The Best Side Hustle Ideas for UK Mums & How to Get Started

Inside: The Best Side Hustle Ideas for UK Mums & How to get started. Collaborative post.

If you are a stay at home mum and are looking for ways to make some extra cash then you’re in the right place. There are so many amazing ways you can make money these days – lots from the comfort of your own home! And with higher energy bills causing us all to feel the pinch, side hustles are a great way to ease the pressure.

Side hustles are flexible ways of making money that you can fit around your day to day life. Working while the kids are asleep or in school so that you are able to be there for them when they need you. From blogging to selling crafts, there is something out there to suit everyone.

In this post I will go through various side hustle ideas and share how to get started. There are lots of courses you can take from home if you feel like you want to learn a new skill or have a qualification to add to your portfolio.

What is a side hustle?

A side hustle is simply something that earns you money ‘on the side’. The term ‘hustle’ has various meanings but in this scenario it means to work hard and keep pushing until you succeed.

Whether you have a day job and want to supplement your income, or you are a stay at home mum and want to earn money while you’re at home, there are lots of different options available to you. In both scenarios, the hustle will be done in your spare time, ‘on the side’.

Although, many people find such success that they often decide to make their side hustle into their full-time career. Something I did myself with my blog – I decided to quit teaching and use my online space to earn money so that I could remain at home.

How to choose a side hustle

With so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to begin. You may want to focus on the quick-paying ideas or the big money spinners, or you may prefer to do something related to a passion or skill of yours – it’s totally up to you!

Here are some things to consider…

How much time do you have?

If you want to start earning money quickly then you will want to choose a job that requires little to no training so that you can get started quickly.

You also need to consider how much spare time you have to devote to this side hustle – an hour an evening? Two? All day Saturday? The job has to fit around your existing commitments, but equally you have to commit to the job to make it work.

Another avenue to explore is becoming a reseller for printing services—a side hustle that offers a significant discount on products when you register. The Trade Printing UK reseller program allows individuals to buy print materials such as business cards, flyers, and banners at up to 40% off, enabling you to resell locally or online for a profit.

This can be especially lucrative if you already serve small businesses, freelancers, or local organisations who need custom printed goods but don’t want the hassle of sourcing them directly. By handling orders and providing great customer service, this program could easily slot into your routine alongside other home-based work.

What skills do you have already?

Are you a people person? Are you crafty? Good with numbers? Organised? When looking through the list of ideas, have a think about what skills you have to offer and what you are interested in.

You may have to try a few things before you find something that works or that you really enjoy, but if you can have a rough idea in the beginning you can save some time. A practical skill to consider is driving. Being able to drive can open up a huge range of side hustles, from cleaning and dog walking to childcare and mobile beauty services. If you don’t currently drive, learning with professionals from Jungle Driving School could give you the flexibility to take on more clients and increase your earning potential.

What’s the bigger picture?

Why do you want to have a side hustle? Is it to have something that’s just for you? Do you have a passion that you wish you could actually do full time? Do you want to earn extra cash while you’re on maternity leave?

Answering these questions can help you to decide on what to do.

For example, if you just want to have something to call your own, you might want to try dog walking – spending time with dogs, getting fresh air and having time to yourself away from the usual daily stresses. If you have always dreamed of being an artist, you might want to start selling your creations on the side to satisfy your creative itch.

If you like the idea of running your own business but want a proven model with training and support, franchising can be a great alternative to starting from scratch.

Extra income comes in all forms, so think of the wider picture and it will help you find a starting point.

Side hustle ideas

There are so many different options out there that can make you extra money – more so than ever before thanks to the internet. I have sorted them into categories to help guide you towards what you are looking for in a job.

Work from home

Work at home jobs are ideal for mums as they don’t require you to go into an office and you can work around the kids and your normal daily schedule.

Virtual assistance

With the world being connected via the internet, gone are the days where assistants were needed to be present physically. Many companies will advertise positions for virtual assistants and offer flexible working.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to tie yourself down to a contract, you can look for requests for smaller jobs that need completing, one off tasks that someone is willing to pay a virtual assistant to do to save themselves time.

Such jobs include; replying to emails, answering comments on social media platforms, creating content for websites or socials – anything that can be done remotely.

Freelance writing

Many companies outsource their content creation to freelance writers, so if you have experience in this field then it would be the perfect side hustle for you. And even if you don’t have experience, as long as you have a laptop and the motivation to give it a go, there is no reason why you can’t make it work.

