Passive income is one of the best ways to be able to generate a second income stream without working crazy hours. Not having to work constantly to earn money makes it a go-to option for stay-at-home moms, and parents in general, who needed the added flexibility in their schedule. There is nothing better than making money while you sleep!

No income stream is ever going to be strictly passive. There will always be some sort of work involved. Many of these involve some upfront time (and sometimes a little money) investment. But, after the initial investment, they continue to bring in income with a little less effort on your part. Which means more time to spend with the family!

Note: These are not going to get you rich right away, or even make a lot of money quickly. These are ways to try and generate a steady source of income for the future. They may take a little bit of time (months or years!) to get to a point where you are making a significant amount each month. And, they do take a bit of effort to get to that point as well!

Blogging

We'd be remiss if we didn't start with this one on our list, since you are currently reading the blog that we started to try and generate extra income.

We can't really say that we've taken the "traditional" route for starting a blog, but we've definitely done our fair share of research on starting one and this seems to be one of the best ways to make some extra money.

There are a few upfront costs that are associated with this which includes website hosting and registering for a domain name. But, these costs are pretty minimal if you choose a good hosting platform.

You can monetize your blog through ads, selling your own products, or affiliate programs. Which brings us to our next point...

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn a fairly significant side income. Many of the links that are on this blog are affiliate links, and they generate revenue from advertising products and services from different companies.

Depending on the niche that you are looking to get into, affiliate marketing could be a great way to generate a more substantial amount of income. You sign up and promote products or services that a company sells, and you get compensated for all leads that you supply to the company. It's a win-win in the end for both sides.

Blogs are one of the main ways to get into affiliate marketing, but our next option is also a good way to break into affiliate marketing as well.

Become a Social Media Influencer

Social Media Influencers can get a bad name sometimes. Many people think about them as teenagers or celebrities. But anyone can be a social media influencer and you can be an influence for anything you want to be.

You could start a Facebook Group about parenting and be a social media influencer. As long as you have an audience that is engaged with your content. Then you can be an influence. A great way to monetize here is through affiliates. If you build a good following on social media. You can partner with brands to promote their products on your social channels and bring in some revenue in return.

It might take a little to build up your brand, but you can start small with friends and family and have everyone share your content. It is bound to reach some new eyes when it gets shared often. You never know what might take off for you.

Make Youtube Videos

This is similar to social media and blogging, but starting a youtube channel is another way that you can make some money on the side. Again, it doesn't need to be anything crazy. You can make videos with parenting tips or hacks that you've found. You could even get your kids involved with this one and make it a family affair!

There will be some learning for what it takes to make quality videos and content here, but once you get that mastered, the sky is the limit. Monetize through ads played during videos and other affiliates or sponsorships, and you have yourself a great income stream.

Start a Dropshipping Store

This is one that we've definitely looked into extensively and could be a viable option for some people. There is very little risk with a store like this. You create your own storefront and partner with vendors to list their items on your site at a markup price. When orders come in through your store, you forward the order to the vendor and pay the original price for the item. The vendor ships the item to the person who bought it and you keep the extra markup.

This might take a little extra work when you get into the nitty gritty as there are many other things to think about, such as returns, refunds, and shipping problems. Plus, you want to make sure that you are partnering with quality vendors to make sure you are selling a quality product.

Plus, there is the marketing side of this. The only way to get people to your store is for them to find you. One of the main ways to do this is through advertising, which is another expense. If you are great at marketing and find great vendors, this could be a great option to make a decent income.

Create Online Courses

If you are an expert in something that you are very passionate about, then a good way to make some money is to create online courses and sell them. You can make video content while the kids are asleep. And, once the videos are up online, there is nothing else you need to do (Except maybe update content if that is required). You gain income every time someone buys your course.

There are great places to post your courses including Udemy and Skillshare. They are very well known platforms and will be a great place to get exposure for your course.

Sell Handmade Items

If one of your skills/hobbies includes making things that are handmade, then why not turn that into a business opportunity and start selling them online. It's a great opportunity to make some money with something that you might already be doing, or at the very least, know that you enjoy doing.

You can post your Items on Etsy and let them handle most of the display and marketing for you. You focus on the products and doing what you enjoy, while making some money with it too.

Just make sure you don't lose the passion for your hobby! That is the most important part of doing it!