies that are searching for work from home telemarketers and surveyors. Rate: $18.00 per hour
ACCOUNTANT With your busy time of the year being during tax time, you could have a pretty flexible schedule for the others months out of the year! Plus, you can take on as many, or as few, clients as you want. Rate: $32.76 per hour
IRON CLOTHES While this may seem far-fetched, this is actually a service that many people pay for! They just drop off their clothes that need to be ironed and pick them up when you are done. Does it get any more simple than that?
And you can iron while watching a TV show Rate: $13.00 per hour
ON-AIR DJ With technology, you no longer have to go to a studio to be able to be on the air. If you have a few hours to spare daily, you can set up your own radio set and go “live” right from the comfort of your own home.
Tip: Podcasts are growing in popularity and could be a great way to create your own show! Rate: $23.99 per hour
NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST So many people tend to forget that newspapers still need writers, too! If you have a local paper in your town, see if they are looking for any new columnists! Rate: $21.69 per hour
SCRAPBOOKING ARTIST Did you know that moms all over the world want scrapbooks for all their children, but many of them never take the time to do one. Start your own business where you create those memories for them! Rate: $19.96 per hour
PAINTING LESSONS Channel your inner artist and teach arts and crafts to those in your community. Children and adults love to create, they just sometimes need that guidance to make it happen. Rate: $50 per hour per student
PARTY PLANNER Everyone loves a great party, right? How fun would it be to make it your income earner to be able to plan parties and events for other people! Sounds like a great way to earn money from home with ease! Rate: $30.00 per hour
CAKE DESIGNER There is always a need for cakes and cupcakes, and if you have a specific skill for cake designing and decorating, there is always a big need and market for this type of job. Rate: $10.67 per hour
JOURNAL SPREADS Do you love doodling in your journal? Are you super creative and have beautiful handwriting? People will pay for you to create pretty journal spreads! Trust me, I’ve paid up to $20 per page! Rate: $19.96 per hour
71 AWESOME HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY IN YOUR SPARE TIME
Hobbies are a wonderful way to occupy your free time. Participating in hobbies offers many benefits. But what if you could turn your hobby into a side income? There are many hobbies that make money you can do at home in your free time.
HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY YOU CAN DO AT HOME Sometimes you need something that you can do not just from home, but staying at home. BAKING
Baking may sound like a pretty ordinary hobby and you may be wondering how baking could be a hobby that makes money. Baking takes time – time that not everyone has. Many people will happily pay you to bake a birthday cake or some cookies for a special occasion. You could also sell things such as fresh bread and rolls around the holidays. HEALTHY MEAL PREP
Many people are trying to eat healthily, but sometimes they just don’t have the time to prep lunches for the week. If you have the time and the cooking skills, you can sell healthy pre-prepared meals for people that need something quick.
GARDENING
Nothing tastes quite like a homegrown tomato. Even a single plant in a container can yield many fruits. There is a growing demand for fresh produce both from local restaurants and through local farmers markets. You can not only grow your own vegetables to feed your family but make a little extra money from this fun hobby as well. GAMING
Why you may ask, is gaming on a list of hobbies that make money? Many gamers broadcast on platforms like Twitch and Youtube. They talk about gear, how to do certain obstacles, puzzles, and dungeons, or simply live stream with commentary as they play. They grow a following and monetize in much the same way that other YouTubers, vloggers, and bloggers do. MAKING T-SHIRTS
You can screen print t-shirts at home. You can also do iron-on transfers to shirts and other apparel at home. Other people can submit designs to you or you can try making some from your own designs to sell. REVIEWING MERCHANDISE
People like to know what they are getting, especially if the item is expensive. They want to know if the item is good quality and does what it says it will do. Reviewing things can be a good way to make money because you can get sponsors to pay you for exhibiting and reviewing their products. This usually takes the form of doing an unboxing video on YouTube or writing a blog post. BEEKEEPING
Beekeeping is a rather unique hobby that makes money. This gives you access to raw honey, which has many health benefits. FOOD PRESERVATION
Gardening is great, but the plants don’t last all year. However, you can preserve food and still continue to reap the benefits (and the profits) from selling the jars of canned food. Just make sure that you are abiding by all state and local laws for home canned food. BONSAI TREES
These are the cutest little trees! Bonsai trees are tiny ornamental trees that you can trim in all kinds of unique ways. People buy them for indoor decorations. If you have a green thumb, then you might try this usual hobby and sell your bonsai trees to make money. Amazon even has starter kits with everything you need to grow your bonsai trees. COMPUTER TECHNICIAN
Are you good with fixing PCs? Many people need help in this department. If you love fixing computers, you might consider starting a hobby as a computer technician to make money on the side.
HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY ONLINE Many hobbies that make money are online hobbies. These hobbies include such things as: FREELANCE WRITING
Are you a good writer? There are many ways that you can start your own freelance writing business and make money from your hobby. BLOGGING
This one is obviously my favorite hobby that makes money. I started Start A Mom Blog as a hobby 3 years ago with a goal of making enough to cover the mortgage. Now I have reached my ultimate goal and retired my husband! It’s easier than you think to start a blog and make money. You can secure hosting from Bluehost or Siteground for less than $5/month. WRITING
Even if you are not interested in freelance writing for other people, you can still make money writing for yourself. Do you have a book or ebook inside you? Check out my ebook by number course for a step by step walkthrough of the whole process. VIDEO EDITING
If you have ever recorded any type of video, you know there are some things that need to be edited out. You can start video editing as a hobby that makes money by offering your services to other people.
WEB DESIGN
In this day and age, almost every business has a website. However, not all websites are created equal. If you have some great web design skills, you may be just the hero that a local small business is looking to design their website. Many know they need one but are clueless on how to design a great looking site that converts. EDITING
Just as videos need editing, so do the vast amounts of writing that other people do. If you have the spontaneous and irrepressible urge to correct people’s usage of “there, their, and they’re” then you might consider starting a hobby that can make money as an editor. Plenty of people will say “thank you” for your corrections, instead of the eye rolls you get from your kids. STOCK MARKET
I briefly tried making money on the stock market. It did not go very well. However, many people enjoy trading on the stock market. As hobbies go, this one can make you money, but it can also lose you money, so be sure you do your research before investing a large amount! SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Do you love being on social media? People will pay you for that! Many bloggers need social media managers. A social media manager does exactly what the name implies -they manage social media posts on the blogger’s behalf. CODING (DEVELOP APPS AND WEBSITES)
Coding is a very techy hobby that makes money. There is a reason that there is an app for everything now. As people grow more dependent on their smartphones, apps are constantly in demand. Can I get an app that finds my keys for me? STARTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Starting a youtube channel is a hobby that goes great in combination with blogging. What starts out as a way to make a little bit of money on the side and have fun, has the potential to grow into a full-time income. I recently did an interview with Tasha, who is a youtube superstar. She shared her own journey along with tips on how to start your youtube channel and make money. WEBSTORE
From Etsy to Amazon – there are many ways for you to set up your own webstore SELL USED BOOKS
If you are wanting to sell used books, you have several options. Among the ones I know about are bookscouter, halfpricedbooks, and Amazon. Be sure that you are completely honest about the condition of the books, especially if they have a bit of wear. TAKING PAID SURVEYS
The most popular sites that I’ve seen for taking paid surveys are inbox dollars and swagbucks. WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION
If your website loads slowly, people will navigate away before the page even comes up. This means that people will pay you to optimize their website to run lightning fast. PROOFREADING
Just like editing – people want your grammar skills. When you write something, you are often blind to your own mistakes. We all need a 2nd set of eyes on our writing. WATCH MOVIE PREVIEWS (INBOX DOLLARS)
Inbox dollars is one of the paid survey sites. They also pay you to watch movie previews as well. GRAPHIC DESIGN
Most bloggers use opt-ins to grow their email lists. This is usually some form of digital product that they give for free in exchange for an email address. It can be something like a checklist, a planner, wall art, list of tips, a cheat sheet, or a calendar, or other type of printable. These will all have better conversion rates if they look pretty. If you have some graphic design skills you can design these for bloggers to save them valuable time.
HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY FOR STAY AT HOME MOMS
Being home with your babies is amazing, but often you need a hobby as well. It’s even better if that hobby can make you a bit of money.
