Introduction
Are you feeling stressed about finances, stuck in your full-time job and worried about how to provide a better future for your family? If you’re a working mom, like many of us, you're juggling work, family, and everything in between. But deep down, you know there's more. More freedom, more time, more experiences waiting for you and this is causing deep-set frustration due to unmet needs—if only you had a way to supplement your income.
Well, the good news is there are wholesome ways to make extra money online that fit into your busy schedule and align with your values—and I’d like to share these with you today.
Because making extra money online is not just about easing financial pressure. It's about giving yourself and your family the freedom to pursue what you really want—whether that’s more time together, bucket list experiences, travelling, or simply a more flexible lifestyle. Here, I’ll break down five realistic ways to earn extra income online for time-aware moms, along with some golden pointers I have learnt along the way.
Make Extra Money Online - Why this is the Superior Strategy
We all know that for most of us, employment no longer guarantees financial freedom. It has become essential to find alternate sources of additional income to settle debt, fund our lifestyle and provide for future retirement. But our most precious resource, our TIME, needs to be respected. And this is where earning online is so valuable.
Going online ticks all these boxes: time constraints, flexibility, geographical flexibility, scalability, interests & skillsets AND security as you can earn online and still keep your job.
Time & Flexibility - Unlike a second job with set hours, an online income stream lets you work from your home, on your own time, and around your family’s schedule. Plus, some online business models, like affiliate marketing or dropshipping, can eventually become mostly passive, meaning you earn while you sleep, so you can earn more in less time.
Interests & skillsets - As a working mom, you have plenty of skills and talents that others need. Whether it’s freelance writing, bookkeeping, or coaching, there’s likely something you’re already good at that can translate into extra income online.
Security - the beauty of earning money online, is how you can work around your existing responsibilities. This means you do not have to expose yourself financially by giving up your job, but can grow your online earnings alongside your job.
So, if you’re ready to break free from financial stress and take the first step toward financial freedom, let’s dive into five ways you can make extra money online.
1.Take the Right Approach - Be Proud of What You Do
No doubt you have already been inundated with adverts and promotional videos about how to make "easy" money online, promising you the world using some gimmicky loophole. The truth is there is only one way to truly master making consistent income online for the long run, no matter the model you choose - build correctly.
And when I say "build correctly" I do not mean it has to be complicated. In fact the principles are simple, but any business, any model, requires preparation and consistent effort to set up successfully. But if done well, you create a gold mine, an asset that can keep producing time and time again. And that is where we want to be.
- choose something you are passionate about
- choose something that aligns with your values
- choose something where you can add value
- think about how you can best serve the market and not what you can get from it
- learn the necessary skills from a trusted resource
- surround yourself with like-minded individuals or join a community of entrepreneurs
- use the method of Authority Marketing to automate your sales and generate sales without "selling" (more about this below).
I realised very quickly that I needed to feel proud of what I do. It is important to me to be able to stand behind my choices and know that I believe in my decision.
When I was looking for ways to make money online I saw a lot of ads that made me cringe and my radar sounded the alarm. This tainted my view of anything online. I had a perception that it was home to unprofessional flighty people and this put me off.
It was not until I read an article that I resonated with, that made me feel comfortable to reconsider and dig deeper into learning about this whole "online world". I share the details on my own journey further below so you scroll down for more of the nitty gritty.
In a nutshell, I recognised that I wanted to do things the right way and I needed help. So I invested in a brilliant learning resource that I felt I could trust. The values just instantly resonated with me. The learning is holistic, starting from the roots in terms of personal preparation and mindset before moving on to the nuts and bolts of online business.
And time and time again I hear people from the community saying how their personal growth alone has been so worth their investment in the learning. If you are curious about the learning route that I followed, you can click on the button below which will give you access to a free video series (sent via email) that gives more inspirational insights into how to make money online. It is a no-strings-attached option. Feel free to sign up, or keep reading 🙂
As promised, these are my favorite models or ways to make extra income online, based on the relatively low starting cost, flexibility, creativity (!) and scalable opportunities. I hope you find it helpful.
2. Affiliate Marketing
This has got to be one of the most genius business models for a host of reasons.
Low startup costs, flexibility scalability, and automation. Furthermore, you do not need your own idea or product and can start immediately by marketing something that you believe in.
It is a go-to solution for people who do not have a specific business idea of their own but want to learn the real skills of marketing and selling online and earn while doing so! Many highly successful online business owners have their roots in affiliate marketing and later went on to create their own product, brand or service.
As a time-strapped mom, you do not need to dedicate hours to your business every day. Laying the foundations correctly will require consistent effort, but once the marketing system is set up effectively, it practically runs itself and only requires a few hours a week to maintain. Many women enjoy incredible success with this model and have been able to not only supplement their income but even retire themselves from their 9 to 5 and do this instead.
