Best Side Hustle Ideas for Single Moms in 2023

3 Ways To Make Money Online

Affiliate Marketing

Be a Freelancer

Start a Blog

 

Being able to make money from home on your own schedule is something that any single mom would appreciate. Who wouldn’t want that kind of flexibility, especially when caring for kids on your own? 

Fortunately, there are many opportunities for side hustles for single moms that can allow you to earn some extra (or even serious) bucks.

With time, you can quit your full-time job and concentrate on your side hustle. Isn’t that the goal of most side hustles anyway?

I’m going to highlight some of the most lucrative side hustles for single moms that you can take up today. The best thing about these is that you can fit them into your busy schedule.

And, you can even make them your main source of income if you wish.

Top Side Hustles for Single Moms

1. Freelance Writing
2. Blogging
3. Data Entry
4. Proofreading
5. Transcription
6. Virtual Assistant
7. Customer Service
8. Selling eBooks

1. Freelance Writing

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is one of the best side hustles for single moms for sure. And while an advanced skillset will earn you more money, it isn’t a requirement in many cases.

You don’t need to have a degree in creative writing or a related field, and you can get started at any time with no experience.

Freelance writing is also quite flexible, and that’s why many single mothers are taking it up. You can do it at any time of the day, on the days you’re free, and from the comfort of your own home.

What Skills Do You Need & How Easy is it to Find Work?

If you have a passion for writing, it can be easy to get started on this one. As long as you have basic writing skills – proper grammar, spelling, punctuation – you can get started freelance writing asap.

The demand for freelance writers is also on the rise, which makes it a hustle worth pursuing. There are companies and websites looking for content creators on a daily basis, and you can easily find some gigs.

How to Get Started

When getting started with freelance writing as a side hustle to do from home, it’s a good idea to go for topics that you’re interested in. If you have prior knowledge or experience with the subject, all the better.

Choose a niche that you want to write about when getting started. You can then make a portfolio that showcases your work samples, which you can show to potential clients.

Single moms working as freelance writers are making a lot of money, and many of them have turned it into a full-time occupation.

How to Make the Big Bucks

As you grow as a freelancer, so do the rates you can charge for your services. And before you know it, you might be making more bucks per hour working from your laptop at home than you do at your day job.

But, keep in mind that you’ll need to be patient, determined, and confident in order to reach your full potential as a freelance writer.

Find great tips on how to get started as a freelance writer from scratch on this article.

2. Blogging

Blogging

Blogging is another popular side hustle that you can take up as a single mom. This too could suit you if you have an interest in writing.

Like with freelance writing, blogging requires you to create content on various topics. But, instead of writing primarily for other people’s websites, you’ll be doing it for your own website.

And this opens up a lot of earning opportunities that you might not have as a freelance writer. It also gives you complete control over what to write about.

How to be a Successful Blogger

While this is one of the most profitable jobs you can take as side hustles from home, it can be a bit tough to crack. To become a successful blogger, you’ll need to be patient and put a lot of effort in the content that you make.

There are millions of blogs online fighting for attention on search engines, so you need to make a clear plan from the get-go on how you’re going to establish a notable presence.

There are so many blogs around run by single moms that you can look at for inspiration. You can also join groups where you can connect with other single mom bloggers and get inspiration.

When getting started, it’s a good idea to begin with a topic that you’re conversant with. You also need to identify your target audience so that you can craft content that meets their needs.

How to Make Money With a Blog

Once you’ve identified what you want to blog about and for whom, you can then explore the different ways through which you can monetize your blog.

Some of the ways you can make money from blogging as a side hustle from home are:

The best thing about these money-earning opportunities as a blogger is that they’re passive. This means that once you publish your content and grow your traffic, you’ll be able to make money even as you sleep.

With a few hours each week dedicated to creating content for your blog and by using strategies to draw in more traffic, you can make a career out of it over time.

3. Data Entry

Data Entry

Data entry refers to a wide variety of tasks that involve the entering and processing of data, usually electronic. These are tasks that need to be carried out daily in most corporations and businesses.

What Does it Entail?

Tasks vary according to industry, which gives you a lot of choices if you decide to carry out data entry as a side hustle for single moms.

Many data entry jobs require skills such as typing speed and accuracy, language and listening skills, and basic computer operation competency.

In terms of educational requirements, many posts are open for individuals with at least a high school diploma. Many clients are looking for someone with good language skills and basic software knowledge.

Healthcare and legal are the two industries where many data entry jobs exist. But you can also find them in the finance, retail, and transport sectors.

