5 Mom Friendly Side Hustles and Hobbies I've Tried - And How You Can Too! (E35)

Mom's Guide to Finding Herself
Written By Mom Identity Project

It's a common experience: becoming a mom and feeling like your identity shifts entirely to childcare. Snacks, tantrums, and bedtime routines become the focus, and it's easy to lose sight of your individual passions. I’ve been there, feeling a sense of disconnect from who I was before motherhood. If you're looking to rediscover those interests, here are five side hustles and hobbies that helped me reconnect with myself.

Starting Small: The Breadcrumb Approach

Trying new hobbies or side hustles can feel overwhelming, but it's a rewarding journey. The key is to start small, experimenting with activities that resonate with you. As you follow these small "breadcrumbs" of interest, a clearer picture of your passions will emerge. Everyone's path is unique, and that's what makes it so valuable.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

  1. Large Investments and Commitments: Avoid jumping into ventures that require significant upfront investments. It's best to choose low-risk, low-commitment activities that don't create unnecessary pressure.

  2. Over-Committing: It’s easy to get carried away with enthusiasm. Start slowly, allowing yourself room to explore without the risk of burnout.

Five Ventures to Explore:

1. Book Clubs

Connecting with others through reading offers a casual and low-pressure way to engage with personal interests. Start with a manageable commitment, like reading a chapter per week, and build a community of shared learning.

2. Designing Kids’ Activities

If you have a creative flair, consider designing kids' activities for your own children or to sell on platforms like Etsy or through local businesses. This allows you to engage creatively while involving your children.

3. Social Media Content Creation

Starting a social media page to share experiences, tips, or creative projects provides a platform for community building and self-expression. You can adapt your content as you discover what resonates with your audience.

4. Leading Local Activities

Engage with your local community by leading activities at a play center or library. This combines creative ideas with community involvement and quality time with your children.

5. Podcasting

If you enjoy storytelling and connecting through conversation, podcasting can be a rewarding choice. It offers a platform for in-depth discussions and building a supportive community around topics you care about.

Lessons Learned

It's perfectly acceptable to change direction if an activity doesn't resonate. Not every hobby or side hustle needs to be monetized; if it's enjoyable and fulfilling, that's success. Remember to balance these activities with your personal and family life, and don't hesitate to let go if your interest wanes.

Getting Started

Begin by identifying your genuine interests. My free downloadable inventory, the "Mom's Identity Jumpstart," available on my website, can help you clarify your interests and explore new possibilities without overcomplicating the process.

Help Us Grow

The BoldLittleMinds MomCast is made possible by you - the listener. Your support goes directly into making each episode happen—thank you for being part of the journey!

All donations go directly to supporting the production of the Mom's Guide to Finding Herself podcast

For Your Binging Enjoyment…

33 5 Mom Friendly Side Hustles and Hobbies I've Tried - And How You Can Too!

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[00:00:00] I am right here with you when we talk about trying to find yourself and making time to try new things.

I've been down this road right along with you, and in this episode I'm sharing the five side hustles and hobbies that I've tried as I work to reconnect with myself and feel more like a person again. If you're wondering where to start or what might work for you, This episode is for you.

Welcome to Mom's Guide to Finding Herself, where we share stories of side hustles and surviving while parenting young children. I'm your host, Chrissy Bold. Let's make motherhood less lonely and help you find joy in being you again.

Let's face it, after kids, it's easy to feel like your identity revolves around snacks or tantrums and bedtime battles. And I've been there. Coming out of my second baby's first year, I found myself yearning for something that felt like mine, something that reminded me I'm still Krissy and not just mom.

For me, a big part of that has been starting small and following what [00:01:00] feels good. There's so much pressure to find what's next that we get stuck in waiting for the next big thing when in reality that big thing is going to be ever evolving and will only come to be by following the breadcrumbs. We need to do lots of experimenting as we try things on. I didn't magically wake up one day knowing what I liked or what I wanted to do.

In fact, I had no idea what I liked or what brought me joy anymore. I tried things, some that worked for a bit before I chose to let them go, and others that have evolved from the really small idea that they started as. And honestly, the process has been messy.

It's been fun, and it's definitely been uncomfortable, but each step has brought me closer to reconnecting with myself. Today, I'm going to share with you five side hustles and hobbies that I've tried, as well as all of the breadcrumbs that brought me to each one. But first, let's talk about what brought me [00:02:00] here.

When I started trying new hobbies and side hustles and things like that, I was feeling like I had completely lost my sense of self. I was wanting to contribute somehow, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to do that. And I was struggling with finding time. to find that something extra for whatever that thing that was going to be that felt fulfilling.

