I'm gonna be honest with you, mom life is no joke. But plot twist? Trying to make some extra cash while dealing with toddlers and their chaos.
My hustle life began about a few years back when I had the epiphany that my random shopping trips were becoming problematic. I had to find my own money.
Virtual Assistant Hustle
Okay so, I kicked things off was doing VA work. And I'll be real? It was perfect. I was able to hustle while the kids slept, and literally all it took was my trusty MacBook and check here a prayer.
I began by basic stuff like email sorting, managing social content, and basic admin work. Super simple stuff. I charged about fifteen dollars an hour, which felt cheap but for someone with zero experience, you gotta begin at the bottom.
What cracked me up? I'd be on a video meeting looking all professional from the chest up—business casual vibes—while sporting pajama bottoms. Main character energy.
The Etsy Shop Adventure
Once I got comfortable, I ventured into the selling on Etsy. All my mom friends seemed to be on Etsy, so I figured "why not me?"
My shop focused on creating downloadable organizers and home decor prints. Here's why printables are amazing? Make it one time, and it can keep selling indefinitely. For real, I've made sales at midnight when I'm unconscious.
The first time someone bought something? I actually yelled. My partner was like I'd injured myself. Not even close—just me, doing a happy dance for my $4.99 sale. No shame in my game.
Blogging and Creating
After that I discovered blogging and content creation. This particular side gig is a marathon not a sprint, let me tell you.
I launched a family lifestyle blog where I shared the chaos of parenting—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Keeping it real. Only the actual truth about the time my kid decorated the walls with Nutella.
Growing an audience was painfully slow. For months, I was basically creating content for crickets. But I stayed consistent, and after a while, things began working.
Currently? I generate revenue through affiliate marketing, collaborations, and display ads. This past month I made over two thousand dollars from my blog alone. Mind-blowing, right?
The Social Media Management Game
As I mastered my own content, local businesses started reaching out if I could help them.
Truth bomb? Tons of businesses are terrible with social media. They know they need to be there, but they don't have time.
I swoop in. I currently run social media for three local businesses—a bakery, a boutique, and a fitness studio. I plan their content, plan their posting schedule, interact with their audience, and check their stats.
They pay me between five hundred to a thousand dollars per month per business, depending on the scope of work. What I love? I handle this from my phone.
The Freelance Writing Hustle
For the wordy folks, content writing is incredibly lucrative. Not like literary fiction—this is commercial writing.
Brands and websites are desperate for content. I've created content about everything from the most random topics. Google is your best friend, you just need to know how to find information.
I typically bill fifty to one hundred fifty bucks per piece, depending on the topic and length. When I'm hustling hard I'll create fifteen articles and bring in one to two thousand extra.
Here's what's wild: I was that student who barely passed English class. And now I'm getting paid for it. Talk about character development.
The Online Tutoring Thing
After lockdown started, tutoring went digital. I used to be a teacher, so this was an obvious choice.
I started working with a couple of online tutoring sites. You make your own schedule, which is crucial when you have tiny humans who throw curveballs daily.
I mostly tutor basic subjects. The pay ranges from fifteen to thirty bucks per hour depending on the platform.
The funny thing? Sometimes my children will interrupt mid-session. I've literally had to teach fractions while my toddler screamed about the wrong color cup. Other parents are totally cool about it because they understand mom life.
Reselling and Flipping
Alright, this one wasn't planned. I was decluttering my kids' closet and listed some clothes on Facebook Marketplace.
Stuff sold out instantly. I had an epiphany: one person's trash is another's treasure.
Now I frequent secondhand stores and sales, searching for good brands. I'll find something for cheap and resell at a markup.
It's definitely work? Absolutely. It's a whole process. But I find it rewarding about finding a gem at Goodwill and making profit.
Bonus: the kids think it's neat when I bring home interesting finds. Just last week I scored a collectible item that my son freaked out about. Got forty-five dollars for it. Victory for mom.
Real Talk Time
Real talk moment: side hustles take work. It's called hustling because you're hustling.
