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Original poster

Sahm who would love to set up a little business ideas please.

210 replies

Somersby12 · 07/12/2023 00:58

I am a very happy sahm & I need to be due go dhs irregular work pattern which involves being on call /needing to leave the country at the last minute etc.. So I obviously need to be here for the dc.
I would love to set up a small enterprise to keep myself busy & for the extra income for myself. Would love some ideas & I am absolutely not in any way crafty. Non crafty ideas would be most welcome

OP posts:
Original poster
Somersby12 · 07/12/2023 07:44

@BettyBoobles sorry Betty thank you. I meant to tag @Itsallok .

OP posts:
sashh · 07/12/2023 07:45

My dad has his shirts picked up by, "The Iron Lady" who delivers them back a day or two later beautifully wrinkle free.

Not exactly stimulating work but it has return customers. I don't know if the COL crisis has impacted her, I imagine it has.

Oven cleaning? Check if it is available in your area, there is no point setting up something that already has a saturated market, the last time I booked I had to wait a few weeks.

The guy who cleans my oven was a prison officer, he did the training and started working in the evenings until he could go full time.

People will always be born, die and in between they have to eat so jobs linked to those three things are always needed.

NonSequentialRhubarb · 07/12/2023 07:46

Itsallok · 07/12/2023 07:28

If your kids are in school then think about things that can be done then - but realistically, the vast amount of "cute little businesses" for SAHM with no skills make no money. Fact. Stop using your husband as an excuse to never work. Or at least pledge to not come back to MM whining when your husband leaves you for someone less boring.

Is the only thing that makes you interesting your job? That's even sadder than being a SAHM.

Justrolledmyeyesoutloud · 07/12/2023 07:47

I would start as a volunteer in your dc's school anf see if that leads to anything

ElvenDreamer · 07/12/2023 07:47

Scour your local Facebook pages etc, there's often some nice little flexible bits of work needed. Example, near us a rose grower advertises each year for a couple of workers, they're only needed for a few hours a week and can flexibly pick their hours to suit, no experience needed as the grower gives them the knowledge they need.

LovelyDaaling · 07/12/2023 07:50

My friend became a bookkeeper. It paid well and it was something she could do while her children were young. As they grew older, she took on more clients. She was always getting requests from people do their books and turned many away. Downside was business people can be very lax in delivering their paperwork in good time. Many thought last minute was ok but there were only so many she could complete last minute so she was often chasing them.

bakedbeansontoastfortea · 07/12/2023 07:54

My friend has a good side hustle as a Vinted seller. In her spare time she trawls charity shops looking for bargains. She then washes/freshens up and sells for a profit on Vinted or eBay. She genuinely enjoys the thrill of a bargain though so it doesn't feel like a chore. The downside is that even though she puts a lot of TLC into it, she still has to deal sometimes with entitled/grumpy customers. But on the whole she enjoys it.

She's made enough this year to pay for a (non luxury) holiday.

SmileyClare · 07/12/2023 07:57

If you have a few child free hours a week, then setting up as an independent cleaner is a good way to make money.

I charge £18 ph- there’s always high demand, you can choose your hours and very little overheads or start up costs.

One benefit is the exercise- it’s a great workout. I’m very fit and toned! And my customers are all lovely and treat me well.

Buy some cleaning products and gym clothes, obtain a UTR number from HMRC and advertise on local social media.

Original poster
Somersby12 · 07/12/2023 07:57

bakedbeansontoastfortea · 07/12/2023 07:54

My friend has a good side hustle as a Vinted seller. In her spare time she trawls charity shops looking for bargains. She then washes/freshens up and sells for a profit on Vinted or eBay. She genuinely enjoys the thrill of a bargain though so it doesn't feel like a chore. The downside is that even though she puts a lot of TLC into it, she still has to deal sometimes with entitled/grumpy customers. But on the whole she enjoys it.

She's made enough this year to pay for a (non luxury) holiday.

This sounds more like what I want. Just enough to do a week abroad in the summer with dh & the kids. We usually do camping.

OP posts:
Fairymother · 07/12/2023 07:59

You could do some tutoring. I tutor teenagers. They always have some gaps in their school schedule, so sometimes i meet them at the school or at their house. In the beginning it was very slow, because i only wanted to take kids near me to have short travel time, but it really picked up and i started doing group sessions.
Now my kids are both in primary and i managed to get hired at their school as TA with absolutely no qualifications in teaching.
Ive been working with kids as a tutor for 15 years or so, but always privately. I always had to travel with DH for his work and never managed to hold down a “proper” job.

Thinking about going into teaching properly, but honestly my hourly rate as a tutor is much higher, so i havent really decided.

I have hired a few uni students now to help me out, because i was overrun. But the whole accounting side of running a business is a lot of work, Im not sure if i want it to grow much more tbh, starting to get a bit overwhelmed.
Its an easy area to reduce though.

Lilyhatesjaz · 07/12/2023 08:00

Might be better to look for a school hours job. In a school or preschool, there are sometimes cleaning jobs or office jobs in these places if you don't fancy working with children.

sashh · 07/12/2023 08:03

Justrolledmyeyesoutloud · 07/12/2023 07:47

I would start as a volunteer in your dc's school anf see if that leads to anything

My cousin did that. She is now the deputy head. It took her a while, she did a foundation degree, then topped that up to a BEd (I think).

