How to Make $1,000 a Month Working From Home

Would you like to make $1,000 a month working from home? Then keep reading! I have a list of real-life ideas to make money from home! 

When I first launched my blog, I wanted to make an extra $700 a month to pay for the extras in my life like fitness classes, baby and me classes, and coffee stops.

Even though I worked 10 hours a week as a social media manager, the money I made from that job covered bills, food, and my blogging expenses.

To cover my extracurricular activities, I sold things online and at thrift stores. I participated in paid focus groups and even worked an occasional weekend shift at my old nursing job.

Fortunately, my blog gained traction quickly, and within three months, I started earning money from it. Today, I make a full-time income from my blog. The point of my story is, if there is a will, there is a way.

If you need to make $1,000 a month working from home, you can do it. 

Here are some great side hustle ideas, stories, and ways for you to make extra cash from home!

1. Sell Printables – $1,000 a month

I am a teacher turned stay-at-home mom. When I first left the classroom, I discovered a website called Teachers Pay Teachers. It’s an open marketplace where teachers create resources and worksheets that they sell to other teachers. I joined the site and opened my own store on the site called Sara J Creations. I make and design digital activities that other teachers, parents, and tutors, can purchase and download. It’s an awesome way to use the creative teacher part of my brain while getting to stay-at-home and raise my family. It helps keep me up to date on best practices and connect with other teachers and moms. I started slowly, only earning a few dollars a month, but I now earn an average of $1,000 a month. – Sara Jonckheere

2. Pet Blogger – $1,000 a month

Currently, I earn $1,000 through my dog nutrition blog, Keep the Tail Wagging. I write about raw feeding and dog nutrition and make money through freelance writing, affiliate marketing, paid sponsorships, creating products, and I’ll be adding a membership site next month. I’m crazy about my dogs and needed an outlet other than friends and co-workers to express this passion. I transitioned to writing about raw feeding in 2014, and my traffic and revenue spiked, and I realized I was on to something. On average, I make $1,000 a month working from home. – Kimberly Gauthier

If you’d like to start a blog, here is an easy step-by-step tutorial that will have you up and running quickly!

3. Dog Walking with Rover – $1,000 a month

With the Rover app, you can make $1,000 a month walking and caring for dogs! Just download the app and sign up to be a pet sitter. Choose which services you’d like to offer (walking, pet sitting, or boarding), your pet preferences, then set your prices and schedule, and start earning cash! This work-at-home mom started using Rover to dog sit other dogs in her home and found that she could easily make an extra $1,000 a month. She even got to pick her preferences; other dogs must get along with children and cats. Sound fun? You can sign-up with Rover here.

4. Start a Side Hustle on Fiverr – $1,133 a month

Fiverr is an online platform where people can sell services. The initial concept behind the site was freelancers sold services like writing, web design, proofreading, editing, transcription, and more for $5.00. Today, the site has evolved, and freelancers charge anywhere from $5-$995 per service. Services have evolved too, today there is a business and lifestyle section where people are selling cooking classes, craft lessons, personal trainer sessions, consulting services, and more. It’s totally free to join and once you sell your service, Fiverr takes a 20% fee. This gal from Hustle and Slow was able to earn $1,133 writing 500-word blog posts in her first month on the platform.

5. Amazon FBA Seller – $1,200 a month

When I first started my stay-at-home business pursuits, I began stock trading, then added reselling on eBay and then Amazon FBA. As I continued to add income streams, Amazon FBA stayed #1 as my personal favorite and as my most profitable income source. In the first month, I made $400, then $600, then $800. I worked it up to $1,200 a month, working part-time the first year. When I added Amazon FBA, I instantly doubled my income. When I went full-time, I then doubled my income again. – Tracy Smith

6. Social Media Marketer – $1,300 a month

I started ChangeDiapers.com in 2009 as a blog about cloth diapering. Over the years, I have picked up clients via word of mouth, doing social media management and other marketing tasks for cloth diaper companies and DC area businesses. I net about $1,300 a month after expenses and taxes. – Maria Moser

