The Side Hustle
From the moment I was eight, I was an entrepreneur. I started a cookie business in elementary school and then a card business in junior high/high school.
Once I got married, I started my videography business, which I am still operating today, followed by our non-profit shop, Stirring Up Blessings, a few years later. Then my bread business, Sourdough in the Valley, a couple years after that. Last year I was twenty-three with three kids three and under running three businesses out of our home. It was a year of threes, I guess! Ha!
I love having my small businesses alongside being a mom. It is crucial to me being a good mom I believe. My side hustles give me energy to be a mom. It’s my taste of normality for a split second amidst my crazy, wonderful reality.
God designed us as humanity to work. In Genesis 1:28 God command Adam and Eve to be fruitful (para meaning to bear fruit) and multiply (raba meaning to increase). This is referring to the actual procreation of the human race. God then goes on to say, fill (mala meaning to fill or be full) the earth and subdue (kabas meaning to tread down, to conquer, subjugate) it. Every word in scripture has meaning, so why does it appear that God choose to repeat himself here?
In Genesis 1-2 as God was creating the universe, he was continually looking upon it saying it was good. Work is the very foundation of which creation exists, and God said, it is good. Work is not a curse; it has been cursed.
In Genesis 1:28, I don’t believe God repeats himself, rather, He is also calling us to go create and fill the earth with our creations (fill it), using the recourses He has given to us on earth (subdue it). Meaning that He has always intended on us using the gifts (spiritual and physical) He has given us to fill the earth. Building houses, laying railroads, continually building upon the generations before us, filling the earth with the work of our hands.
In 2 Thes. 3:10 it states, “If anyone is not willing to work let him not eat.” and Pro. 31:27 says, “She does not eat the bread of idleness.” It is clear that work is intended to be a part of our daily life on earth as we are seeking to live a life that brings Him honor. Excellent work must be accomplished with love. It starts in the home and flows from there.
As a stay-at-home mom, I have a lot of ambition and dreams that flow outside of my home and my work as a mom. My mama mission keeps me hopping, yes, but if I didn’t have my businesses to pour some energy into as well, the endless efforts of motherhood would probably drive me crazy!
HOW TO START A SIDE HUSTLE
When considering a side hustle there a few things I always considered before venturing out into it.
Does this venture line up with the gifts the Lord has given to me?
How will this effect my family? Will it benefit them or hurt them?
Will this give me energy to do my main job as a mom well?
Do I feel the Lord calling me to this? Will it have an eternal impact?
If the answer to all of these questions is yes, it could be a perfect fit for me. I always pray over things and run them by my hubby, as well the Titus 2 women in my life. It is valuable to get advice from those who have been in your shoes before and are seeking to honor the Lord in their life. Always bring each piece of advice back to scripture, to make sure it lines up with the Word of God.
OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Owning your own business is such a gift as a mom. If you are wanting to keep motherhood your primary full-time job, then having a side hustle where you can set your own hours, create your own boundaries, and make it fit in your lifestyle best, is a huge benefit to doing it well as a mama. If you do not feel that is an option for you, there are lots of great business opportunities you can do from home and still set your own schedule.
Here are some ideas for starting your own business.
Find something you love to make and consider selling it. Baking, jewelry, crocheting, sugar scrubs or other personal health products, etc.
Start a service. Photography, health coaching, hair/makeup (weddings/proms especially), etc.
Design and put graphics on clothing. It takes a designing platform, a way to cut the material out, and then a professional iron to press the designs onto the shirts.
Graphic Design. Create a print on demand business. Design invitations, logos, flyers, etc.
Go online. If you are a social media queen, then you can start your own social media marketing something or another. NOT my wheelhouse because I need to hire one for my videography business. Ha! But for those who are smart in that area, this could be a perfect fit!
Most importantly, try to find a business you can do that will give you energy to be a mom, not take away from you being a mom. Whatever we do as a side hustle, needs to remain a side hustle to our mama mission. The beautiful thing is this will change as kids grow. I know I am in the thick of it now with all our kids being so little, but I also know that putting the work into being a mom now will mean more time for my side hustles in the future as they get older.
IDEAS IF YOU DON’T WANT TO RUN YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Sometimes the idea of running a business can stress someone out. If this is you, it is definitely not something that will give you energy, which is the goal. Here are some business opportunity ideas that don’t involve starting your own thing alone.
Become a consultant for a company. Find a company whose products you use and love. Consider looking into their consultant program. I know lots of stay-at-home moms who are consultants for Mary Kay, Plexus, Lemongrass Spa, the list goes on.
Become a promoter/infuencer. This is not in my wheelhouse, so I don’t know the first thing about doing that, but I know stay-at-home moms who do it.
Partner with another mama whose gifts complement yours and start something together. Or if it is possible, start a business with your hubby and be his helpmate in that.
HOW MY WORK CAN BENEFIT MY FAMILY
Looking at Proverbs 31, we can see that this woman had a side hustle or two. In verse 18 it says she perceives her merchandise is profitable. The Hebrew word used for merchandise here means profit from trade. She was bringing in an income alongside her mama mission. Then in verse 24 it mentions her making linen garments and selling them. It also mentions her delivering sashes to the merchants.
We also see that the Proverbs 31 woman looked well to the ways of her household (vs. 27). She cooked for her family (vs.14-15), she made clothes for her family (vs. 13, 19, 21), and she made bed coverings (vs. 22).
She obviously was pursuing a side hustle while still maintaining her mama mission. Her business was not taking away from her calling as a mother, it was going alongside and adding to her calling. Later on in verse 28-31 we see that her family benefited greatly from the work of her hands.
“Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is worthy to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” Proverbs 31:28-31
I so badly want to add an exclamation point after that! She worked heartily as if for the Lord and not for man. (Col. 3:23)
My family can benefit from the work of my hands as well if I do it with a Kingdom focus and maintain my mama mission. I start in my home and let everything the Lord has gifted me at, flow from there in His timing and His will, filling the earth with the creations of my hands.
CREATING SOMETHING OF GREAT VALUE FROM THE ORDINARY
“She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.” Proverbs 31:16
In this verse the Hebrew word translated as field refers to anything that is not fenced in. It referred to most land in Biblical times and could even refer to a small village, whereas large cities had walls around them. Vineyards were fenced in with guards often protecting the land from anyone who may want to steel. A vineyard was valuable property.
The proverbs 31 woman took an ordinary piece of land and turned it into something of great value with the fruit of her hands.
The Lord can do this through the fruit of your hands as well. He has gifted you in so many ways, and He longs for you to use those gifts to work for His glory.
Embrace your inadequacies. The reality is we can do nothing without Christ. Yet, in Him ALL things are possible! (Matt. 19:26)
Effective work requires being still. In the midst of our crazy, we must sit at the feet of Jesus and be still with Him, to do our work, our life, well.
“Be still and know that I am God.” Ps. 46:10a
Work with boldness but do it in humility, working well for His honor. Use the gifts He has given to you to pursue what He has called you to do, and whatever He has called you to, He will give you the strength to do it well. For where you are weak, He is strong. (2 Cor. 12:10)
We work hard while trusting in the Lord for the results.
My side hustles go through phases of profit and phases of strictly paying for themselves, based on the amount time my children need from me. With every new baby comes a lull in my businesses for a time. Yet, I always know that no matter what happens with my side hustles, as long as the Lord is glorified through them, they are profitable.
Every waking moment has value if we are pursuing to further the Kingdom of God. A Kingdom mindset takes advantage of all moments.
Go fill the earth and subdue it radical mama!