- What: An online business model where you are marketing products or services as an affiliate, for other businesses, for which you are paid a commission if customers purchase the product or service you are advertising.
- Startup Costs: Low startup costs. Costs for marketing tools.
- Launch Time: Launch time is short. Requires finding the product to market and the setup of your marketing tools.
- Scalability: Highly scalable. As your marketing system is set up to advertise 24 hours a day, the model is consistently working. This means there is no limit to the ability to generate sales. you are not limited by your time availability, unlike a service where you bill per hour of your service.
- Personal Interface: Depending on your preferred marketing strategy, you may or may not be the face of the business. This is all up to personal preference.
- Marketing Strategy: Affiliates use various marketing strategies, such as YouTube, blogs, social media, or email campaigns, to drive traffic to the company's website through unique referral links.
- Time commitment: This model allows affiliates to generate passive income without the need to create their own products, making it a flexible option for those with busy schedules, like corporate moms.
- In the free video series I mentioned earlier, they talk about affiliate marketing as a business model, so if you are interested in seeing how this model can generate additional income for you, sign up for the video series.
3. Course Creation
This business model really excites me.
This is where the heart of online business truly beats because this is the space where people can bring their own unique skills, passions, life experience or wisdom to create an authentic and unique offer to serve the marketplace.
Doesn't that excite you? The idea of monetizing your unique skills and adding value is genius. As a time-strapped mom, you do not need to dedicate hours to your business every day. Creating the course well will require hard work and consistent effort, but once the content is complete and your marketing system is set up effectively, it practically runs itself.
Many women enjoy incredible success with this model offering a vast variety of courses and have been able to not only supplement their income but even retire themselves from their 9 to 5 and do this instead.
- What: Creating your own content or course based on a skill or passion that you can bring to the market.
- Product: Digital products (such as a video series / written content).
- Startup Cost: Low startup cost. Costs would involve branding, website design and marketing tools. But no physical stock! (Win!)
- Launch Time: A longer launch time is required to create and prepare your course content.
- Scalability: Highly scalable. As your marketing system is set up to advertise 24 hours a day, the model is consistently working. This means there is no limit to the ability to generate sales. You are not limited by your time availability, unlike a service where you bill per hour of your service.
- Personal Interface: You are most likely the face of the business.
- Marketing Strategy: You can use various marketing strategies, such as YouTube, blogs, social media, or email campaigns, to drive traffic to your business website through unique referral links.
- Time commitment: Time will be required to create your course content. But once this is complete and you launch your offer, the automated system sells for you and generates passive income without the need to call customers, or post cringy ads on the radio! This makes it a flexible option for those with busy schedules, like corporate moms.
- In the free video series I mentioned earlier, they talk about the concept of creating digital assets and selling wisdom. If you are interested in seeing how this model can generate additional income for you, sign up for the video series.
4. Online Tutoring or Coaching
This is a wonderful model for women passionate about teaching or coaching and thriving from their personal interaction with their clients.
Coaching is a great way for you to teach from any geographical location which means you do not have to come home from vacation so you can teach your class! Furthermore, coaching can be one-to-one, group coaching or even large audiences. This is an exciting business model for those passionate about sharing their knowledge, professional skill or life wisdom with their audience in an interactive way.
- What: Creating your own content or course based on a skill or passion that you can bring to the market.
- Product: Real-time courses hosted online.
- Startup Cost: Low startup cost.
- Launch Time: Time required to prepare and create course content.
- Scalability: Selling time for money.
- Personal Interface: You are the face of the business and are working directly with people.
- Marketing Strategy: Marketing your business can be done on a variety of platforms such as Google ads, social media, email marketing, LinkedIn.
- Time Commitment: Online coaching will naturally require your time during coaching sessions and also in the preparation of material.
- In the free video series I mentioned earlier, they will talk about the concept of creating digital assets and selling wisdom. If you are interested in seeing how this model can generate additional income for you, sign up for the video series.
5. Dropshipping
For some of us physical goods just make more sense.
We can relate to receiving a parcel at your door and the excitement as you unbox the delivery you have been anticipating. We understand the concept of sourcing a great item, designing a label, brand or packaging and selling it to happy customers.
Dropshipping is this, selling physical products, BUT with an awesome advantage, you do not own the stock. In fact, you do not even deliver the product. You sell the product from the supplier, who delivers the product to your customer. This is a great model for people who love physical products and would like to get into e-commerce, but without having to create their own product or invest a huge amount of money into inventory.
- What: Selling physical products to the end consumer from your storefront, but without owning the stock or buying it upfront.
- The consumer purchases the item from your store and the order is then packed and fulfilled by the supplier.
