It costs more than ever to raise a family these days, leading many parents to want to increase the amount of money they have coming in to afford everything their kids need. Instead of getting a second job that leads them to be away from the house more often and miss important time with the kids, a side hustle is an attractive option for Dads who need to bring in more cash. With the right idea for a side hustle, you can earn the money you need in a fraction of the time you would work a second job. Many side hustles can be done from home thanks to technology, saving the time and expense of commuting to a workplace each day.
Depending on the kind of side hustle you choose to do, you may end up starting your own small business or working as a contractor for another company. Each of these approaches has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on what your goals are. If you just want to make a little extra money to pay for a special gift or family vacation, a short-term gig working for a large company like Amazon or Uber might be exactly what you need. These kinds of work don’t usually require you to take any special action or seek any special license in order to do them. However, because the company you are working for takes a cut of what users pay, you may find the money you make isn’t enough. If you need a larger, sustainable income from your side hustle, you may decide it’s worth your while to start your own business. Depending on local requirements, you may need to get a business license, insurance, and establish a legal corporation. Working for yourself, you get to keep all the profits you make, but you also have to shoulder the expenses that come with owning a business.
Here are some side hustles you can start doing with a minimum investment to get started and eventually develop into a substantial second income.
Exterior cleaning related
Cleaning the outside of your home makes it look newer and nicer to everyone who drives by it, but few homeowners have the spare time and equipment to handle this task themselves. In addition to the actual house itself, the key parts of the outdoor landscape can get dirty and start to look worn, especially when the seasons change, and dirt and dust are spreading. One easy way to clean the front of the house is driveway pressure washing. This is a low-cost business to start up as it just takes a pressure washer, protective gear like gloves and galoshes, and some cleaning solution to get started, and you can start making money right away. In areas where the winter weather has just passed and spring is in the air, people are often eager to get the sand, salt, and dirt scrubbed away to welcome the new season.
Another enterprise you can start in your local neighborhood with little upfront investment is a cleaning garbage cans business. Over time, the large rolling garbage cans many households use to put the trash out each week can get dirty. Scraps that have fallen from broken bags or liquids that leak from holes in the garbage bags can end up caked onto the bottom of the can. If left unwashed, there can be a foul odor and bugs can be attracted to live in the can. This business only requires you to have a pressure washer or hose wand, and the tools to scrub the indoor surfaces of the trash can. If you have teenagers at home who complain of being bored, you can put them to work helping you on the weekends or during school breaks to earn some money and learn a solid work ethic.
Once you have a pressure washer and the skill to work it, you can expand to provide more kinds of cleaning services, like pool deck pressure washing. Homeowners who have a pool in the backyard need to clean it regularly to avoid mold and mildew buildup, and the deck is no exception. As part of the process of cleaning the pool deck, you may have to help the homeowners move any furniture, large potted plants, or pool accessories out of the way. Then, you’ll spray the cracks and crevices in the deck with pressurized water to try and dislodge as much of it as you can. Next, use a cleaning solution and brush to scrub dirt and buildup away before doing a final rinse.
Resale of Unwanted Items
An easy way to get started bringing in some extra income is by selling things you no longer use or need that are in good condition. Many families with young children find that selling second hand clothes is an easy way to make some cash, as babies and toddlers grow so fast that their special occasion clothes and shoes are barely used. Listing these items online for sale is easy, and you can either ship them out via mail or arrange to meet the buyers in a neutral place to exchange the items and payment.
Once you’ve gotten rid of all the unwanted stuff piled up in your place and cluttering your closets, you can move on to helping other people get rid of things they no longer need, a service more families are paying for instead of trying to tackle themselves. With a truck, some gloves, and garbage bags, you have everything you need to successfully start providing junk removal services. Some of the unwanted things you collect from people’s homes maybe be in good enough condition for resale, while others will have to be taken for recycling or to the dump. With time you can develop your eye so that deciding what to keep and try to sell or give away to charity becomes easier. If you find you have a knack for organizing, you can offer this service along with junk removal as part of a more complete suite of services.