There are moments when I'm surviving on caffeine and spite, wondering why I'm doing this. I'm grinding at dawn getting stuff done while it's quiet, then handling mom duties, then more hustle time after the kids are asleep.
But you know what? This income is mine. I'm not asking anyone to buy the fancy coffee. I'm supporting our household income. I'm teaching my children that moms can do anything.
Advice for New Mom Hustlers
If you want to start a side hustle, this is what I've learned:
Don't go all in immediately. Avoid trying to juggle ten things. Choose one hustle and nail it down before starting something else.
Work with your schedule. If you only have evenings, that's okay. Whatever time you can dedicate is valuable.
Stop comparing to the highlight reels. Those people with massive success? She's been grinding forever and has resources you don't see. Run your own race.
Spend money on education, but wisely. There are tons of free resources. Don't waste massive amounts on training until you've proven the concept.
Batch tasks together. This changed everything. Dedicate certain times for certain work. Monday might be writing day. Use Wednesday for admin and emails.
Dealing with Mom Guilt
I'm not gonna lie—guilt is part of this. There are days when I'm working and my kid wants attention, and I feel guilty.
Yet I consider that I'm demonstrating to them what dedication looks like. I'm demonstrating to my children that moms can have businesses.
And honestly? Having my own income has helped me feel more like myself. I'm more content, which translates to better parenting.
Income Reality Check
So what do I actually make? Generally, from all my side gigs, I bring in $3,000-5,000 per month. Some months are better, it fluctuates.
Is it life-changing money? Nope. But it's paid for so many things we needed that would've been really hard. It's also developing my career and expertise that could evolve into something huge.
Wrapping This Up
Listen, combining motherhood and entrepreneurship is hard. There's no magic formula. Often I'm making it up as I go, fueled by espresso and stubbornness, and praying it all works out.
But I wouldn't change it. Every bit of income is validation of my effort. It demonstrates that I have identity beyond motherhood.
For anyone contemplating starting a side hustle? Take the leap. Start before it's perfect. Future you will appreciate it.
Always remember: You aren't only surviving—you're creating something amazing. Even though there's likely snack crumbs on your keyboard.
Seriously. It's where it's at, complete with all the chaos.
From Rock Bottom to Creator Success: My Journey as a Single Mom
Real talk—becoming a single mom wasn't on my vision board. Neither was building a creator business. But here we are, years into this crazy ride, paying bills by creating content while handling everything by myself. And I'll be real? It's been the most terrifying, empowering, and unexpected blessing of my life.
The Starting Point: When Everything Imploded
It was a few years ago when my life exploded. I will never forget sitting in my mostly empty place (he got the furniture, I got the memories), scrolling mindlessly at 2am while my kids were finally quiet. I had eight hundred forty-seven dollars in my account, two humans depending on me, and a salary that was a joke. The anxiety was crushing, y'all.
I'd been scrolling TikTok to distract myself from the anxiety—because that's self-care at 2am, right? in crisis mode, right?—when I saw this single mom discussing how she made six figures through being a creator. I remember thinking, "No way that's legit."
But desperation makes you brave. Or crazy. Probably both.
I grabbed the TikTok studio app the next morning. My first video? No filter, no makeup, pure chaos, talking about how I'd just blown my final $12 on a pack of chicken nuggets and fruit snacks for my kids' lunches. I uploaded it and wanted to delete it. Who gives a damn about my mess?
Plot twist, thousands of people.
That video got 47K views. Nearly fifty thousand people watched me breakdown over frozen nuggets. The comments section turned into this safe space—fellow solo parents, people living the same reality, all saying "I feel this." That was my epiphany. People didn't want the highlight reel. They wanted raw.
My Brand Evolution: The Honest Single Parent Platform
Here's the secret about content creation: finding your niche is everything. And my niche? It found me. I became the mom who tells the truth.
I started filming the stuff everyone keeps private. Like how I lived in one outfit because executive dysfunction is real. Or the time I fed my kids cereal for dinner multiple nights and called it "creative meal planning." Or that moment when my kid asked about the divorce, and I had to discuss divorce to a kid who thinks the tooth fairy is real.