• Flipping Garage Sale Finds • Photography – this one does take a bit of investment up front for a quality camera, but you can either book sessions with people or take photos to sell for stock images. • Illustrating and Design • Cooking– like baking and healthy meal prep above, cooking is always going to be in demand. • Fitness – you can become a fitness instructor and help others get in shape. • Pets – It can be very difficult to find someone to watch your pets when you are out of town if you do not have family nearby. Pet- sitting can be a great hobby that can grow into a business. You could also do obedience training or dog walking. • Babysitting • Direct Selling Direct selling for a hobby that makes money usually involves working for a company and selling their products from your home. You may be familiar with some of these companies such as Avon, Limelight, Rodan and Fields, and Paparazzi Jewelry. Check out my guide for how to grow your direct sales business quickly! • Event Planning Do you love planning out events? Are the showers and birthday parties that you throw always over the top with coordinating decor and cute themed everything? You may have a knack for event planning. You can easily turn your talent into a hobby that makes money as well as help relieve stress on others.
HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY FOR RETIREES
• Travel – If you have a travel blog, or are good at travel hacking, this hobby can actually end up making you money instead of costing money. • Carpentry • Refereeing – kids sports always need referees for their games. This is a great hobby that makes money if you love sports and kids • Auto Mechanics – Nothing is more annoying than being without my vehicle. Even if you do not like automobiles, plenty of small engines need repairing too. • Buying and Selling • Drive Others Around (Uber/Lyft) • Catering • Fishing – Private fishing guides hire out for several hundred dollars per trip. • Handyman/Odd jobs • Auto Detailing • Teaching/Performing Magic • Upholstery • Product Innovation – Do you have an inner Mr. Wizard? Do you like coming up with unique ideas to solve problems? You might try your hand at inventing.
BEST MONEY MAKING CRAFTS
• Painting • Do you have talent with a brush and canvas? You can sell your artwork online or at a local flea market or other venues. • Woodworking • Woodburning • Have you seen what people can do with this beautiful hobby? I must say, the results can be astounding. • Making Pet Clothing • Making gourmet pet treats • Flower Arranging • Candle Making • Who does not love scented candles? They are fairly easy to make and you can get started for less than $30 with a starter kit from Amazon. • Soap Making • Like candle making, soap making is increasing in popularity. It’s fairly easy to make, smells great and makes great gifts. It’s also something that’s fairly easy to market both online or through a local venue. A starter soap making kit from Amazon will run you about $15. • Sign Making • Cricut Crafts • Cricut machine is a die cutting machine. They are extremely versatile and can be used to make all manner of crafts. They can cut designs from paper, vinyl, iron ons, cardstock, poster board and even fabric. Your imagination is the limit on this one and you can easily transfer digital designs from your PC or smartphone. • Crochet • Jewelry Making • Sewing • Some may think that sewing is becoming a lost art. However, if you have the skills you can do custom alterations for people and clothing repair. • Quilting • Again, quilting is a hobby that not many people know how to do any more. It’s very time intensive. However, a handmade quilt can sell for hundreds. What’s even better is that you can make it from scraps of material that you already have laying around. A friend of mine made a quilt for her husband for Christmas out of denim scraps that she got from cutting up her kids torn jeans. (He loved it!) • Leatherworking
FREE HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY
You can have a hobby that makes money without having to invest anything. If you have any sort of skill, you can probably transform it into a hobby that makes money by teaching others. If teaching is not your thing, then perhaps you could get paid to coach a sport, become a local guide, do a comedy act, or public speaking. • Music teaching • Comedy • Coaching • Public Speaking • Home Decorating (For Others) • Giving Dance Lessons • Become a Local Guide
THE LAST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOBBIES THAT MAKE MONEY If you are looking to make money in your spare time, your own creativity is the limit. There are many hobbies that make money to choose from. You may have to try several to find one that is a perfect fit for you and that’s ok! I tried investing and flipping furniture before I found blogging. Hobbies that make money are not limited by your age or financial situation. There are hobbies that you can try that require no investment. What is your favorite hobby or one that you would like to try? If you find one and you’re super successful at it, come share your story! Email me at [email protected]