- The difference between the selling price and the cost of the goods, fees and fulfilment is your profit.
- Product: physical goods.
- Startup Cost: Fairly low startup costs as you are not buying stock.
- There are other costs such as setting up your store and for integrations with the print-on-demand supplier and for advertising.
- Launch Time: Longer launch time: Requires time to choose a niche and products and find a suitable supplier. You then need to set up a storefront and advertising.
- Scalability: Highly scalable.
- Personal Interface: You are not the face of the business. You can remain in the background.
6. Print-on-Demand Business
For the creatives, or those who would like to be more creative, this is such a great model.
A fun way to create your designs on all things merchandise without owning the stock upfront. The best part is the programs required to do all the logistics already exist, you just need to create your storefront and plug into a "print on demand" supplier, who does the printing and fulfillment on your behalf.
Your role in the business is to create designs. The merchandise is provided by the POD supplier. The beauty of this model is the micro niches that are being served as people create designs based on interests or hobbies or for events.
- What: Selling merchandise with your own designs to the end consumer from your storefront, but without carrying the stock or buying it upfront.
- The end consumer purchases the item from your store and the design per the order is then printed onto the merchandise, packed and shipped to the customer by the print-on-demand supplier.
- Printify and Printful are two popular examples of POD suppliers.
- Storefront examples that can be used are Shopify and Etsy.
- Startup Cost: Fairly low startup costs as you do not have to carry the inventory, so there are no large upfront costs for stock and no risk of having inventory that does not sell.
- Launch Time: Launch time would be required to set up your storefront and integrations with the print-on-demand supplier.
- Time Commitment: Ongoing design requirement.
- Ideal for creatives but not a requirement as the designs can be outsourced to designers.
- Scalability: Highly scalable.
- Personal Interface: You are not the face of the business. You can remain in the background.
- Fun and creative.
Authority Marketing
No matter the business model, an online business is only of value to us if we are able to sell our offering. Authority Marketing is a smart and systematic way to sell online, positioning yourself as an authority so buyers come to you.
The power of authority marketing harnesses a proven strategy to automate selling online to any target audience anywhere in the world, enabling you to make more money in less time. This truly is the golden nugget to having flexibility and generating income 24 hours a day.
It's scalable, sustainable, and future-proof. It is a system that will allow you to create income streams so you don’t have to. It’s designed specifically for people who hate selling, offering you a way to generate sales and income without any pressure or manipulation.
You can learn more about the system of authority marketing and how it is empowering moms across the globe to make money online from anywhere and generate multiple streams of income on autopilot.
How to Find Time to Build Your Online Income Streams
I know what you’re thinking: “How will I find the time to do this?” Between work, kids, and household responsibilities, it can feel like there’s no room to add anything else to your plate. But remember, building an online income stream doesn’t have to be done all at once.
Start by setting aside just 30 minutes a day. Whether it’s early in the morning before the kids wake up or during lunch breaks at work, carve out small pockets of time to work on your side hustle. Consistency is key. Even small efforts will add up over time, and soon you’ll start seeing results. I found waking up early was the best. It is a dedicated time that is quiet with no disruptions and by committing to the time I keep myself accountable, which means I could make small wins every day. 🙂
It’s also important to be strategic. Focus on one income stream that excites you the most. Don’t spread yourself too thin by trying to do everything at once. Find what works best with your lifestyle and schedule, and build from there.
Addressing Limiting Beliefs
It is completely normal to have certain fears or uncertainties when we are starting out. Limiting beliefs are deep, often unconscious, beliefs that we have formed to keep ourselves safe. But it is not necessarily the truth.
Belief in Online Business being unprofessional and for techy people: Anyone can succeed in the online space, even if you're a complete beginner, with the right system in place.
Overcoming Fear of Exposure & Criticism: You may fear being exposed online or facing criticism. Authority Marketing is a low-pressure approach that doesn’t require constant online posting or convincing others.
From Limited Time to Leveraged Time: You may feel like you don't have enough time to start a side hustle. The online training resource teaches you how to set up systems that allow you to work smarter, not harder, with flexibility.
From Being “Hamstrung” by Your Job to Financial Independence: You may believe that your 9-to-5 is the only way to secure income. There are smarter ways to create financial security that don’t require more hours, just better systems.
From Fear of Failure to Empowerment: You may worry that you’ll fail or won’t be able to understand the material. With step-by-step training and community support, you’ll be empowered to take action with confidence.
FAQs About Making Extra Money Online
- Is it possible to make money online while working full-time?
Yes! Many online income streams offer flexibility, allowing you to work at your own pace and around your current job. Start small, with just a few hours a week, and build as you go. - How much money can I realistically make online?
