In today’s economy, many women are looking to supplement their family’s income to make ends meet. Women are taking control of their financial independence and success by starting home-based businesses and drawing from multiple streams of income. In 2021, 40% of US businesses were owned by women.

If you’ve been thinking about getting in on this action but don’t know where to start, then you are in the right place. Starting an at home business or side hustle doesn’t have to be complicated.

I even have a Free PDF checklist to help you get started ‌and you can download it here: Starting a Creative Business Checklist.

But before you can get started, you must figure out which business is the right one for you. Here are 27 home-based business ideas for creative women who want to bring in some extra income.

Out of Your Home

Sometimes the best side hustles are built from activities you are already doing at home or hobbies that you could easily expand from your home. Here are a few ideas for home-based businesses that you may already be set up for.

1. Day Care

If you already stay home with your own children or grandchildren, this may be a simple side-hustle for you to start since you probably already have a lot of the equipment and know-how to make it work.

If starting a day care out of your home is something you are interested in, make sure you look up the daycare regulations in your state and city and apply for whatever permits are required.

2. Meal Prep

Many busy people and families are looking for people to help them with meal prep services.

We all know that we should eat healthy, but when life gets hectic, it’s easier to get takeout for the 4th time this week than stand in the kitchen for an hour. Many families know that this isn’t a good option and will pay other people to prepare their meals for them in advance.

You can prepare a week’s worth of meals on the weekend for a few families to bring in extra income, or you could just offer meal planning services, complete with grocery lists for those who want to cook their own meals but feel overwhelmed by the idea of planning them.

3. Baking Service

Baking is a learned skill and can be a lucrative at home business. Many people are looking for unique cakes and cupcakes for special occasions that don’t cost a fortune. Other people are looking for specialty baked goods ‌you can’t find at your local bakery, such as vegan or gluten-free pastries.

Remember, if you sell any edible product out of your home you must get the correct licenses and permits. Also remember that you must comply with certain regulations to call your products vegan or gluten-free. But there is a huge untapped market for many of these type products.

4. Sell Subscription Boxes

Subscription boxes are popping up all over the place for just about every genre. And why wouldn’t they? Subscription boxes can offer great value to the individuals who want to stay up to date on new products and replenish old ones.

I have seen subscription boxes for book clubs, self-care packages, office supplies, parenting packages, and more. Can you think of something that people would want to receive every month, or would need updated or replenished regularly?

Freelance Services

Women today have skills that they have acquired from previous jobs or from running a successful household. You can turn many of these skills into services that will be the basis for your at home business.

To do this, start small, with just a few clients who can give you referrals and reviews. Then, market your services over multiple platforms. Here are a few freelance ideas:

5. Freelance Writing

If you have writing skills, there are tons of opportunities to sell your services to people who need them. I have a whole other post about the 23 Streams of Income for Writers to make extra cash.

If this is something you are interested in, check out Fiverr and Freelance.com to see what kind of services other people are offering and see what kind of writing most interests you.

6. Freelance Graphic Design

Companies need people with an eye for aesthetics to help them make advertisements, graphics, and branding elements. If you have an eye for design and if you know how to use graphic design programs, this is a great business option.

There are companies and even individuals who will pay big bucks to a skilled graphic designer who can create book covers, worksheet templates, social media ads and website designs. And you don’t even need expensive software to do it! Sites like Canva offer free, easy-to-use software that can get you started.

7. Editing And Proofreading

Other writers often need help with editing and proofreading their own work. If you have grammar and communication skills, then working with other writers to perfect their stories and essays may be a good option for you.

There are also many students, copy writers, and creative writers who need affordable proofreading regularly. You can look for individual proofreading and editing requests to fulfill, or even start a monthly payment plan for those who need regular editing on things like blog posts or research papers.

8. Photo and Video Editing

Photo and video editing skills are in high demand and not just from photographers and filmographers. Many influencers, content marketers, and social media managers need help from skilled editors who can put together compelling video clips and produce stunning photo edits for their brands and clients.

Put together a portfolio of before and after photos and clips to showcase what you can do and pitch it to brands who may vibe with your work.

9. Voice Acting

With the rise in video and audio content, there is an increasing need for good voice acting. If you have a good quality microphone and a soothing voice, then you could hire out your services for audio books, and voice-overs for video clips and other digital content.

10. Website Design

If you have the skills to build entire websites, or you don’t mind taking a few hours to learn how to do it, then website design might be a good option. Tons of small businesses need websites, but don’t have the time or skills to build it themselves.

Once you know how to do it well, you can charge pretty good money for website design and people will gladly pay for it.

11. Event Planning Services

Are you good at staying organized and putting together events like birthday parties and graduation dinners? Hire out your services to plan other people’s events for them.

What’s even better is that most of the planning and preparation can be done online or over the phone. For many events, you may not even need to be there in person to help with the planning and scheduling.

Sell Products Online

Online retail has gone up considerably in recent years. It’s estimated that online shopping will reach $5.5 trillion by the end of 2022. (statistics from Emarketer.com) To get in on this type of business from home, set up your own shop on Amazon, Etsy or Shopify and start selling products right away.

12. Sell Printable Products

People love the convenience of buying a downloadable product and printing it themselves.