I wanted to feel like a whole person, like an individual, and not just like I was mom, not just like I was this like fixture in the family. I wanted to have something that really was bringing me this internal joy and also feeling like I was contributing, but I had no idea where to even start. I didn't feel like anything fit anymore.

All the old things I liked to do didn't feel right. The new things, like nothing felt like it was going to fit because everything seemed too big or too scary or like it took too much time out of my family's routine. The real problem comes where moms don't know where to [00:03:00] even start. Or they feel overwhelmed by the idea of adding one more thing to their plates.

But if you're feeling that draw, if you're feeling that, that emptiness, that desire, then it's important that you follow that because not following that will lead you to feeling lost after becoming a mom.

Or you have this need for something that's just for you outside of the role of being mom or partner,

not pursuing that, not feeling that can lead you to a really dark place, but we want to help you to rediscover passions or spark new ones. Now it can get really frustrating. I'm not going to lie. Here are some of the things that a lot of people do. that don't work. First you might want to jump into something that requires too much of an upfront investment.

One thing that we need to take into account here, is most things cost money to get started. But a lot of things you're not going to want to stick with. And that's okay. You need to be able to say to yourself, This feels like a chore. This [00:04:00] isn't exciting. I am not enjoying this.

I need to let it go. There is too much in our life that we don't necessarily enjoy, that are a have to, not a want to. So, getting yourself financially invested into something that becomes a have to, not a want to, not a bring you joy, I mean, sure, there's going to be times where you have to do something that you might not want to even if it's like a choice, like your hobby, but that shouldn't be the theme.

That shouldn't be the ongoing feeling as you're doing them. So if you jump into something that requires a big upfront investment, then how are you gonna let it go if it doesn't feel good? You're going to feel stuck. You're going to feel tied to it. So give yourself the space to choose a hobby or a side hustle that doesn't feel like a chore.

It feels more fun than a chore. You also don't want to overcommit. because then you can burn out quickly. It's really easy when you get excited about something, starting [00:05:00] something new to like dive in. I am a head first person, but you got to slow down and realize you have a lot of commitments outside of this right now, and things are going to come your way.

So if you jump in and over commit, you're going to burn out real fast. So let's start by figuring out how to tiptoe, how to start small. Focus on low risk hobbies or side hustles like Instagram content creation, or maybe joining a book club. Something that you can pop in and out of, something that you can tiptoe through, and really try on and see how it fits.

Something that's low risk, low commitment. But whatever it is, make sure that when you start to lean into it. you're leaning into something that you already enjoy, that's already making you excited. So pick something that aligns with your natural skills or your interests, something that's sparking this, Ooh, this is exciting because you need to be able to experiment with it.

[00:06:00] You need to be able to play with it. And if this isn't something that you're jumping in, that seems naturally aligned with you, then you're not going to be able to experiment as well because you're going to be trying to fit into this mold that just isn't you. So give yourself room to experiment without guilt.

because you're trying something doesn't mean you're stuck with it. You can pivot at any time. This is your life. Nothing says that you need to be continually doing this for the rest of time or even for a good chunk of time. You can try it for like a week, a month, a year, who cares?

And if it's not working out for you at whatever point, just let it go. There's no guilt in that. Nobody is holding you accountable for any of these things but you. So here are some of the things that I have tried becoming a mom.

Now the reason why I decided to do this was I had stumbled upon a book through my Instagram feed. It was called How to Love Your Kids Without Losing Yourself by Dr.

Morgan Cutlip. She was just publishing the book and she had advertised a launch group. So I joined the launch group, like why not? This book called to me. That title was like [00:07:00] yes, I need to read this book. And joining a launch group fit really perfectly with me. It gave me a group of people that I could socialize with that were all doing something similar in a similar phase of life for me.

So yeah, it was a no brainer to jump in. I wanted something low pressure that was still fulfilling. So when I was in there it was really great. I was loving the book. I wanted everybody to read it. I still want everybody to read it. Go buy the book. And, she announced a promotion of if you bought 10 copies of a book for your book club then She would do a private q and a with your book group.

And I was like, I can do that. I can start a book club. So I jumped onto Reddit and I posted in mom's groups, Hey, I need 10 people to join this group with me so we can discuss this book. Think it would be great. And I think there were like 50 people that jumped in. Everyone bought a copy and we had a nice q and a with Dr.

