Simple Side Gigs for Single Parents
In today’s economy, everybody needs all the help they can get. This is particularly true for single parents who have to support themselves and their children on a single income. Fortunately, thanks to the advent of the internet, there are many different methods of supplementing your income with side gigs that provide a decent amount of money without requiring you to sacrifice too much of your valuable family time. Here are a few ways you can get started.
Design a home office that suits your needs
Before identifying some side gigs, you’ll want to make sure you have the perfect space to work. The aesthetics of a room can greatly affect the quality of the work you do inside it. Nearly a quarter of people do at least some work at home, and, while coffee shops may work for the occasionally gig, you’ll want a room that suits your needs (and doesn’t require you to buy individual cups of coffee!) while remaining accessible.
The best way to do this is to design your own home office. A good home office should strike a balance between comfort and productivity. If it’s too comfortable, productivity will diminish, but the design should still appeal to your tastes. Will you need to be doing conference calls, video chats, or even face-to-face meetings with clients in the office? This will help determine the general style of the room, and whether or not you need to keep it more neutral for a more professional presentation. What kind of work will you be doing? The cost of equipment, like a large color copier, can be bypassed if a quick trip to a neighborhood copier store will suffice.
Don’t install anything that will be distracting, like a television (similarly, work materials should be kept out of the residential portion of your house). Make sure you have a fast, reliable internet connection. Try to fill the room with as much natural light as possible – sunlight includes the entire color spectrum and can inspire productivity. If your office is an interior room with no windows available, or if you mainly work at night, you’ll need a mixture of task lights and general light. Keep in mind that too-low or blue-tinted light levels can decrease productivity and even cause mild depression over prolonged exposure. Finally, ensure that your office will have privacy. White noise, even from something as simple as a fan, can help distance the office from the rest of the house. Try to time your working hours while your children are at school, but be sure to establish boundaries so your children don’t run into the office during a conference call.
Research opportunities first
Always begin by doing your research. Many side gigs do not require much time and can even be done concurrently with others. For example, you can design a website while housesitting, occasionally going outside to walk some nearby dogs or deliver some food. If you do these duties during the hours your children are in school, you can potentially bring in over a hundred extra dollars a day while still being able to greet your children when they get home.
Types of side gigs
Some side gigs don’t require an office at all. Pet sitting, babysitting, and house sitting all are flexible, relatively lucrative gigs that demand a minimal amount of time, as long as you have a basic level of knowledge about your client’s preferences. There are also a number of simpler, web-based gigs that can be done anywhere with an internet connection, like web design, blogging, and freelance writing. Marketing, graphic design, and accounting all need some office space for storage, certain computer programs, and a base amount of previously-existing knowledge about the topic, but each can be lucrative if you have the suitable amount of experience required. While your children are in school, if you have a working car, you can drive for a ride sharing or meal delivery service. This can be time consuming in more expansive markets, but quick and simple in urban settings, and becomes even easier if you are already familiar with the roads.
The prospect of adding extra work to your already-busy schedule may seem daunting, but remember that you are free to choose jobs that directly interest you and suit your needs. The magic of the internet makes the job market extremely flexible, ensuring that you can balance your family life with your work life while bringing in a little extra money on top.
Photo Credit: pixabay.com
Post By Member: AlexisHall