I’ve done this with my kid’s valentines cards and party invitations. I didn’t want to go searching through the stores to find generic cards, so I went on Etsy and found some really cute options that allowed me to download them and print as many as I needed.

But there are so many more options that just cards. People sell printable artwork, checklists, planners, decorations, and more through online stores.

13. Sell Digital Products

Products don’t have to be physical for people to find value in them. Digital products like digital planners, art graphics, Photoshop presets, instructional ebooks and social media templates are very popular in online stores right now. Any digital product that could save people time and money probably has a market.

14. Sell Online Courses

Technically, this is a digital product, but I wanted to mention this separately because online courses are such a popular learning tool right now.

If you have a skill that other people would want to learn, then you could sell a course that teaches them how to do it. You can sign up to each of these courses through sites like Skillshare or you can set up your course on your own platform using Kajabi or Teachable. 

15. Sell Photos and Photo Packages

If you have a good camera and photography skills, take high-quality photos and sell them online. Companies like Shutterstock will pay for good quality photographs that they can turn around and sell to digital marketers and graphic artists.

You can also sell your packages individually on a website or digital store platform. As a blogger, I know I am always looking for quality photos to use in my blog posts and social media pages.

16. Sell Video Clips

Once again, if you have a good camera or a drone camera, you could sell video clips online. Companies need video clips to use in their advertisements and social media to catch interest and keep their customers engaged.

17. Start a Print-On Demand Shop

This option is similar to dropshipping, which has fallen out of favor for many people because the market was over-saturated a few years ago by people selling the same products in various stores.

Rather than selling generic products in your store, design your own products like t-shirts and leggings and sell them using a Print-On-Demand model. Many companies like Printify or Gooten will handle the printing and shipping for you. All you have to do is design the product and market it to your customers.

18. Sell Consulting Services

Once again, if you have a skill that others would find valuable, you could offer consulting services.

This is a great option if you are good at something that would be difficult to teach others how to do, such as putting together outfits or designing living spaces. Instead of doing the work yourself, you can consult others on which outfits look good together, or which accessories should go in a specific room.

19. Sell Coaching Services

The next level up from consulting would be coaching. This is where you work one-on-one or in a group setting teaching other people how to do what you do.

There are so many coaching services out there, you could build a coaching package for just about anything you could think of. I have seen coaching services for mindfulness, dog training, home organization, and so many other things. Think outside the box because the sky is the limit.

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Content Based Businesses

Every day, we are consuming content on our phones, tablets and computers, and someone gets paid to make that content for businesses to share with all of us. Here are a few content-based business ideas.

20. Write Content for Apps and Websites

Written content is in high demand for apps and websites. If you have writing skills, websites will often pay for someone else’s content so they don’t have to spend the time to write it themselves.

This written content could include blog posts, product descriptions, instruction manuals, and more.

21. Social Media Management and Content Creation

Everyone wants a huge social media following, however the only legitimate way to get that is to regularly produce valuable content on your social media channels.

The idea of producing regular content overwhelms many businesses and they will gladly pay other people to manage their social media accounts and create content for their brand. If you enjoy social media and know how to build an audience, this is a great business to start.

22. Start A Blog

A blog is a business with a long-term income goal. Most blogs don’t start making money right off the bat, so if you decide to go this route, plan to go in for the long-haul.

That being said, a well-written and well-established blog can bring in dozens of extra income streams and can be a very lucrative business. If you think this is the business for you, start with a topic that you love and have knowledge of and post about it regularly.

23. Start A YouTube Channel

Just like starting a blog, starting a YouTube channel is a long-term business strategy. Many successful youtubers were creating videos for years before they could pull in money from their content.

However, if you are looking for a business that can grow over time and you like the idea of producing video content more than written content, then starting a YouTube channel may be the way to go.

Other Online-Based Businesses

The internet is a wealth of information and opportunity. Here are a few more online business ideas that could help you bring in some extra income.

24. Virtual Assistant

If you have good computer and phone skills, then you may consider being a virtual assistant. There are several online courses out there that can help you hone the skills needed to be a successful VA.

Many small business owners and busy families need some extra help keeping their lives, and jobs organized. Virtual assistants can help with scheduling appointments, posting on social media, data entry, and more.

25. Online Tutoring

There will always be a need for teachers, even in the online space. If you have knowledge and experience in a specific area, consider online tutoring. Even if you don’t think you have a specific skill, many people need help learning basic language skills. There are tons of tutoring options online.

26. App Development

If you have coding and tech skills, then you may want to develop an app. Think of problems that you or your friends encounter regularly that a simple app could solve. Sometimes it’s the simplest idea that makes the most sense and is the most helpful.

27. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is when businesses and brands pay you to promote their products and send traffic where they want it to go. To start affiliate marketing, you will need a relatively large audience to work with.

However, you can start this type of business in almost any niche. I had a friend who started a Facebook group where she sent out notifications every day for Amazon’s best fashion deals. Her followers got to hear about amazing deals, and she got a small cut of each sale that was made through the links she provided.

Conclusion

Savvy women today know that financial freedom often means side hustles and multiple streams of income. There are so many options out there for starting at home business and turning it into something that you love. Your business is just waiting for you to get up and start it!

What other business ideas have you thought of? Tell me about them in the comments!

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