Congratulations! It’s been an uneasy 9 months and now you’re home with your beautiful baby. It must feel good to finally hold your baby. However delightful, caring for yourself and your newborn can be draining and expensive.
Unfortunately, some countries don’t require employers to pay employees who are on maternity leave. If you are in one of such countries, then you probably need a side job. Even if you get maternity leave pay, you can take the chance to work remotely and earn more money.
Benefits Of Maternity Leave Side Hustle
You can get the most out of your maternity leave by doing a side job and enjoying some benefits. Here are some things you stand to gain:
- Get money to pay bills and buy groceries while on unpaid maternity leave. This is important especially if you are a single mom.
- Add to your streams of income and be able to afford a higher standard of living.
- Make money from a hobby or take up a new hobby and make money from it.
- Upgrade your skills and learn more about a new field of study.
10 Best Side Hustles For Moms On Maternity Leave
You now know what you stand to gain from a maternity leave side hustle, let’s look at some of the best side jobs out there.
1. Tutoring
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Do you have a desire to teach but didn’t get around to it? Well, this is an opportunity for you to dive into your passion. The good news is that you can be a teacher online and offline.
There are tons of online tutoring jobs, you only have to look for one that works best for you. An example is VIPkid which is an English tutoring site for Chinese children.
You get to teach virtually from the comfort of your home without leaving your baby.
It’s free to begin tutoring, you only need to meet up with the requirements of the online tutoring site. Also, you can earn between $14 – $22 per hour. Let’s add that you’ll be working on your own schedule from anywhere in the world.
If online tutoring is not feasible for you, then you can do it offline. Get to run a home lesson for children in your neighborhood for a small fee.
2. Create And Sell Printables
A printable is artwork, graphic design, or text that you can download online and print. They include downloadable diaries, planners, party invitations, journals, stickers, coloring pages, etc.
You can create and sell printables on your personal website or through an online marketplace like Amazon or Etsy. It’s inexpensive and there’s no special skill needed.
Another benefit of selling printables is that you can still continue it after your leave. By selling printables, you can make up to $1000 per month depending on your product and pricing.
3. Freelance Writer
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If writing is your thing, then you should consider taking up jobs as a freelance writer. You get to work on your own schedule and in your space and also take on as many clients as you wish.
There are platforms such as Fiverr, Freelancer, and Upwork where you can get writing gigs. You can write articles for blogs and websites. The average hourly pay for a Freelance Writer ranges between $12 – $62.
4. Social Media Manager
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While on maternity leave you can make money scrolling up Instagram or Facebook. Think about this, instead of merely using social media for fun, why not knead yourself some dough?
Social media managers are people who oversee an organization’s online presence. They develop social media strategies and create quality content to facilitate customer service and run campaigns.
As a social media manager, your account needs to do well and have high engagements. This will give you a good chance of being hired. To boost your engagements, post great content or buy Instagram followers and likes.
According to Payscale, you can earn between $10 – $27 per hour working as a social media manager.
5. Online Surveys
Taking surveys online can be something to fall on during maternity leave. It may not earn you as much as your day job but you can get something good for the few months of your leave.
Your potential income from completing paid surveys online depends on the survey site. However, feel free to join as many online surveys as you want to increase your earnings.
To help you choose the best survey site that pays, here are some suggestions:
- Branded survey
- Survey junkie
- PrizeRebel
- Toluna
- PineCode research
- Opinion post
- Vindale research
- YouGov
- LifePost
- InboxPounds
6. Virtual Assistant
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A virtual assistant is an employee who provides different services to businesses from a remote location.
As a beginner, platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork can help you get jobs as a Virtual assistant.
The tasks you’ll carry out depend on your skills and area of specialization. This will also determine your income but as a freelancer, you can earn between $17 – $55 per hour.
Some of the tasks a virtual assistant helps with are:
- Administrative tasks
- Business development
- Email and Contact Management and Communications
- Travel arrangements
- Calendar Management
- Accounting
- Personal errands etc.
7. Transcriptionist
A transcriptionist is a person who listens to an audio or video recording and then converts it to text format. There’s a place for beginners but there are certain skills you need to have. Some of the skills you need include:
- The aptitude to type fast and accurately
- Concentration and time management skills
- Good grammar, spelling and punctuation
- Computer mastery.
Apart from these skills, you also need a good computer and internet connection. As a transcriptionist, you can earn between $15 – $25 per audio hour. It can even be more if you are better experienced.
8. Facebook Ads Manager
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Running Facebook ads is another way to sip from the social media cup during your maternity leave. With Facebook ads, you can run campaigns, generate leads and make conversions for businesses.
You can earn up to $29.13 per hour as a Facebook ads manager.
9. Affiliate Marketing
Partner with an online retail store and earn a commission when people buy their product through you. This is what affiliate marketing is about.
It provides you with the flexibility to take care of your baby when you need to.
The company you are affiliated with will provide you with a unique promo code or link. When people click on your link or use the promo code on the company’s site to make a purchase, you earn.
If you have a blog or website simply share your link and code with your audience. This is also a sure way of making money on Instagram as an influencer.
10. Photography
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Your maternity leave could just be an opportunity for you to do more with your passion for taking photos. If you already have a camera then this is a sign that you should try out photography.
Do photoshoots for family and friends. You can also sell photos on sites such as Shutter stock, Alamy, iStock photo, Etsy, and Getty images. A freelance Photographer’s hourly pay ranges between $13 – $145.
Finally…
You don’t have to stay penniless during your maternity leave. Many moms with newborns are earning to get the life they want for themselves.
If you are thinking of starting a business, then your maternity leave can be a great time to start.
