We live in an ever-changing world. Partly this is thanks to the influences of technology and partly to shifting social and working practices. One of the results of this has been the steady reversal of standard gender norms, namely the rise of the stay-at-home dad.
According to a study carried out by the Pew Research Centre in 2021 and reported in Forbes magazine there were an estimate 2.1 million men who chose to take the day to day parental responsibility for their children.
One of the reasons for this has been the increasing success of women in the workplace. So, whereas the tradition has been for the man to be the bigger earner this is more and more being reversed.
It is also a reflection of changing priorities in many people’s lives with fathers increasingly recognising that they may be missing out on seeing their children grow up.
However, while they may be getting the opportunity to stay at home, the cost of living is increasing and it’s only the lucky families that can thrive on a single income. So many of the men who have chosen family over career are finding that they also need to generate some income too.
Fortunately, today’s online world makes this much easier than it once was. So here are five suggestions about how to balance generating an income with attending to childcare.
Start a blog, vlog, or podcast.
One of the great things that the internet has introduced is the ability to make our voice heard. It’s also hungry for content that is relatively cheap and easy to produce. Because blogs, vlogs and podcasts can cover such a wide range of topics from the general to the niche, it makes it easy to come up with a topic or theme. It might seem like no-one else wants to hear about your trials and tribulations, but there are sure to be plenty other similar stay-at-home dads who very definitely do. Then, as your following begins to grow, you’ll start to see the money rolling in.
Try your hand at online betting.
Ever since the US Supreme Court overruled the law banning sports betting in 2018 more and more states have introduced it. This has led to a whole raft of sportsbooks opening for business and letting people bet on everything from football to tennis.
So an increasing number of stay-at-home dads use sports betting as passive income. With time on their hands to study the form of teams and individuals’ bets can be based on logic, not emotion. This undoubtedly results in greater overall success in putting money on a favourite sport or sporting event.
Become a virtual assistant.
Whatever your own finances look like, it’s undoubtedly true that there are plenty of people out there who are cash rich and time poor. So, their busy lives need someone to organize things for them whether it’s booking travel tickets, replying to emails, or simply making dinner reservations. This has led to the rise of the virtual assistant.
You can do all of these things online without the need to ever to go into an office or even meet the boss. It’s become such a popular way to earn a living that there are even courses to teach you what is required of a good VA.
Get creative in the kitchen.
Among the skills that a stay-at-home dad can start to perfect is cooking and baking. While this might not be the first step on the route to becoming a professional chef, it can still be turned into a money-making opportunity.
Start with front-yard bake sales and then try to expand the operation by seeing if local, independent stores might be interested in stocking some of your produce. If you live somewhere that has lots of dog owners you could even try your hand at supplying a fast-expanding market – gourmet dog treats.
Launch yourself into affiliate marketing.
Finally, here’s an opportunity to generate an income simply from promoting the products of particular brands and businesses. To do this, you first have to take up the first suggestion in this list by creating a blog or podcast and to build up a following.
Then it’s just a question of making recommendations and looking forward to the commission that’s going to arriving in your bank account. For some businesses it can be as high as 75%. You can even do it on behalf of Amazon who will pay you 10% of the value of everything that you help to sell.
There are many, many more ways to supplement the family income from home as well as these suggestions. So just look to your strengths and decide what’s going to work best for you and your situation. Then just watch the money start to roll in!