25 Side Hustles for Women and Moms to Make Money in Your Spare Time

What are the best side hustles for women? What can moms do to make extra money?

When people ask me those questions, I’ll be honest, my first reaction is … why the qualifier? There’s no reason women can’t run any of the businesses or side hustle ideas featured on Side Hustle Nation.

Why is this so important? For one, the wage gap is real. For every dollar a man earns, women make $0.82.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Whether you’re doing research for yourself or for a loved one, know that you have the power to increase your income.

In this post, I’ll share some of the amazing female entrepreneurs I’ve met over the years — and invite you to learn more about each of their businesses.

1. Mobile Notary Service

Mobile notaries like Kristin Barker Stauffer walk new homebuyers through their mortgage documents. The gig requires professionalism and attention to detail, but can be quite lucrative.

Appointments typically pay $75-150, and Kristen reported earning up to $8000 a month as a part-time loan signing agent.

(And she’s not alone — several other members of Side Hustle Nation are earning thousands of dollars with this side hustle.)

Check out some of the resources from Loan Signing System to learn more.

2. Reselling on Amazon

If you love to shop and find great deals, Amazon retail arbitrage might be worth a look. Profitable Amazon resellers like Jessica Larrew source discounted inventory from local stores, and sell it through the e-commerce giant.

With help from the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, Amazon ships the items to customers on your behalf.

Check out my full interview with Jessica to hear how she gets it done, or jump into her free Amazon FBA Starter Course to learn more.

3. Email Newsletter

Despite the rise (and fall?) of social media, email is still a juggernaut. Email is a daily communication tool for billions of people worldwide and no social channel can rival its return on investment from a marketing perspective.

One way side hustlers can take advantage of the ubiquity of email is to start a niche newsletter. You could curate the best stories on a topic of interest, share your favorite tips, or teach something you know.

Newsletters like The Skimm are big businesses with relatively low overhead. (I really like the curated/commented content model!)

For Codie Sanchez, her newsletter on “contrarian” investing grew from zero to 55,000 subscribers in 8 months, and generated $50,000 in revenue.

You can even get started for free with tools like SendFox.

4. Blogging

Blogging has long-been a popular side hustle for women (and men!), but I think the days of treating your blog like an online diary are over.

Instead, aim to create a helpful resource for a specific audience on a specific topic. For example, Katie Emery started KatieGoesPlatinum.com in 2018, to help women make a joyful transition from dyeing to natural gray hair.

By all accounts, that was about 10 years late to the blogging game, yet when we spoke in late 2020, she’d still managed to grow it to around $6k a month in revenue.

For more on starting a blog, check out my free video course or some of the excellent case studies and success stories on Side Hustle Nation.

5. Real Estate

With an estimated 10-11 million landlords in the US, rental property investing remains one of the most popular side hustles.

For women like Elizabeth Colegrove, it became a full-time focus. When we spoke, she already had 7 houses in her empire, and was transitioning some to short-term vacation and corporate rentals to boost the income.

If your local market isn’t a great investment, take a look at Roofstock — the marketplace aims to make it easy for out-of-state investors to get started with cash-flowing properties.

Personally, I like the built-in diversification and low minimum investments of a platform like Fundrise.

6. Flea Market Flipping

What’s one of the fastest ways to make extra money? How about the age-old business model of “buy low, sell high.”

Stacy Gallego is a master of this, earning several thousand dollars a month from her part-time product flipping business. She specializes in sourcing undervalued inventory locally, and then tapping into eBay’s audience of 180+ million potential buyers.

Among her favorite places to source are:

• Yard sales
• Thrift stores
• Facebook marketplace
• Local buy/sell apps (like Offerup.com)

Some of her profitable flips include a motorcycle side car, a collectible skateboard, and several Sleep Number Beds!

Related: Here are some of the best items to flip for a profit.

To learn more about this business, Stacy recommended checking out Rob and Melissa from Flea Market Flipper. Here’s a free training they put together on how to get started.

7. Custom Cookies

My friend Jenn Fei is a self-described “cookier.” With a cottage kitchen license, she creates awesome custom-decorated sugar cookies for a growing base of local customers.

Using Instagram as her primary marketing channel, Jenn commands prices of $50+ per dozen cookies, and routinely sells out in minutes of a new release.