Morgan and it was just totally amazing. And just that little breadcrumb, that motivation, I mean we read I think three books as a group [00:08:00] before I decided that this wasn't for me right now, um, that's when I picked up the podcast and just needed to reallocate my time. But leading this book group, gave me a structured time to focus on myself while connecting with other adults.

It gave me accountability to read, but then also to reflect, a space to do that, a space to take what I had learned in my reading and really apply it to myself. Now, if you want This is something that can fit anybody's life. A lot of people are really interested in reading together as a community or finding a book group.

I see this kind of thing posted a lot online, people looking for book groups. So this is something that if you are craving connection and you want to ease back into reading, This can be a simple, really enjoyable step, but the tip here is keep it casual and low pressure.

We did a chapter a week and sometimes we did half of a chapter a week if it was a really long chapter where I would post three reflection questions [00:09:00] that either came from the book itself or something that I really wanted to dive into and we would discuss them back and forth and I would respond to people's reflections, and we really got to know each other.

It was a really nice space to really explore this study that we were doing. So I definitely recommend exploring this because, you know, there's an end date too. If you decide this isn't for you, it's a low commitment because once you finish the book, you don't necessarily have to pick up another one. You don't have to do it again, but you can.

You might as well. And if you want to pick it up again, A month later or a couple months later, you can do that too. It's always there for you. So this is a really great one to dive into. Another thing that I had tried was designing kids activities.

I started doing this when I was looking at printable activities online, but they didn't really seem to meet my kid where he was at. He is pre reader, you know, he's just about to turn four and I started doing this when he was two. So he needed things that were really intuitive. I had a baby.

I couldn't be [00:10:00] sitting next to him showing him what the directions on this, on this activity was. So I needed to come up with things that for him, he could just do on his own. own. So I decided to start creating these activities. I laminated them, put Velcro on, and he had a great time just like filling in blanks or making patterns or making matches, whatever the thing was.

Velcro and laminating are going to be a really great mom hack for you, if you don't already do this for your kid. But I decided since I was making these anyway, I might as well list them on Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers. And eventually I started to reach out to local coffee shops because I had started make coloring books for him as well. And I was like, you know what? This could be something that other moms might like too. It's a really low commitment thing for me where I can do it on my own time or I can go and restock, but I can share it and make a little coffee money here and there from from sharing them.

And that worked out really nicely for me. It still is. It's helped me in a lot of ways. It's designing the [00:11:00] activities for the kids. It helped me combine this creativity. I'm a very creative person with a purpose,

but it also held me accountable with my kids with giving them activities that I thought were enriching because that was something that at the time was important to me. But it also helped me feel helpful to other moms. I felt like I was now becoming an educator again. I was now helping other people out and that felt really good.

Now, did it feel great to send the messages to to a coffee shop? Absolutely not. You know, especially for a coffee shop that wasn't necessarily selling kids activities. Like I would, I wrote up my little message on Facebook and I went into their DMs and I closed my eyes and I hit enter and I like threw up in my mouth and then I like, you know, just closed the computer, turned off my phone and walked away because like, uh, the vulnerability was real.

And I did get no's, you know, the no's didn't feel great, but I got a couple yeses and the yeses kept coming and it started to feel really good. So if you are crafty or [00:12:00] creative or entrepreneurial, you can start designing products, whatever that might be, and that can be really fulfilling and flexible. So my tip for you here is start by solving a problem that you're facing and then figure out if you want to share it with others.

And if you do, there are ways to go about that.

The next thing that I tried, not necessarily in this order, all of this kind of overlaps, is I had started a public Instagram page. Now, like a lot of other moms, I spent a lot of time scrolling on social media and I thought, you know what, I can share my experience too. So I started my Instagram page by deciding to share different deals or tips that I had learned when I was shopping around for my babies.

And I decided that creating content would help me tap into my creative side. and connect with the community of moms who got it while also sharing my knowledge. And this has worked out really well for me. Now it might work out great for you if you are creative or you love connecting with people but you're not really sure where your [00:13:00] people are and you want to share your journey in a meaningful way.

because it's free to start and you can change along the way. I have changed my name on social media and my mission three times now and it's been great. I just kind of evolving and figuring out what feels good and what fits and there is no commitment. There is low risk.

This is my page. I can do whatever I want with it. I can share however I want, whatever I want, and through that I'm also finding people who I can connect with on my time, on my own time that I'm available, and who share interests with me. The interest might be parenting or the interest might be sensory play or something else, but I'm building a community of people out there who I really enjoy connecting with.