7. Sell Products Online – $1,500 a month

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. However, as any mom knows, having young ones at home does not allow much free time to pursue those passions. Many of my ideas were also very large in scope. That is until I came up with an idea for a hair product about 18 months ago. This product concept would absorb oil and cover roots, allowing busy women more time between shampooing and salon visits. Slowly, during nap time and after the little ones were asleep, I worked on my idea, stalked beauty counters, and consulted a chemist. In 2014, I launched my online store, Saving Grace Beauty, LLC. My average monthly income is $1,500.- Erica Harriss

8. Graphic Designer – $1,600 a month

I work from home as a graphic designer. I initially worked for a company that was based in my hometown. The company relocated, and I was laid off. Later I was offered a freelance position with them. I make roughly $1,600 a month from home. – Randi Sparkman

9. Etsy Craft Seller – $2,083 a month

If you enjoy making arts and crafts, you can make $1,000 a month selling handmade goods on Etsy. Kirsten La Greca decided to test the waters on Etsy by selling embroidered scarfs. After being on the platform for a month, she finally made a sale, then another, until she finally hit $1,000 in sales. She kept at it, and after a couple of years, of being on the platform, she earned $25,000 annually or $2,083 a month. For more tips about being successful on Etsy, check out this interview with Melanie from Simple Made Pretty.

10. Freelance Proofreader – $2,700 a month

If you have a good grasp of the English language and an eagle eye for catching spelling and grammatical errors, you can easily make over $1,000 a month proofreading documents from home! One stay-at-home mom, Peggy, was having a hard time finding work that she could do around her kids’ busy schedules. Then she stumbled upon a course for proofreading and decided to take the leap. Now Peggy earns $2,700 a month as a part-time freelance proofreader. If you’d like to learn more about proofreading from home, check out this free 76-minute proofreading workshop from Proofread Anywhere!

11. Craigslist Seller – $3,500 a month

One thing that often stops people from pursuing a side gig is that they don’t have a website. In this following example, Aimee Pass earned $3,500 in a month using $5 Craigslist ads. She posted one $5 ad for family photography sessions and another $5 for live aquarium plants. From these two ads, she generated $800 from selling her aquarium plants and landed $2,700 in photography work. If you’d like to know more, you can read Aimee’s tips for selling stuff on Craigslist here.

12. Professional Resume Writer – $3,750 a month

Heather Rothbauer-Wanish had just finished her MBA, was working full-time but still wondered how she could turn her writing passion into a business. At first, she started writing articles as a side hustle but then branched out into other writing niches. Friends and family always came to her for resume reviews, so she decided to get certified as a resume writer. Today, Heather earns an average of $3,750 a month, providing resume writing services from home.

13. Bookkeeper – $6,000 a month

If you have a head for numbers, becoming an online bookkeeper may be the perfect way for you to earn $1,000 or more per month! One single mom, Lyanna, who had always enjoyed working with numbers, decided to pursue an online bookkeeping education so that she could make money as an online bookkeeper. After completing her course, she was able to get some clients from word of mouth, and today she makes $6,000 a month working part-time! To see if you’re cut out for bookkeeping, register for this free bookkeeping workshop to see if this path is right for you!

14. Marketing and PR Consultant – $6,800 a month

My business is Famous in Your Field. It’s a marketing and PR consulting business that I run from my home office. My clients are small business owners and professionals based all across the US. I typically work from 9 am to 4 pm while my two children are in school. Last year’s revenues were $82,000, which works out to a monthly income of about $6,800. – Lori Nash Byron

15. Affiliate Marketing – $7,000-$9,000 a month

Blogging was at first a hobby to me and a way to express my opinions. During my blogging journey, which started in 2008, I learned that I could make an income from my blog through affiliate programs, so I started to include affiliate links in my posts, and it has become a way for me to make money from my blog. I am now making $7,000-$9,000 a month with my blog through affiliate marketing. – Louida Martin

16. Certified Online Business Manager – $8,000 a month

I started my business in 2011, working as a VA. I learned everything I possibly could and found out I had a real passion for online business systems and technology. Shortly, my business was fully booked, and I hung up my bookkeeping hat. Knowing I wanted to learn more, I went from being a VA to a Certified Online Business Manager, where I helped busy entrepreneurs organize, run, and grow their online businesses. I currently make about $8,000 a month, but when I first started part-time, it was around $1,000 a month. – Sara Wagners

17. Instagram and Blogging Influencer – $10,000 a month

Elaine Rau lost her job and needed to make money quickly, so she started the blog LadyBossBlogger and corresponding social media accounts. After being featured on the Huffington Post, she began to get requests from brands and companies wanting to be featured on her channels. Today, Elaine makes $10,000 a month selling courses, affiliate marketing, and sponsored blog and influencer posts.