8. Virtual Assistant Service

For mom-to-be Abbey Ashley, starting a virtual assistant service was her way of not having to go back to a job she hated after her maternity leave was up. Within just a couple months, she’d booked enough work to replace her old income.

Virtual assistants are administrative professionals who can earn $15-50+ per hour, working from home. Common tasks include:

• Email and calendar management
• Social media strategy and account management
• Customer support
• Data entry and reporting
• And lots more

To learn more about becoming a VA, check out the free video training Abbey put together. In it, you’ll learn:

• Where to find potential clients.
• How to make a full-time income from home.
• What clients are really looking for in a VA. (hint: it’s not prior VA experience)

9. Bookkeeping

If you have an accounting background from school, your day job, or just find satisfaction in making numbers add up, a bookkeeping side hustle might be worth a look.

Virtual bookkeepers like Kate Johnson can earn $60 an hour or more. What’s more interesting, is that (in US at least) there are no formal certifications required to call yourself a bookkeeper.

Still, Kate emphasized the importance of education for your own comfort level and familiarity with your bookkeeping software of choice. Here’s a free preview of the course she “credits” (pun intended!) with helping her get started.

10. A Local Facebook Group

With over 2.5 billion Facebook users, some of those are bound to be local! That’s what Melissa Fassel Dunn found when she started a group for her local community outside of Boston.

She described it as a place to share information and recommend local services. When we spoke, it was an “almost” 6-figure operation, monetized mostly from sponsorships from local businesses.

11. Selling Printables on Etsy

Julie Berninger started her Etsy shop, The Swag Elephant, a few years ago. She specializes in automatically-delivered digital downloads called “printables.”

Her bestselling product — which has earned over $1700 — is a bachelorette party scavenger hunt that can be taken on bar crawls. Not bad for something that took less than two hours to create!

Related: Drop Shipping and Digital Products on Etsy

12. Handcrafted Jewelry

Rhonda Newsome is a self-taught metalsmith who started making jewelry and other crafty items with an investment of around $200 in materials and tools.

Relying on YouTube to learn the techniques for this money-making hobby, it wasn’t long before Rhonda started going to craft shows with her mother.

At that first craft show, she made over $600, and has gone on to earn up to $1000 a day at different shows.

13. Pet Waste Removal

It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to to it!

In Michigan, Erica Krupin turned the poop-scooping chore into a thriving pet waste removal business. She relied on some savvy social media and local marketing to build a roster of 80+ recurring weekly customers.

When we first connected, she reported earning up to $50 an hour on her route! (She’s since hired some reliable “scoopers” to help out, and even expanded to a new location.)

14. Delivery Gigs

These app-powered side hustles are popular with both women and men, and are pretty straightforward to get started with. Requirements typically include:

• Reliable transportation (car, bike, electric scooter, etc.)
• Being 18 or older
• A background check

Once onboarded, you’ll be picking up and delivering take-out orders or groceries. Earning power is typically in the $14-25 per hour range, and you can set your own schedule.

Here are a few delivery apps to consider:

15. Sell an Online Course

Kelly Snyder “teaches women how to get dressed in the morning.” (Or at least, that’s how she introduced herself and her work at AdoreYourWardrobe.com.)

Her flagship product is a paid online course, but she relied heavily on free Facebook challenges to grow the business to “multiple 6-figures” in under two years.

To find out what you could teach, think of what people already ask you for help with? What are you a relative expert in?

16. Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is a great, low-overhead side hustle — you can use skills you already have and just need one client to get started.

For example, Rosie Greaves took her passion for writing and began earning $50-100 per 1000 words. When we connected, she’d quit her job to pursue writing full-time.

With so many websites needing content, there’s never been more demand for writers!

17. Consumer Research

Participating in online focus groups or paid research panels is a fun and interesting way to make extra cash. After all, market research is a $20 billion market!

My two favorite services that facilitate these types of studies are User Interviews and Respondent. When you sign up, they’ll ask for your profession and job title, as some of the highest-paying studies target employees in specific roles.

When I scroll through, most studies seem to pay in the range of $50-200 an hour. 

Note: If it matters to you, most User Interviews studies pay via Amazon gift card instead of cash. Here’s my full review for more.