WhereIdeasBloom · 07/12/2023 08:05

What are you interested in? Do you have any hobbies?

Letstrysomethingnew · 07/12/2023 08:05

Have a look at the £10 a day thread. They combine online tasks, surveys etc plus the odd bit of eg Vinted upcycling as suggested above, with the aim of averaging an extra £10 a day, which adds up to holiday money over a year and is pretty flexible time-wise.

Although I'd steer clear of matched betting that some of them do.

Whinge · 07/12/2023 08:07

Somersby12 · 07/12/2023 07:57

This sounds more like what I want. Just enough to do a week abroad in the summer with dh & the kids. We usually do camping.

Show quote history

If you go down this route you need to keep a record of expenses / purchases and complete a self assessment each year. It's a lot of work, and it would be much easier to get a zero hours job and work when you're able to.

Plumful · 07/12/2023 08:08

OP doesn’t it worry you being so reliant on your husband? What if something happened, how would you provide for your kids?

Pillboxer · 07/12/2023 08:15

Fairymother · 07/12/2023 07:59

You could do some tutoring. I tutor teenagers. They always have some gaps in their school schedule, so sometimes i meet them at the school or at their house. In the beginning it was very slow, because i only wanted to take kids near me to have short travel time, but it really picked up and i started doing group sessions.
Now my kids are both in primary and i managed to get hired at their school as TA with absolutely no qualifications in teaching.
Ive been working with kids as a tutor for 15 years or so, but always privately. I always had to travel with DH for his work and never managed to hold down a “proper” job.

Thinking about going into teaching properly, but honestly my hourly rate as a tutor is much higher, so i havent really decided.

I have hired a few uni students now to help me out, because i was overrun. But the whole accounting side of running a business is a lot of work, Im not sure if i want it to grow much more tbh, starting to get a bit overwhelmed.
Its an easy area to reduce though.

Edited

But if the OP’s only previous work experience is retail, I imagine it’s unlikely she has enough education to tutor.

OP, if you’re purely thinking about making a very small amount of money, forget the ‘side hustle’ stuff and get a zero hours job that you can arrange around your DH’s availability. It will be a much better use of your time.

But I think you should think seriously about your future and studying for a qualification that will make you less economically vulnerable.

Justrolledmyeyesoutloud · 07/12/2023 08:16

That's amazing!! It worked for me too😊

CharityShopChic · 07/12/2023 08:20

I would disagree that it's impossible to make a decent profit. It depends what you're doing - yes if you are buying stock, adding value and selling on, you have obvious outgoings and need to sell to cover those. But I am a freelance / self-employed writer and researcher. I am selling my time really, with no expenses. So everything I earn is "profit". Agree though that you need to have a long think about this OP and work out what you can offer.

Also steer well clear of ANY multi-level marketing nonsense like Arbonne, Younique, Forever Living as they are all scams and you WILL lose money.

MumblesParty · 07/12/2023 08:20

Fairymother · 07/12/2023 07:59

You could do some tutoring. I tutor teenagers. They always have some gaps in their school schedule, so sometimes i meet them at the school or at their house. In the beginning it was very slow, because i only wanted to take kids near me to have short travel time, but it really picked up and i started doing group sessions.
Now my kids are both in primary and i managed to get hired at their school as TA with absolutely no qualifications in teaching.
Ive been working with kids as a tutor for 15 years or so, but always privately. I always had to travel with DH for his work and never managed to hold down a “proper” job.

Thinking about going into teaching properly, but honestly my hourly rate as a tutor is much higher, so i havent really decided.

I have hired a few uni students now to help me out, because i was overrun. But the whole accounting side of running a business is a lot of work, Im not sure if i want it to grow much more tbh, starting to get a bit overwhelmed.
Its an easy area to reduce though.

Edited

How can you tutor kids when you’re not a teacher?

Plumful · 07/12/2023 08:21

How is OP going to tutor without any qualifications?

SheilaFentiman · 07/12/2023 08:25

People do tutor without being a teacher; I have a friend who does between acting gigs and another who does around SAHMing. However, both have good science degrees and one spent time supporting uni students for science whilst the other worked in a school for a while as a TA before starting the tutoring.

ConstantRain · 07/12/2023 08:32

My friend is in a very similar situation to you as in retail experience only, husband works away a lot, young children, wants to earn some extra for a holiday.
Her husband doesn't often work away on the weekends so she's managed to get a temporary weekend Christmas retail job. She's hoping they might keep her on afterwards at some suitable hours so fingers crossed.
How about mid day assistant in a school if your dc are at school.
There are some online opportunities I've seen if you have certain qualifications like teaching English to kids in China so have a look around.
I agree that your best bet is to train for a qualification so you can work as soon as you can.

disappearingfish · 07/12/2023 08:33

Would Vinted / eBay selling make enough though? Let's say you made a £5 profit on each item. That would be min 300 items a year to make up the price of a (very) cheap family holiday abroad. For the time it would take to source / prep / list / sell / post items you'd be better off finding a casual job.

NeedToChangeName · 07/12/2023 08:34

I think your best bet might be to study for qualifications

And look at bookkeeping