18. Essential Bodywear Consultant – $10,000 a month

If you had told me years ago, my dabbling in direct sales would give my family the gift of financial freedom; I wouldn’t have believed it was possible. My involvement in direct sales has given me the opportunity to have my cake and eat it too. This is an industry that I never considered and even looked down upon, and yet it has given me one of the greatest opportunities I could have ever asked for.

Today I am a businesswoman, a professional bra fitter, a public speaker, a mentor, an advocate for women’s health and self-image, but most importantly, I am a working mother. – Carrie Steuer

19. Flea Market Flipper – $10,833 a month

Do you enjoy watching shows like Storage Wars and American Pickers? If so, flea marketing flipping may be the perfect way for you to make money from home! One couple that earns money with this method is Melissa and Rob Stephenson. Rob has been buying and reselling items since he was 16 years old. Today, they earn $130,000 a year, flipping flea market finds on sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace.

20. Virtual Assistant – $13,000 a month

Sherry Carnahan started her virtual assistant (VA) business back in 1992 with a box of business cards and a typewriter. She reached out to local companies and began offering data entry services. Today, Sherry offers admin, writing, marketing, and fulfillment services to clients and, on average, earns $13,000 a month! To learn more about becoming a virtual assistant, check out this blog post.

21. Business Coach – $27,000 a month

While working a full-time job, Jessica Nazarali started a couple of side hustles, a WordPress blog, and an online health food store. Because of these successful side hustles, people began asking her how they too could start a business on their own. So she decided to quit her job and become a full-time business coach. Today Jessica earns $27,000 from her coaching business. If coaching sounds appealing, be sure to check out this helpful blog post on how to become a coach from home!

22. Start a Membership Site – $30,000 a month

If you have extensive knowledge on a particular topic, you can sell this knowledge on a monthly membership site. Carol Tice, the founder of the popular blog, Make a Living Writing, offers a monthly community membership called the Freelance Writers Den. Here she provides a forum, premium job leads, and marketing and freelance writing training and education. Every month, she charges members a $25 fee, and she has 1,200 members, so she’s earning $30,000 a month! If starting a membership site sounds appealing, be sure to read her steps for getting started here.

23. Start a YouTube Channel – $83,333 a month

If you enjoy creating video tutorials, you can make good money as a YouTube creator. Of course, you’ll need to spend time growing your channel as YouTube requires partners to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time on your content in 12 months. But once you meet this criterion, you can start making money through Google ads. One mom that has found major success as a YouTube Creator is Judy Travis. Not only does she have millions of followers, but she regularly earns a million dollars annually creating parenting and beauty videos. If you want to make money creating YouTube videos, check out this tutorial to get started.

24. Personal Finance Blogger and Course Creator – $125,000 a month

Michelle Schroeder started her blog in the personal finance niche back in 2011. What began as a hobby quickly turned into a money-making machine! As she continued to see success with her primary monetization strategy, affiliate marketing, she decided to create a course to help other bloggers with this method too. In 2017 Michelle earned over $1.5 million from her blog, which includes course sales, affiliate marketing, paid sponsorships, and ad revenue. If you’d like to learn Michelle’s affiliate marketing tips, check out her course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are lots of ways to make $1,000 a month working from home! All you need is a laptop, internet connection, and the drive to get started!

One important thing to note is these women all started businesses that allow them the freedom to create their own schedule, and there’s no cap on how much they can earn.

Need more ideas? Be sure to check out this article; it has some really interesting ways to make an extra $1,000 a month – including face painting, online teaching, parking lot trash pick up, and selling worms!

Whichever of these practical ideas you choose, you’ll be well on your way to earning extra money in any given month.

Originally published June 3, 2015. Content updated November 2021.