Side Gigs to Make Money Working from a Homestead

Working from home also means your schedule has more flexibility to handle raising kids, homesteading, homeschooling, and more.

Side Gigs to Make Money Basics: Watch for Scams

Unsurprisingly, work-from-home scams abound. To avoid these, consider two rules of thumb.

Rule No. 1: If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Scammers may pose as independent contractors or corporations offering fake remote opportunities. These often come as out-of-the-blue texts, emails, or phone calls, all promising vague but exciting work opportunities that can be done from the comfort of your home.

Never provide any personal data to these offers. Even clicking on the links can download viruses or spy bots on your phone or computer.

Rule No. 2: Never plunk down any money for the privilege of joining a “team” or company.

This includes many multilevel marketing (MLM) opportunities. Anything that requires you to purchase “starter kits,” recruit other people (often using high-pressure sales tactics) to recoup your investment, pay for training, or invest in products up front is likely a scam.

Yes, there are legitimate sales positions in which reps sell products directly to consumers outside of a retail environment, but these won’t have the red MLM flags waving in your face.

Forewarned is forearmed. The majority of scams fall into three categories:

1. Financial scams requiring fees, equipment purchases, fake checks, gift card fraud, and more.
2. Identity-theft scams asking you to supply sensitive information, such as social security numbers, bank accounts, passwords, etc.
3. Manipulative scams asking people to perform unscrupulous or illegal activities.

Ideas for Side Income

During the Great Depression, it was common for people to create jobs for themselves rather than waiting for employment. Women cooked meals and sold them outside factories or construction sites. Men did repair work for everything from shoes to engines. In this regard, flexibility helped. Those who were jacks-of-all-trades usually did better than those who were experts in just one field.

Developing freelance income is a matter of harvesting any and all experience, interests, and hobbies you have. Don’t be picky. Seize any (legal, ethical) means to earn money, since you never know where it might lead. The internet has transformed the ability to harness many skills without ever leaving the house. People have done everything from remote teaching to becoming an online travel agent to operating ticket sales to freelance writing.

For a more hands-on approach, it’s again a matter of employing whatever skills you’ve cultivated in the past. Have you catered? Fixed computers? Built crafts? Driven a truck? Tutored? Babysat? Are you clever at organizing, baking, carpentry, welding, or painting? All of these can be transformed into moneymaking opportunities. (Check out Turning What You Love to Do Into a Business for more ideas and tips. – Grit Editors)

Nothing has to be permanent. If a side gig isn’t your favorite thing to do, at least it’ll keep the wolf from the door and give you breathing room to develop something better. Often, it’s the intangible qualities that produce the most reliable freelance opportunities: a work ethic, meeting deadlines, being willing to go the extra mile, etc.

Financial Insecurity

Here’s the kicker about freelancing: Usually they aren’t full-time jobs. Many people don’t like the financial uncertainty of freelancing because they prefer the security and benefits of a full-time job. There’s only one problem: Full-time jobs aren’t as secure as we think. They can disappear in a moment.

Still, there’s no question a freelance lifestyle means your income is rarely predictable. You won’t know from one month to the next how much you’ll earn. For some people, this acts as an incentive to keep searching; others simply adapt and adjust their lifestyles accordingly. However, while most side gigs won’t supply a full-time income, the income from numerous side gigs can get pretty close – $500 here, $1,000 there, and pretty soon, you’re earning a decent collective paycheck.

It’s critical to remember that all part-time income is subject to taxes, and those taxes won’t be withheld automatically. You’ll have to declare all income on your taxes. Being honest and aboveboard with all part-time income is strongly recommended. The hassle of filing and paying taxes is far better than the hassle of an audit and fines from the IRS.

Livin’ the Side-Gig Life

There are roughly three categories of work-from-home opportunities (not counting standard remote office work):

• Production. Artists, crafters, and small farmers fall into this category. A glance through Etsy or a walk through your local farmers market will illustrate how people are using their skills to earn extra money.
• Information. If you have a passion for a subject, you can earn money by providing information online or in person (as a speaker or consultant). People use social media (including videos and podcasts), writing (e-books and blogs), and other online options for providing information for a price.
• Services. Those who have in-demand skills can often set up to work from home. Mechanics, carpentry, hairdressing, cake decorating, child care, sewing, welding, transcribing, editing, tech services, consulting – all of these have the potential to be done from home.

Of course, some industries are more regulated than others, so keep legal requirements in mind.

Time Management: Extra Income While Working Full-time

What happens if your current job leaves you with very little spare time or energy to take on another side gig? It’s more important to spend time with your spouse and kids, right?

Of course. Especially if you’re working full-time, the trick is to find balance. You don’t want to work an additional 40-hour work week on top of the one you already have – that would only leave you stressed and frazzled. But that’s the beauty of side gigs: You work those other jobs only when you want. If you lose your primary job, the side gigs can be ramped up.

Remember, working at home doesn’t mean you’re available for free babysitting, running errands, or other distractions. You may have to train friends and family to respect your work boundaries.

Keep in mind that many freelance jobs can be done at unusual times, which allows for the unique opportunity of working according to your internal clock. Whether you’re a night owl or an early bird, sometimes the bulk of your work can be done outside the 9-to-5 bracket, freeing up midday hours to handle family, farm, or other commitments. We’re all wired differently. Just because you’re working on your own clock at home, rather than your boss’s clock in an office, doesn’t mean a clock doesn’t have its uses. Give yourself the freedom of flexibility.

If you already work full-time, it’s better to develop any side income streams as very part-time at first. Don’t overextend yourself, but don’t neglect to plan for the financial cushion of those other gigs either. Believe me, you’ll thank yourself for those alternate income streams if you lose your primary job.

The benefits of side gigs and a freelance lifestyle are clear, either as a supplement to your primary income or as stand-alone income. Now, go forth and conquer.

Originally published as “Working from Home(stead)” in the November/December 2024 issue of GRIT magazine and regularly vetted for accuracy.

Patrice Lewis is a wife, mother, homesteader, homeschooler, author, and speaker. An advocate of simple living and self-sufficiency, she has practiced and written about self-reliance and preparedness for almost 30 years.