Content can include website content, social media posts, reports, news articles and magazine features – someone has to write them and there’s no reason why it can’t be you.

If you are just starting out then you may want to build up a portfolio first, perhaps by starting a blog to showcase your talents.

Blogging

This is my area of expertise and something I am passionate about. Bloggers can earn a fantastic income with the right strategies and dedication. The key is to pick a niche that you can write a lot about. I write articles to help mums – just like this article you are reading here.

The income comes from affiliate marketing within posts, revenue from the ads that are shown within blog posts and from sponsored content commissioned by brands.

What do you know about? What do you enjoy talking about? Write it down and start making money from that knowledge and experience. Google is a big place – there is definitely room for you too!

The top blog niches for ad revenue are, in order as follows:

• Food blogs (by far the most profitable for ad revenue)
• Lifestyle / Mom blogs
• Travel
• Arts & crafts

Passive income streams

First of all, no income is ever truly passive as you have to work hard to get something to a point where it can work on its own with no input from you.

However, if you are willing to lay the groundwork, passive income can be a great way to earn money.

Examples include:

• Sharing affiliate links on your Facebook page or within blog posts. Once you have an audience, you can share your favourite products and earn commission when people buy through your link.
• Use cashback sites. Each time you buy something, go through a cashback site and earn money back on that sale! It’s basically like affiliate sales except the cashback site is the affiliate partner and they give you a cut of the fee they get from the brand.
• Online courses. If you have something to teach people, you can pre-record videos and create resources for people to work through a self-taught course.
• Downloadable resources (templates, photos etc). Make the resources once and sell them to the masses.
• Ad revenue from ads on your website. Writing the content isn’t passive but the people reading it and scrolling past adverts is, so build up those page views and get earning!
• Self publish ebooks. Lots to say around a subject? Write it all down and self publish!
• Rent out your driveway! Live near a station and have space for someone to park on your drive? Rent it out and make money from that space!

Online courses

A blog can help so many people and with the ad revenue that you can get you can make a decent amount of money. But another option is to use your voice to create a course around a specific subject area, to go into real depth to help those that need it.

People will pay good money to have someone guide them through a difficult time in their life and the good news is you don’t need any qualifications to do it. If you have experience then you can guide someone else through it too.

Perhaps you have dealt with allergies with your kids – could you organise everything you have learned into a course to help others successfully do the same?

Perhaps you had postpartum depression but used various techniques to work through it – could you guide others through that difficult time in their lives too?

Have you got an eye for style? Could you teach the basic skills in a course so that others can dress to make themselves feel great?

So many possibilities!

Social Influencer

If the idea of creating an entire blog is daunting, a great place to start is social media. Many people have found success through Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and most recently TikTok. In the past, people have tried to master all of them, but my advice would be to pick the one you feel most comfortable with and then give it your all.

• Instagram is great for sharing helpful content in specific niches such as food (sharing recipes) and DIY (upcycling furniture is massive right now)

• Facebook is great for building communities, sharing opinions and having discussions.

• A YouTube channel is great for more in depth videos around a subject. How to’s, routines, demos etc.. all go down well.

• TikTok is great for a variety of subjects but the main theme seems to be that authenticity is key. Be yourself and you’ll do well.

Once you have an audience on a platform, you will be attractive to brands who want access to that audience. They will pay you to share products with your audience in the hopes that they’ll go out and buy them on your recommendation.

Top tip: only ever share products you truly like otherwise your audience will lose trust in you.

Digital products

Why serve one person when you can serve many? If you can create something digitally you can market it to the masses and make a great income. You don’t have to charge much either – if 1000 people buy a printable planner from you for £7 then you make £7’000!

The possibilities are endless! Make customisable templates or generic styles that will work for everyone and you’ll have no end of customers.

Physical products

If you head to Etsy you’ll be inundated with different products and all of them started off as an idea in someone’s mind. Can you knit? Make jewellery? Bake? If you find have a skill or a passion for something then you can definitely use that to create a business.

If you aren’t sure how to sell on Etsy then there are many articles that can help you get started.

Drop shipping

Perhaps you have an idea for a physical product but don’t have the means to make it yourself. Drop shipping is what you need! You come up with the product and design and outsource the creation to dedicated companies.

