After 17 Years in One Job, a Mom Rebuilt Her Income With Six Side Hustles

Anissa Kennedy writes that after having her second child, she left her job of 17 years because childcare would have consumed half her wages. Rather than pursue one replacement job, she built several flexible income streams that rarely require her to be away from her children. She says the goal is not fast money, but replacing income while preserving flexibility as a mom.

Kennedy says her side hustles currently bring in $1,400 to $2,000 a month. Renting out her paid-off Toyota Tacoma on Turo has averaged $400 a month in earned and projected income over nine months, with pickup and drop-off coordination as the main hassle. A photo booth business has stronger earning potential: she has made $200 as an attendant for three-hour events, while her own company typically charges $600 per event after an upfront investment under $5,000.

Some hustles are useful only because her family support makes the math work. A weekly housekeeping and meal-prep job pays $25 an hour, or about $300 a month, and she also occasionally cleans a friend’s Airbnb for $150, usually in three hours. But Kennedy notes that if she had to pay for childcare to do that work, the economics would not add up.

Freelance writing remains difficult but meaningful for Kennedy: paid assignments can be hard to land, though accepted pitches can earn $125 to $250 for an 800- to 1,000-word article. Her homemade coffee syrup microbusiness sells 8.5-ounce bottles for $12 with about a 70% margin, and she sees it as worth growing for now. By contrast, the family’s Shopify and Printify store is not profitable yet and is on the back burner because original designs, product uploads, SEO, advertising, and social media take significant time.

Kennedy says side-hustle income is less consistent than a paycheck, and every month looks different. Managing multiple small businesses requires constant calendar balancing and many roles at once. Still, she says she is earning close to her old paycheck while working about half as many hours as before and spending more time at home with her boys.