The amount you can make depends on the type of online business you choose, your effort, and how much time you invest. The models above, like affiliate marketing or dropshipping could eventually become a full-time income stream. - Do I need technical skills to make money online?
Not necessarily. Many online income opportunities, like freelancing or affiliate marketing, don’t require advanced technical skills. For more complex business models like dropshipping, there are tools and tutorials available to help you get started. - What if I don’t like selling?
The Authority Marketing system doesn’t require you to sell or convince people. It’s about setting up a process that converts buyers automatically. - How much time do I need to commit per week to make this work?
You can start with just 5–10 hours a week, fitting it into your current schedule. The focus is on working smarter, not harder. - What if I have no experience with online business?
No experience is necessary. The training takes you from beginner to proficient, with easy-to-follow steps designed for people who have never worked online before. - Do I need to be on social media to make this work?
No, this system works even if you’re not active on social media. It's about leveraging marketing systems, not constant content creation.
Why I Chose Online Business As a Busy Mom
When my kids reached their teens and mid-life arrived, we were facing rising inflation and looming university fees, while taking stock of our life in the corporate humdrum. I remember sitting at my desk and thinking about my family abroad, tears rolling down my face as all I could think about was being tied to my desk not feeling confident that we could afford to travel to see our family each year. I became acutely aware of our most precious commodity - TIME and what is most precious to me - FAMILY.
I made a decision that day. I chose to change my reality.
I wanted to be present for my family, but at the same time have something of my own where I could use my giftings, make a meaningful difference and impact in the world and live out my best potential while creating financial freedom.
Although I wanted to generate a second income, it needed to add value and serve the marketplace at the same time. This is why making money online was the solution for me. I can build something that I am passionate about, but do this while bringing a valuable service or product to the world and generating income. And with the technology today, a lot of the process can be automated which enables us to run a business alongside our 9 to 5 job.
One of the most exciting parts about online business is the vast scope of options, enabling you to express your true creative, authentic self! Women are using their passions, skills, experience, or professions to create the most interesting businesses and doing it all from the comfort of their home.
Wind back to when I started out...
I was nervous about the concept of business online. As a business graduate in a corporate job, my prejudiced impression of the online world was that it was frequented by sales-y scammers trying to make an easy buck, but I felt compelled to keep looking for ethical opportunities until I came across an article much like this one.
Was I nervous - YES! Did I have fears and doubts - OF COURSE!
Being conservative by nature and generally risk averse, I was sceptical, but my determination to find a solution to making money online and my gut feeling about the authenticity of the article, kept me moving forward.
I opted in for the free video series and shortly after signed up for the paid course. I was not sorry. My scepticism grew to trust, my fear grew to hope and my doubts grew to excitement. I realised the lights had gone on for me. But knowing that nothing would magically happen without my action, I committed to following the guide and steps of the training and chose to trust the process. Trust the process! The paid course gave me access to training and a community group and options to upgrade for further mentoring and coaching if wanted.
I have learnt a lot from this program. 🙂 I have learnt:
- that when we think we know ourselves, there is more we need to learn.
- that we all have limiting beliefs that need to be addressed to be brave and step forward.
- that the most timid of people from all backgrounds and ages can learn a new skill and make a success online with the right guidance, right skills and right attitude.
- that even when we think we cannot take on more, we can make the time if we are invested.
- that a degree in business and accounting does not guarantee instant confidence in an online world where things work differently.
- that it pays to learn from mentors who have done this all before.
- that the online world offers much to many and that truly if we can harness its network well, it is powerful and incredible to think of what it can change for us.
- to be brave, to be true to me and to step into my gifts and talents and go out there and make a difference while creating financial freedom.
AND I have witnessed the success of many. We are so privileged to have these opportunities. Let's make use of them!
Conclusion
Making extra money online is more than possible for busy moms—it’s empowering. Not only can it relieve financial stress, but it can also give you the freedom to design your life the way you want. By exploring opportunities like freelancing, affiliate marketing, dropshipping, virtual bookkeeping, or offering online courses, you can turn your skills and passions into profitable online ventures.
You don’t need to be a tech expert or have tons of extra time. With determination, creativity, and a willingness to learn, you can start making extra money online, even with a busy schedule. Remember, every step forward brings you closer to financial freedom.
It is incredibly exciting but can also be overwhelming to start your own business. That is why I recommend being intentional about your journey. Find a mentor or a community where you can work alongside fellow entrepreneurs. Building a business requires consistency and you do not want to be fumbling around on a whim. I have found the resources in the online business training to be incredible. There are various tiers of resources to fit your needs and budget and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs to share the load. This was where I started my journey, in this very same free video series which shares valuable insights into a proven framework for launching a successful online business and making money online.
Take the step today, make the change you need to be the person you need to be to achieve that dream of making extra income online.