My content was rough. My lighting was non-existent. I filmed on a cracked iPhone 8. But it was real, and apparently, that's what resonated.
Within two months, I hit 10,000 followers. Three months later, 50K. By half a year, I'd crossed 100K. Each milestone blew my mind. These were real people who wanted to hear what I had to say. Me—a struggling single mom who had to learn everything from scratch months before.
A Day in the Life: Juggling Everything
Here's what it actually looks like of my typical day, because creating content solo is totally different from those curated "day in the life" videos you see.
5:30am: My alarm goes off. I do NOT want to get up, but this is my sacred content creation time. I make coffee that I'll forget about, and I start filming. Sometimes it's a morning routine talking about budgeting. Sometimes it's me meal prepping while sharing co-parenting struggles. The lighting is natural and terrible.
7:00am: Kids wake up. Content creation pauses. Now I'm in mommy mode—cooking eggs, finding the missing shoe (seriously, always ONE), prepping food, referee duties. The chaos is overwhelming.
8:30am: Carpool line. I'm that mom creating content in traffic in the car. Not proud of this, but content waits for no one.
9:00am-2:00pm: This is my power window. Peace and quiet. I'm in editing mode, replying to DMs, ideating, pitching brands, analyzing metrics. Everyone assumes content creation is just making TikToks. It's not. It's a entire operation.
I usually batch content on Monday and Wednesday. That means shooting multiple videos in one go. I'll switch outfits so it looks like different days. Hot tip: Keep multiple tops nearby for fast swaps. My neighbors must think I'm insane, recording myself alone in the driveway.
3:00pm: Getting the kids. Back to parenting. But here's where it gets tricky—frequently my biggest hits come from these after-school moments. Last week, my daughter had a epic meltdown in Target because I couldn't afford a $40 toy. I created a video in the parking lot later about managing big emotions as a lone parent. It got over 2 million views.
Evening: Dinner, homework, bath time, bedtime routines. I'm usually too exhausted to create content, but I'll schedule content, reply to messages, or prep for tomorrow. Certain nights, after everyone's sleeping, I'll edit videos until midnight because a partnership is due.
The truth? No such thing as balance. It's just managed chaos with occasional wins.
The Money Talk: How I Generate Income
Look, let's talk dollars because this is what people ask about. Can you actually make money as a content creator? 100%. Is it simple? Hell no.
My first month, I made zilch. Month two? Still nothing. Month three, I got my first brand deal—one hundred fifty dollars to post about a meal box. I broke down. That $150 bought groceries for two weeks.
Fast forward, three years later, here's how I make money:
Collaborations: This is my biggest income source. I work with brands that make sense—practical items, mom products, family items. I charge anywhere from $500 to $5,000 per partnership, depending on deliverables. This past month, I did four brand deals and made $8,000.
Platform Payments: TikTok's creator fund pays pennies—a few hundred dollars per month for millions of views. YouTube ad revenue is more lucrative. I make about $1,500 monthly from YouTube, but that took forever.
Link Sharing: I promote products to items I love—everything from my beloved coffee maker to the bunk beds I bought. If someone clicks and buys, I get a cut. This brings in about $800-$1200/month.
Info Products: I created a money management guide and a meal prep guide. Each costs $15, and I sell maybe 50-100 per month. That's another thousand to fifteen hundred.
Teaching Others: Aspiring influencers pay me to guide them. I offer consulting calls for $200/hour. I do about 5-10 per month.
Combined monthly revenue: Generally, I'm making between ten and fifteen grand per month at this point. Certain months are better, some are tougher. It's unpredictable, which is scary when you're it. But it's three times what I made at my corporate job, and I'm home when my kids need me.
The Hard Parts Nobody Posts About
From the outside it's great until you're losing it because a post tanked, or handling hate comments from internet trolls.
The negativity is intense. I've been mom-shamed, told I'm problematic, questioned about being a solo parent. I'll never forget, "I'd leave too." That one destroyed me.
