Thinking About A Little Job? 11 Ideas

I have never been one to dream of an office job, or owning a big business. I was always happy with babysitting or weeding someone's garden. Something that comes straight from me to the person I see and socialize with face-to-face. Well maybe you don't fit into this category, but if you plan to be a stay-at-home mom, you may end up becoming a little entrepreneur. I don't know alot of homemakers personally, but the world of blogging has opened me up to new people and quite a few of them are entrepreneurs in one way or another.

I'm not saying that you have to have a job when you have a family, I'm sure it's not for everyone, but what this post is really about is how to help you make a little money while you are waiting for that prince charming to come. Over the past year especially I realized that there are more small job options than just babysitting and selling lemonade, so I would like to share some of them with you.

I will share these few verses which are well-known among fellow women, both young and old.

"She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight. She is like merchant ships; she brings her food from afar. She rises also while it is still night and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She senses that her gain is good; her lamp does not go out at night."

~ Proverbs 31:13-18

1. Babysitting. Let's just get this one out of the way right off. We all know what this is ;-)

2. Nannying or Daycare. Let's also get this one out of the way. Although you might say "that's the same as the first one", they're not. They're both a step further. Both of these you generally make a little more money. Daycare can be done in the comfort of your own home. Nannying can provide you with a casual job, plus a place to stay and meals payed. There are so many options for nannying, and not all positions are looking for a certified nanny. Take a look and see what you can find in your area.

3. Farmers Market. This is a new-found fun thing our family has found. Prices per spot vary alot from town to town, but you can sell all sorts of things here. You can sell produce from your garden, eggs, home-made baked goods, jewelry, stuffed animals, dog/cat toys, dog/cat/horse treats, composting worms (they are easy to raise once you know what you're doing), bags of finished compost, quilts, pillows, salves, lip balms, soaps, skirts, leather-craft, pottery, doll clothes, baby clothes, instrument straps, hand-made instruments, wood-craft,  painted welcome signs, lemonade, artistic hand-drawn pictures, hand-made cards, fresh cheeses, advertise services, etc, etc, etc!! The list goes on! Anything that is home-made or grew in the garden, you can sell (though some restrictions apply depending on the market).

Plants for sale at a local farmer's market.

4. House-sitting. Being a young adult "without responsibility" and a regular job, I have been asked a couple times now to house-sit for friends. In my experience it's pretty easy.: feed their animals, watch their tv, sleep in their beds, watch their tv, use their computers. In fact, it's a great time to bring something else along that you can get done. Then at the end of the week you'll get a nice sum of money. I would suggest only providing this service to people you know though so you know it's a safe environment.

5. Pet-sitting. This you can advertise at whatever distance you are willing to travel and whatever distance the owners are willing to pay. You may find people here and there who do dog and cat sitting, but try to broaden your scopes and do livestock too. Your customers will be so happy to find someone who can handle feeding 20 head of cattle (or the like) and you will also get a bit more money at the end than if it was just 2 dogs and 1 cat.

6.  Music lessons. This takes a bit more experience, but if you know the technicalities of and are able to sing or play an instrument well, you can try this out. If you sing or play you have probably taken lessons and seen the prices. Put up signs in local buildings giving contact info, ages and gender(s) you teach, price, and level you teach. You can also give group discounts or discounts for kids.

7. New-mom nanny. I'm not sure what to call this but I've always sort of thought this would be neat. I've heard that the Amish do it. What you do is watch the kids and do the house-work for a lady for a week (or however long they want) after a lady has had a baby. It's sort of like a Beulah (sp?), but you don't stay there during the night and you are just doing the nitty-gritty work - not teaching the new mamma.

8. Teach classes. This can go beyond music lessons and you don't always have to be "certified" or have a degree in what you are teaching. Check out your local school's community paper, your church, or the place homeschoolers in your area meets. If they don't already have options open for people to teach classes there while making some money, you can suggest it. A school in our area connects people so I, for instance, could teach a class on baking cookies. The school sends out a book with all the options for the season. People teach tons of interesting things through here. Like how to use certain computer programs (you name it, you can teach it), caring for animals, canning, baking, cake decorating, sewing, knitting, backpacking, starting your own business, making your house all solar, collecting rainwater, painting, drawing, wild-edible plant gathering, writing good essays, etc, etc, etc. Pretty much anything you know enough about, you can teach.

9. Blogging. I never really knew much about this before I started browsing blogs, but I'm seeing things about it. I'm no expert, and haven't taken the plunge with my own young blog myself, but I know there are plenty of ladies out there who make money via great advertisers on their blog. I have heard alot of good things about Mrs. Fuentes, a blog advertising consultant. I'm not affiliated with her in any way (currently anyway), but you should check her out.

10. Sell on Etsy. Use this site to promote and sell your hand-crafted products to people far and wide. I won't go into detail since many people know about this website, but this can be a great way to get your products distributed nationally. It can also help your business to grow.

11. Your choice! This is for you to be creative and fill in. What do you think is a good thing to add to this list? Help us out. Give me and the readers another idea.

Remember, no matter what you do, whether a job or anything else, do it well. More than one wise person has told me this and it is true. The customers are 10x more thankful they hired you at the end, and you feel great about the job you did - plus you get to be a little extra blessing to someone.

"The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, for his hands refuse to work; all day long he is craving, while the righteous gives and does not hold back."

~ Proverbs 21:25-26

This verse reminds me that, although these ideas are for making some money, don't hold back when you have the chance to give. Just because you CAN get money for it, doesn't mean you have to. Give someone a free tomato plant, two free hours of babysitting, a free class or lesson.  Show people God's love. Give and don't hold back.


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