Many companies in these industries are looking for remote data entry specialists as this type of workforce is much easier and cheaper to maintain. 

What Kind of Work Would You Be Doing?

Some of the jobs you can do from home as a data entry specialist are:

  • Word processing
  • Typing jobs
  • Captioning
  • Filling surveys
  • Copy pasting

Companies need data specialists to enter customer data, respond to emails, write emails, and transfer information from one format to another.

You might be required to fill out surveys that help brands to make better choices in marketing and production. Others need you to take care of administrative office tasks such as preparing reports.

Why I Suggest Specializing

When deciding to begin working in data entry as a side hustle, you can choose to offer general or special services.

As a general data entry worker, you’ll be able to take up all sorts of jobs available in the market. But as a specialist, you can focus on one task and preferably, a particular type of client.

Being a specialist allows you to build a strong reputation in one field, which also opens up higher-paying opportunities. It’ll also make your work easier since over time you’ll become authoritative in that field and can take less time to complete tasks.

Where to Find Work

Some of the places you can find remote data entry jobs today are:

4. Proofreading

Proofreading

Do you have an eye for detail? If so, then proofreading can be a great side hustle for you as a single mom working from home.

This is another job that needs good language skills. If you know the basics of good writing and sentence structure, such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar, you can give it a go.

What Does a Proofreader Do?

Proofreaders usually work on pieces that have already been edited. So, it does not require revising or rewriting entire pieces of information.

Your job as a proofreader is to check for typographical, grammatical, formatting, and such errors in a text.

Proofreaders can be hired by bloggers, freelance writers, authors, and editors. You can work on books, articles, news, and other types of publications.

A proofreader needs to go over every word and sentence in a text and ensure that they don’t miss any flaws. In essence, as a proofreader, you’re the last step in the editing process.

To become good at what you do, you need to be patient and have a high level of concentration. Proofreaders usually work with an editor who monitors their work.

Benefits of Being a Proofreader

Proofreading pays you to read, and it doesn’t require you to spend hours doing research or crafting content.

Most proofreading jobs also have high flexibility, and you can do them whenever you have free time from your computer at home.

If you’re uncertain about your language skills, there are tons of free resources online you can access to help get ready for the task.

This post contains useful information on how you can get started as a proofreader, with absolutely no experience.

5. Transcription

Side hustles for single moms - Transcription

Transcription is a job that requires you to utilize your listening skills. Basically, as a transcriber, you’re needed to listen to audio and present it in text format.

Your responsibilities include listening to videos or audio files and then writing down what is said, either in a digital or manual text format.

An example of an area where transcription services are needed is in the making of subtitles for videos. As a transcriptionist, your job is to listen to the dialogue in the file and write it down.

This text is later used to caption these videos.

What You’ll Need to Get Started & Where to Find Work

Transcription is a great side hustle to do from home because you can easily create a good work environment where you can work effectively.

It’s important to work in a serene area where you can fully concentrate on your tasks. So, you’ll need to turn one of your rooms into an office.

You’ll also need a high-quality set of headphones with noise-canceling features. Once you have the ideal work environment, you can start working on your typing skills.

There are a lot of opportunities available for transcriptionists on sites such as Scribie, 3PlayMedia, and TranscribeMe.

How Much Can You Make?

Earnings range between $15-$22 per audio hour, but it can earn more. Some sites pay per words transcribed.

How much you make depends on how much transcribing you can carry out within a certain period. The faster you can type, the more work you’ll be able to get done within a short time, and the more you’ll earn.

Skills You Need

There are definitely some skills you’ll need to be successful…

Listening Skills & Patience

To be a proficient transcriber, therefore, you need to have excellent listening skills.

You should be able to concentrate on every word uttered in the video or audio files and type it down. At times, you might need to listen repeatedly in order to hear exactly what’s being said.

Patience and the ability to pay undivided attention to your task is therefore a skill set that you must have in this job.

Speed & Accuracy

You’ll need to work on your typing speed to become a successful transcriber. Many job sites offering transcription jobs are also looking for people who can type at least 45WPM.

Besides speed, you also need to work on your typing accuracy. Otherwise, you might spend a lot of time editing your work or turn in subpar work, which will ruin your reputation.

You can check out this post for useful information on how to become a transcriptionist. Find out what it takes to become an expert transcriptionist, how you can become a high-earning transcriber, and how to do it all from the comfort of your home.

6. Virtual Assistant

Side hustles for single moms - Virtual Assistant

Many businesses and companies have an online presence these days. Going digital is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reach a target audience that now widely uses the internet to access all sorts of information.