The algorithm shifts. Certain periods you're getting millions of views. The following week, you're getting nothing. Your income fluctuates. You're never off, always "on", worried that if you take a break, you'll lose relevance.
The guilt is crushing times a thousand. Every upload, I wonder: Am I oversharing? Am I protecting my kids' privacy? Will they be angry about this when they're teenagers? I have strict rules—protected identities, no sharing their private stuff, nothing humiliating. But the line is hard to see.
The exhaustion is real. Certain periods when I can't create. When I'm exhausted, socially drained, and at my limit. But life doesn't stop. So I do it anyway.
What Makes It Worth It
But here's what's real—despite the hard parts, this journey has brought me things I never imagined.
Financial freedom for the first damn time. I'm not loaded, but I became debt-free. I have an emergency fund. We took a family trip last summer—Disney, which felt impossible a couple years back. I don't dread checking my balance anymore.
Schedule freedom that's priceless. When my child had a fever last month, I didn't have to ask permission or worry about money. I worked from the doctor's office. When there's a class party, I'm there. I'm available in ways I wasn't able to be with a regular job.
My people that saved me. The creator friends I've befriended, especially solo parents, have become true friends. We support each other, help each other, encourage each other. My followers have become this incredible cheerleading squad. They support me, lift me up, and remind me I'm not alone.
My own identity. For the first time since having kids, I have something for me. I'm more than an ex or someone's mom. I'm a entrepreneur. A creator. Someone who built something from nothing.
Advice for Aspiring Creators
If you're a single mother wanting to start, listen up:
Begin now. Your first videos will be terrible. Mine did. That's normal. You improve over time, not by waiting.
Be yourself. People can tell when you're fake. Share your true life—the chaos. That's the magic.
Guard their privacy. Create rules. Be intentional. Their privacy is everything. I don't use their names, rarely show their faces, and never discuss anything that could embarrass them.
Multiple revenue sources. Diversify or a single source. The algorithm is unreliable. More streams = less stress.
Batch your content. When you have time alone, record several. Next week you will appreciate it when you're too exhausted to create.
Build community. Answer comments. Reply to messages. Build real relationships. Your community is everything.
Track metrics. Be strategic. If something is time-intensive and tanks while a different post takes very little time and gets massive views, adjust your strategy.
Self-care matters. You need to fill your cup. Unplug. Set boundaries. Your mental health matters most.
Be patient. This isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. It took me half a year to make real income. My first year, I made barely $15,000. The second year, $80K. Year three, I'm making six figures. It's a marathon.
Don't forget your why. On bad days—and there will be many—remember your reason. For me, it's money, being present, and demonstrating that I'm capable of anything.
Being Real With You
Listen, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. This journey is challenging. Incredibly hard. You're operating a business while being the sole caretaker of kids who need everything.
There are days I doubt myself. Days when the hate comments get to me. Days when I'm drained and asking myself if I should just get a "normal" job with a 401k.
But and then my daughter mentions she loves that I'm home. Or I check my balance and see money. Or I receive a comment from a follower saying my content inspired her. And I remember why I do this.
My Future Plans
Three years ago, I was scared and struggling how to survive. Today, I'm a content creator making more than I imagined in corporate America, and I'm available when they need me.
My goals now? Get to half a million followers by year-end. Begin podcasting for solo parents. Write a book eventually. Keep growing this business that makes everything possible.
Being a creator gave me a lifeline when I needed it most. It gave me a way to take care of my children, be available, and accomplish something incredible. It's not what I planned, but it's exactly where I needed to be.
To any single parent on the fence: Yes you can. It will be hard. You'll struggle. But you're managing the hardest job—parenting solo. You're tougher than you realize.
Begin messy. Stay consistent. Prioritize yourself. And don't forget, you're not just surviving—you're creating something amazing.
Time to go, I need to go record a video about another last-minute project and nobody told me until now. Because that's this life—turning chaos into content, one TikTok at a time.
No cap. This journey? It's the best decision. Even if there might be crumbs in my keyboard. Living the dream, imperfectly perfect.