Set up your online shop and start taking orders – the company will fulfil the orders for you, making the products and shipping them to your customers.

All your customers have to do is choose from the various personalisations/ slogans/ designs that you have on offer. Simple!

If you are a mom looking for a side hustle, consider using Gelato’s Print-on-Demand services to sell custom products that would make it easy to create and sell your own unique designs.

Buy and sell on eBay

If you don’t have anything of your own to sell, you can still make money by selling items. Plenty of people make money by buying items cheaply from eBay, Facebook Marketplace or from car boot sales etc… and then selling those items on again at a profit.

If you have an eye for spotting bargains then there’s plenty of hidden gems just waiting to help you earn cash.

Another great way to make a profit from items is to upcycle them in some way. There’s a great trend on Instagram right now where people share the process of furniture flipping – buying an old piece of furniture, giving it a lick of paint and making it look as a good as new.

If you have a passion for bringing items back to life then this is a perfect way to make a side income.

Data entry

This is a freelance type job that involves inputting large amounts of data into systems for the companies that require it. As so much is online these days, businesses are happy to outsource the work to people working from home.

You often get paid for the amount you process, so the faster you can type the better. Although they do need everything to be accurate so you need to have good reading and typing skills.

Survey sites

They don’t pay a lot most of the time but completing surveys for different research projects can be an easy way to earn money while you sit and watch tv of an evening.

Matched Betting

There is a lot of money to be made with matched betting if you have the time to dedicate to it. I am no expert but essentially you make use of deals offered by betting companies that offer £10 free bets etc… then you bet one way with that company and the other way with another company.

Either way you win with one (and lose with the opposite company) but you then use those winnings plus the ‘free money’ offered as a bonus to carry on the pattern.

This post by money saving blogger Katy Kicker explains it well if you are interested in giving it a go.

Set your own hours – with clients

The jobs above all involve working from home on your own at the pace that suits you. The following are also jobs that you can tailor to your own schedule but involve working with clients.

Beautician / nail technician

If you don’t want to be tied to a salon but you want to be a beautician, nail technician or massage therapist? You can always set up a mobile service or have clients come to your home if you have space. No major overheads, just the equipment and petrol costs to think about.

Dog walker

Lots of people got dogs over the last couple of years and so dog walkers are in high demand. Whenever I take my dog out I always see local dog walkers with multiple dogs off for their daily walk while their owners are at work.

You could even offer your services as a pet sitter for families wishing to go on holiday but want their pet to be in a homely environment rather than in kennels.

Childcare

A great way to make money if you are already at home with your own child, or even if they’ve grown up, is to offer childcare for working parents.

Many parents prefer a personal touch and so will lean towards nannies or child minders to look after their children. There are always shortages so you would definitely have people lining up to take up a space!

Cleaning / housework

Some people love it, some people hate it and plenty of people are willing to pay someone else to do it. Whether that is general cleaning or housework chores such as ironing – there is money to be made if you are willing to do it.

Funnily enough, some people prefer cleaning other people’s houses to their own! And who knows? What starts as a few regular clients could grow into something much bigger. You might even find yourself running your own cleaning business or owning a cleaning franchise in the future.

Organisation

A relatively new way to earn money is to help people tidy and organise their homes. Cleaners have been around for a long time and something people have always said is that you still have to tidy up otherwise cleaners wipe around the mess.

So what better service to offer than that of actually doing the tidying element too! Go in, get rid of clutter, create great storage solutions and improve your clients’ living space.

Home maintenance / gardening

Are you handy with a hammer? Dexterous with a drill? Plenty of people have neither the time or inclination to do various household maintenance DIY jobs and so would happily pay someone else to do them – might as well be you!

Choose your clients

The jobs above allow you to choose your own clients, within reason. But the following give you more control as you can apply for jobs that suit you and agree to projects that align with your interests and skills.

Social Media Manager

Have you been running your own socials for a while? Why not use your skills to help other businesses grow their Instagram account or Facebook presence? Small businesses can often struggle managing their socials, preferring to focus on the business side of things, and so will welcome the offer of help Social media managers with experience.

Once you’ve built up your portfolio with smaller social media accounts you can expand to work with larger companies, helping them to manage and grow their socials to support their business and build greater connections with their audience.

Technical Support

Your expertise may lie in the behind the scenes of websites and this is such a valuable skill. Can you understand website code? Do you know how to build and maintain websites?