Now you don't need a huge following to feel fulfilled. If you focus on connecting, That can be the fulfillment. You don't need this like big number of followers to feel successful. Figure out for you why you're doing this [00:14:00] and then you can measure your success from there. If you're doing it just to share your knowledge.

Then great, you shared it. It's out there. If you're doing it to also connect with other people, then you have to put in the legwork to do those connections, to build those connections. And then once you get there, it feels so great. Now, from my Instagram page and from designing activities, I also noticed that other moms were struggling to keep their kids entertained.

And I thought, you know what? I can help with this. So I started not just designing like printable activities. I also started. So I started designing activities that I could do with my kids. Low cost, low prep things that we could do, that other moms could do as well, and I started sharing that on social media.

And then when I had my son's birthday party at a local play place, I connected with the owner and she saw that I had my Instagram page and she said, you know what, why don't you run an activity or two here? So I started running activities at the local play place and that was awesome.

It was great because I was able to [00:15:00] share these low cost, low prep activities with other moms or nannies or babysitters or dads or whoever brought their kids in. And they were activities that not only were really enriching to the kids in the moment, but that they could take home with them, that they could do and replicate at home and feel that same sense of, wow, look at what we're doing.

We're connecting, we're being creative, and it was really exciting. It was just fun and rewarding in a whole different way to be able to be out there leading like a teacher again. I was teaching again, which was a big part of my identity for a really long time. But also talking to other moms and also sharing my knowledge.

If you enjoy hands on activities, this could be a really great creative way to help others and spend time with your kids. Because my kids were there with me doing this. And one tip for you here is, is Pinterest is your best friend for that. You don't have to come up with unique original ideas all the time.

I mean, if you have one, great, share that. But you can have your own twist on things that have already [00:16:00] been done and that's okay too. The fifth hobby slash side hustle that I've started is clearly here, podcasting. I had always really liked the idea of podcasting.

I'd thrown around the idea with my sisters for quite a long time. Like we would talk, joke about, Oh, we'll do this on the pod. And eventually the stars just kind of lined up. I was doing my activities, I was doing my social media, I was making connections. But I wanted something that allowed me to dive deeper into conversations that mattered to moms and have real conversations with other moms.

So podcasting was a really great fit. It gave me this sense of purpose and a platform to share and learn and grow alongside other moms. So this could be something that would work for you If you love talking and storytelling and sharing your knowledge, this could be a really great option for you.

Podcasting can also be a really great way to build community while processing your own experiences. So this is also something that might seem like a big [00:17:00] investment. I mean, sure, it costs money. All of these things cost money. But if you start small, you don't need fancy equipment. I got my equipment for less than 100 on Amazon.

And you can do the same thing. You can start really small and really just dive in and learn as you go. Now, for each one of these, I learned that it's okay to pivot if something doesn't feel right. And you don't need to monetize everything. You can do things just because they're fun.

They don't have to have some sort of end goal. They don't have to have some sort of measure of success. If you're having fun, that is the measure of success, but also remember balance is key. Whatever you're choosing, don't let that take over. Remember to keep your priorities in line and. Give yourself limits, give yourself boundaries, but also don't let your limits and boundaries stop you.

If you think all you have in your day is five minutes to do it, then do it. Because once you start to get better at something, once you start to get good [00:18:00] at doing something, and you really enjoy it, You're going to find more windows of time to do them in because it lights you up and those windows are going to get longer And you're going to feel more and more opportunity to do them.

So start small. Don't let it take over your life Don't let it be this whole big thing for you.

So that way you can let it go if it's not working. So how do you get started on your own first start by identifying what you're actually interested in on my website I have a free download called the mom's identity jumpstart It's an inventory that you can do to Go through what you're actually interested in and start to narrow down what you might want to try.

But make sure whatever you decide on, you start small. Don't overcomplicate it. It doesn't have to be this big thing. And be patient with yourself as you explore. Because you're not going to be good at something at first, right? It's not necessarily hard to do. It's just you haven't done it before.

So you need to really work through it to figure out if this is something you actually are enjoying or not.

I would love to hear how this episode has helped you. Scroll [00:19:00] down to the comments and leave me a note there. This will make a big impact in helping moms like us find the show.

Make sure you click that thumbs up and make sure you to follow so that way you can continue to join me on this journey of finding ourselves.

Now, if you're feeling isolated or lonely in motherhood, the next episode is for you. I'm going to help you understand why you're feeling this way. And spoiler alert, it's not anything that you're doing wrong. Until then, take a moment for yourself and remember, you are an amazing mom, just as you are.

Mom Identity Project https://momidentityproject.com
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