This has made the demand for virtual assistants quite high. There are many tasks that a virtual assistant can be responsible for, so there’s a lot of options for you.

What Does it Entail?

All you need is a good internet connection, a laptop and perhaps a headset, and you’ll be good to go. The skills needed for this job are similar to those needed for most of the other side hustles for single moms that we’ve discussed so far.

Tasks for a virtual assistant can range from email correspondence to customer service to graphic design.

You might be required to write emails, format newsletters, and design flyers for marketing uses. Some clients may also need you to take charge of their presence on social media.

How Much Can You Make?

This is another job you can do as a side hustle for single moms that has a high earning potential. Virtual assistants earn an average of $67,000 per year according to ZipRecruiter.

Those on the higher side of the scale earn as much as $130,500 annually, so this is a side hustle that can become a great full-time job if you work on your skills.

What Skills Do You Need?

Like most of the other side hustle ideas you can work on from home, you don’t need any prior experience or a college degree to become a high-earning virtual assistant.

You can easily learn some of the skills required, such as editing, web design, customer service, and navigating social media trends, through free resources on the internet.

You need to be proficient at both spoken and written English and be an excellent communicator. Depending on the task that you’ll take up, you might also need to be conversant with various softwares.

Additional Benefits

As you hone your skills, you can decide to focus on only one type of task, which will allow you to charge more for your services.

As a single mom, you’ll love the flexibility that this job offers. With time, you can establish this as your business, which means you’ll have complete control over when you work and what tasks you carry out.

Check out this article for more info on how to kick-start your business as a virtual assistant from home with zero experience.

7. Customer Service

Side hustles for single moms - Customer Service

Many customer service agents nowadays work from home. This is because it has gotten easier to communicate with consumers through the internet or phone.

As companies grow their online presence, it’s also more convenient for them to hire customer care agents who can work remotely. This way, they can save a lot on costs that could have been used for office space.

Also, by hiring customer service professionals online, they get to choose talent from a large pool since they’re not restricted by location. For you as a single mom working from home, this means you can get a job with some of the best paying companies around the world.

And, there are many companies looking for part-time call center agents with options to work day, night, weekends, or a certain number of hours each week.

So, even if you have a 9-5-day job, you can still fit in a side hustle for single moms like this one into your schedule. 

What Does it Entail?

In terms of work equipment, you’ll need an up-to-date computer with a fast and reliable internet connection. You’ll also require a dedicated phone line and a high-quality headset.

Companies looking for virtual customer service agents value verbal communication skills. You should be able to communicate clearly and professionally with customers and engage them as expected.

Your tasks may involve giving out information about products and services, answering customer queries, and solving problems that customers encounter. Other jobs require you to provide technical support. 

You can also work as an online chat agent where you engage customers on platforms such as company websites and social media accounts.

Another popular customer service position is a travel agent, where you help clients make arrangements for vacations and other types of travel.

Where to Find Customer Service Work?

You can find flexible and well-paying customer service side hustles from home on the following sites:

8. Selling E-Books

Side hustles for single moms - Selling eBooks

Writing and selling e-books is another lucrative side hustle for single moms that you can pursue from home if you love writing.

This is a job you can take up as part of your freelance writing or blogging activities, or on its own.

E-books don’t need to be long, so don’t fret about having to write hundreds of pages in order to make sales. Most online e-books focus on a single topic and answer questions that people concerned about that particular subject may have.

Choose a relevant topic that you’re knowledgeable about to get started. But it should also be a topic that people are willing to pay money for.

Next, make sure that your e-book contains good grammar and is well-formatted. Once you have it ready, look for various sites where you can put your e-book up for sale, such as Amazon, Lulu, Blurb, and Payhip.

If you’re not sure how to get started on your e-book, this article has valuable tips to get you started and guide you through the entire process.

Final Thoughts About Side Hustles for Single Moms

As a single mom, a side hustle that you can perform from home provides you with more ways to earn at home and it allows you to have more time around your kids.

Many of these jobs have part-time options that can fit perfectly into your busy schedule. And most of them don’t have many requirements besides basic language, comprehension, and communication skills.

Whether you have some experience or none, you can get started on a profitable online side hustle for single moms today. There are many free resources online to help you get started and get moving, so you can take advantage of those too.

Start with something that you already have an interest in, and with practice, you’ll be able to identify the areas that you want to work in.

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Affiliate Disclaimer: I may (and probably do) receive affiliate commissions from any products I recommend or links I put on this page. My opinions are my own but they are truthful and I do my best to recommend products that I have vetted and/or purchased myself.