There are plenty of business owners in need of help when it comes to running their websites so get your name out there, do a good job and word will soon spread from business to business.

Proofreading

Do you have a good understanding of language? Can you read quickly but thoroughly? Proofreaders are needed for all types of projects to check grammar & spelling and to check other details that may have been missed when a piece was written.

Projects might include:

• Books
• Website content and blog posts
• Academic papers
• News articles
• Graphic Design

If you have a flare for design and can use digital programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator then you can market yourself as a Graphic Designer to create things like logos for businesses. Bloggers love to have personalised headers for their sites and will pay for someone to create something that aligns with their brand.

There are so many ways to use your artistic talents – product illustrations, photo editor, web design, book illustrator and so much more!

Photography

Have you got an eye for detail? Do you always get complimented on the photos you share? There are so many events that require a photographer to be present and there’s no reason why that can’t be you. Start off small, shadow another photographer to gain experience and then spread your wings!

If you don’t fancy events, you could always sell your hobby photos for others to use as stock photos to earn some passive income.

Singer

Do you have an awesome set of pipes? Offer up your voice for weddings, parties and other events and turn those musical notes into paper notes you can spend!

Mystery shopper

Mystery shopping is a fun way to earn money as you get to go into various shops and restaurants etc and pretend to be a customer to then report back on the experience you had. There are rules to follow but you can pick and choose the assignments to suit your tastes and schedule.

Tutoring

Do you have an education background? Many ex-teachers become tutors as it allows more flexibility, the ability to choose your client and is less overwhelming than teaching a full class. It is something I have considered myself actually!

Coaching

I mentioned online courses further up as a way to pass on your experience in different areas of life. But perhaps you’d rather help guide someone rather than teach them.

Coaching is similar to running a course in the sense that you will take a client from point A to point B. But instead of teaching them a subject step by step, with them learning your way of doing something, you give them the tools they need to get from A to B on their own. Offering support and ideas of how to achieve their goals.

Personal trainer

A personal trainer is a type of coach too although their is a little more of a hands-on approach. Personal training will involve teaching clients various exercise routines/ techniques as well as perhaps a nutritional element to help them to eat foods to build muscle or increase energy levels.

The main benefit to a personal trainer though is the fact you are there as a coach, keeping their motivation high and giving them the accountability they need to succeed.

Completing a personal trainer course gives a qualification that allows you to deliver personal training sessions in person or online – an incredibly flexible side hustle! 

Doula

Do you want to help mothers have a calming and supported birthing experience? Unlike a midwife who is there for both the mother and the baby, a doula’s purpose is to support the mother.

You don’t have to be medically trained but you will need to do special training and work alongside an already qualified doula to ensure you’re ready to work alone.

Highest paid side hustles

There are some of the highest paid side hustles. Of course it varies from country to country and is based on experience but you can be earning £100+ per hour on the following:

• Tutoring
• Personal training
• Freelance work (graphic design web development & programming)
• Photography
• Blogging
• Online courses

As a guide, I earn around £2000 a month from blogging in the form of brand work, ad revenue and affiliate sales. I have friends who run courses and earn around £200’000 a year from sales. Someone in my family is a personal trainer and earns £200 per session!

Build up your reputation and the sky is the limit!

How to get started

• Advertise your services. You absolutely have to get the word out about the service you are offering. Share posts on your social media, hand out flyers in town, take out an ad in the paper – whatever you feel will best attract customers.
• Create a website. If appropriate, set up a website where people can read more about you. You’ll need a domain name (www.whatkatysaid.com is mine) to send people to and a page with all of your information and the services/ products you provide.
• Share your skills. Can you show off your skills? Take photos of your products, share success stories, client testimonials… anything that gives people an idea of the sort of thing they can expect from you. For professional freelance roles, it is also worth taking the time to make a resume that clearly translates your experience into marketable skills for potential clients.
• Take a course. If you feel a qualification will help you to feel more confident in selling yourself and give more of a professional feel for your clients, there are so many you can do – all from the comfort of your home too if you need!
• Start. Do it, today! Make the leap and have faith that you can make it work!

Courses to help you start a side hustle

With so many things, the best way is just to start even if you have no prior experience. But often times you might feel that you need some formal qualifications to help you stand out from the crowd.

Plus so many more at centreofexcellence.com.

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