Moms are a busy bunch, yet many of us look for ways to make a little extra income to help supplement the family lifestyle. As children get older and are in school during the day, Moms look for part-time jobs, however, the hours don’t necessarily match up to the reality of school drop off, pick up and afterschool activities. Here are some part-time cash earning gigs that Moms can fit into a busy week!
Organizing
Do you label your kids’ lunches, sweaters, and clothing bins? Are you constantly shuffling through things to get rid of unwanted clutter? Then ‘Home Organization’ is a gig for you! Believe it or not, home organization is a service that many people are willing to pay for. Most of us don’t have the time or patience for proper home organization, so we end up being really good at cramming things into drawers and closets to make it ‘appear’ our home is clean. If you can organize said messy closet or drawer into sane order, then you can charge for this! The best way to start it to do a job for free (family, friend, etc.) and take lots of before and after photos for your portfolio. After you have demonstrated your amazing home organizing skills, contact friends and those in the community (NextDoor.com is a great place to advertise for local gigs). Realtors are also a great source for getting organizing jobs! Many Realtors often have seniors or Estate sale situations where the homes are full of generational ‘stuff’.
These families desperately need help sorting, donating and trashing items in a fair level-headed manner. When quoting, it is best to assess the areas in need of organization first, and then give your best estimate in hours. Make sure that your clients understand that your rate is hourly! If family members ‘slow down’ the process, then they will have to pay for it. Also remember to include fees for possible trash/debris hauling, and get your Rolodex prepped with numbers of local charity organizations that will pick up items (furniture, appliances, clothing). Don’t forget that broken tech or TV will have to go to electronic recycling and there is also often a fee for this.
Lyft/Uber
A recent survey of Lyft and Uber show that drivers make about $15-17.50 an hour. Using your car to pick up fares during the day is a great way to fill in free hours. If you target certain areas or events, you’ll also benefit from surge fares. Special events like marathons and conventions will increase rates, and that means you can work less yet paid more. Daytime driving also typically means that you are less likely to pick up drunk passengers, as you might encounter more in the evening hours. Late-night passengers needing to get home from bars present of a higher risk of getting sick in your car, however. Uber and Lyft will help cover your cost of getting the car cleaned if that happens, but who wants that? Yuck.
Amazon Delivery
Delivering packages for Amazon is another way to pick up some cash during spare hours, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Using your own car, you would go to your assigned Amazon facility, and with their Flex App, do everything from scanning packages at a pickup center, to figuring out what routes to take, to ultimately confirming that an order has been delivered — which includes taking photos of packages left at a doorstep. Shifts and package delivery can vary though. Fifteen packages per hour was the average workload, so if you’re working a 3-hour shift, that’s a lot of stops! However, you can wear what you want and be your own boss when deciding when to actually pick up hours. It’s best if you are already familiar with your delivery area. Although Amazon has an algorithm to condense stops, it’s easier if you know your way around in case of unforeseen obstacles like road work or accidents.
Consulting
Most of us had lives before kids, and many of us were professionally trained in a vocation other than being a Mom! Consulting work is a great way to pick up some hours of work and again, you’re the boss so you can choose your own hours. Were you previously a registered dietician? Branch out and teach educational or cooking classes for other moms on ‘healthy meals for kids’. Did you own your own business before kids? Help others looking to start their own business and offer to be a ‘launch consultant’.
Pet Care/Home Care
Pet care, home watch, and even plant care are all great options for busy moms looking to pick up some extra work hours. Keep your ears open at PTA meetings, or post to a local community Facebook group to advertise your services. It’s best if you can have some testimonials under your belt, so volunteer for a few jobs to build your resume. Some people are simply looking for someone to walk their dog mid-day – not such a bad gig! Fresh air and puppies! If you have additional training as a nurse or home health aide, job opportunities are currently plentiful. With a huge aging population of boomers, more and more home health caregivers will be needed. Some will need to provide actual health care duties, while some seniors will simply need help with basic home care services (light cleaning, carrying in heavy packages, putting this away, laundry, assisance with mailing things, etc.)
you are working from home, you will most likely need a business tax license and be subject to other self-employment taxes. City business licenses are typically inexpensive (less than $50 a year), but it is required.