A drain cleaning service is another side hustle you can easily perform for homeowners in your area. Using specialized equipment, you remove any dirt or debris stuck inside the drain. This removes any bad odor and stops the drain from getting clogged.
Specialty Moving Services
It takes strength and skill to work with a team of piano movers, but the upside is that this kind of skilled moving costs more than normal moving. You can charge more for successfully moving instruments, delicate things, or heavy objects. If you don’t have a large enough truck, you can rent a U-Haul for a few hours to get the job done.
Creative Hobbies You Can Monetize
If you want to turn your creative skills into a side hustle, consider how your art can become a product people can wear or decorate the home with. The popularity of farmers’ markets, artists fairs, and websites like Etsy shows that people want to purchase unique, one-of-a-kind gifts and crafts. You can use your original artwork or designs to create custom shirts in multiple sizes and colors.
Even metalworking skills can be turned into a successful side hustle. Create cute and funny signs that people can give as gifts or hang in their homes. As a custom metal sign maker, you can resell your work online or at local venues. You can include names, favorite sports teams, special dates that are significant, and other unique touches to make the gift one of a kind. Or turn your hobbyist welding skills into a growing art business, where you can sell pieces you’ve made of your own design or take commissions for pieces customers want. You can use your welding skills to create sculptural art, pieces of jewelry, and pieces of furniture.
DJ or Party Host Business
If you are known for your large music collection or tend to be the life of any party, think about becoming a party host or DJ. This job mostly calls for you to work on weekends, giving you plenty of time during the week to do homework and bedtime with the kids. While you may have initially invested in equipment like a set of speakers to play music on and a hard drive to store your music collection, once you have made a reputation for yourself, you can make good money while working minimal hours. You can partner with another Dad who needs a side hustle and has the skills to entertain at parties, like a magician, clown, or hypnotist to help both of you boost your local profile.
Delivery and Driver Services
Many parents make money by working for a delivery or ride-share service in the hours they have to spare. Working as a delivery driver, you can specify your own hours, the areas where you want to work, and how often you’ll take shifts. This level of flexibility is ideal for parents, especially if you don’t have reliable childcare or work shifts that are constantly changing. You don’t have to commit to your shifts ahead of time like you would at a regular job. You can simply turn the app on when you’re ready to work and turn it off when you want to be done for the night.
In order to work for delivery or rideshare services, your vehicle and license both have to be in good condition. You may want to check your automobile insurance policy to be sure that you are covered while doing this kind of work. Some insurers will require you to get extra coverage to be sure that you and any passengers you carry are covered in case of an accident. In order to make the most money from tips and good reviews, be sure to clean the car often and be polite and pleasant with all of your riders.
Seasonal Side Businesses
With holiday celebrations taking place at regular intervals throughout the year, you can anticipate the products people may need and capitalize on this need. Christmas is obviously the big holiday that comes to mind first, but Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and the Fourth of July are all holidays where people anticipate spending a lot of money to celebrate and have fun. Holiday-related side hustles can help you generate the money you need for the rest of the year in a matter of a few months, possibly less if you use online marketplaces to advertise to people all over your local area. With free and low-cost options to list your items for sale, you can profit from selling these items without having to worry about listing fees or other costs.
Even using old-fashioned methods like signs and word of mouth, you can generate a lot of sales with the right product at the right time and place. Summer treats like popsicles, ice cream, and snow cones are easy to sell out of on a warm day, particularly if you set up shop near a playground or park. In the winter, holiday treats, personalized Christmas tree ornaments, and bottles of homemade eggnog are just as easy to sell. As the reputation of your seasonal business grows, you can expand to offer a wider variety of products.
The best part of developing a side hustle is that it can turn into a full-time business or something you can pass down to future generations. Even if you choose to only keep it going a few years, working with Dad can create memories your kids will cherish when they look back.