18. Survey Apps

While these options don’t pay nearly as well as the more specialized paid research study options above, they are a viable way to make a few extra bucks in your spare time.

Here are some of our top choices.

18. FlexJobs

With over 50 career categories, FlexJobs is the leading work from home jobs site. You’ll find jobs ranging from entry-level to executive and freelance to full-time.

FlexJobs does charge a nominal monthly fee (save 30% w/ promo code FLEXLIFE) to access their listings, but you’ll easily earn that back and then some with one job.

19. Consulting

Sylvia Inks knew she wanted to run her own business, but wasn’t quite sure what path to take. “You’re great with finances, and have great research skills,” her friends told her.

Armed with that feedback, Sylvia started a small business financial consulting practice. She mostly targets customers locally by speaking at local events and showcasing her expertise.

One benefit of that strategy is what I see as a “triple dip”: she can get paid to speak, audience members or event organizers buy copies of her book, and attendees often end up hiring her for consulting afterward.

20. Local Experiences

Could you host a local food tour or nature walk? Michele Mattix had been teaching guided meditation for a while, but Airbnb Experiences helped her reach a huge new audience.

When travelers book a stay a Sedona Airbnb, the site suggests some local “experiences” to enhance their stay. Among those is Michele’s. When we spoke, Michele had hosted hundreds of guests — at $49 apiece!

21. After School Programs

May Najafabadi earned $12,000 in 8 weeks — working just 1 hour a day. Her series of after school enrichment classes teaching crafts and jewelry making were a hit with both kids and parents!

May explained there was a bit of a process to get on the school’s list of approved vendors, but this could be a great business to explore your creativity and work with kids on a very part-time basis.

22. Mystery Shopping / Field Agent

When I’m out running errands, I make a point to check the free Field Agent app to see if there are any quick “missions” I can tackle on my route.

The app facilitates quick product audit and mystery shopping jobs that generally pay between $3-12 each. It won’t make you rich, but is a fun and interesting way to get paid and test new products.

23. Website Investing

If you have an understanding of online marketing, buying a website that already has traffic and cash flow can be a quick way to make extra money.

In fact, for Stacy Caprio, this was her fast-track to financial independence. Instead of investing in traditional assets and waiting 30+ years for retirement, Stacy figured she could “buy” enough cash flow in the form of online businesses to support her lifestyle — at a much lower cost.

Do your due diligence — this model involves risk, maintenance, and upfront investment. But when established sites that earn $12,000 a year cost just $24,000-36,000 to buy, you can see how that might make an interesting and attractive path.

24. YouTube Host

There’s no denying the popularity of YouTube. The Google-owned video site is the world’s 2nd biggest search engine, which spells big opportunity for female content creators.

Among the women and moms turning YouTube into an income stream is Meredith Marsh. Her videos have been viewed over 6 million times, and the self-described introvert earns money from advertising, affiliate recommendations, and her own products.

25. Teaching English Online

Another popular side hustle for women (and men too) is teaching English online. For actress Anna Williford, online teaching was a great way to earn extra cash in the hours she had available.

With companies like VIPKid, you’ll connect with young students in China to help them learn conversational English.

Because of the time zone differences, this usually works best the closer to the East Coast you are — unless you’re a really early riser! Still, this is an interesting option if you have some teaching experience. Rates normally range from $16-22 an hour, depending on experience and some other factors.

The Best Side Hustles for Women: Your Turn

Which of these side hustle ideas appeals the most to you? Hopefully this list sparked some inspiration.

And if you’d like to dive in deeper, I’d be honored if you checked out The Side Hustle Show.

Any ideas I missed? Let me know in the comments below!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make an extra $1000 a month?

To make money quickly, freelancing or flipping products are your best bet. If you get one or two clients at $25 an hour, you only need to work an extra 10 hours a week to find that extra $1000 a month.

What are the most profitable side hustles?

The most profitable side hustles are ones that scale without directly involving your time. In most cases, that means something like selling a digital product like a course or printable, or making money from YouTube views or advertisements on a blog.

How can busy moms make more money?

Freelance writing, virtual assistance, graphic design, creating digital products, and participating in focus groups are all viable ways moms can make more money. Check out the full list on Side Hustle Nation for more.