As a military spouse with her fair share of deployment and worrying about everything else, I can attest that finding employment can be challenging. Thankfully, however, our generation has provided us with opportunities not available to military spouses back then, primarily from having an internet connection. The wonderful thing about making money online as a military spouse is that you are not required to reside in a specific area, and your work can easily travel (deploy) with you and your family. Many people are starting to find new ways to make money that they also enjoy, especially military families who deploy frequently and need a secondary income.
When it comes to being a military spouse who wants to earn extra income, you can start a manageable at-home business without too much cash upfront. There are many options for you to start your own at-home business when trying to make money as a military spouse.
Manageable At-Home Business Ideas for Military Spouses
Become an Affiliate
Start an affiliate business with companies like Amazon Associates, Shopify, CJ Affiliate, and eBay Partner Network with minimal upfront costs. This is the perfect way to share about the products you love, such as beauty products, kids’ products, jewelry, and many other diversified products, from the comfort of your home, no matter where military deployment takes you. Upselling products from different companies have been going strong for many years, making it a reliable and reputable way to earn a steady income.
Some online sellers I know have had tremendous success with MLM companies or multi-level marketing businesses, which is another way to call “pyramid selling.” If you are unfamiliar with the term, the best way to describe it is a “controversial marketing strategy” for selling products or services. While it isn’t for me, and I have tried it myself, I am not here to judge what you are comfortable doing and what you might be successful at. We all have our forte, and we all have bills to pay and mouths to feed.
Sell on Etsy
If you’re good with crafts and artsy stuff, selling on Etsy will be a fabulous way to make some extra money with your very own manageable at-home business as a military spouse. You can easily make printables, beads, jewelry, and similar options from your house and list them up for sale on Etsy as a means to support your family while being a military spouse, as Etsy is a way to have your very own at-home virtual business.
Sell on eBay
eBay is still going strong and is a great place to sell your items. One great way to make money on eBay is to travel to various yard sales where you’re currently deployed as a military spouse and purchase items you can resell at a higher price to earn a profit. You can also sell quality used clothing, shoes, and décor items from your home that you no longer need as a means to make money from home without too much of an upfront cost.
Sell on Mercari or Poshmark
One of the most common things we all have as parents is that kids always have outgrown clothes, shoes, and toys. Before you toss them or bag them up for donation (which can still end up in a landfill), I highly recommend starting your spring cleaning early. That way, you can inspect which outgrown things can still be resold, even for a small fee.
Make Your Shirts
With sites like Printify and Printful, you can easily create your t-shirts, kids’ apparel, and other accessories to sell online without creating these items at home. Printful and Printify give you a place to create the design, have it listed for sale, and only make it when the items sell. This makes it one of the most portable at-home business ideas for a military spouse with a vast imagination who can come up with clever ideas for shirts and other accessories to list for sale.
Suppose you’re comfortable designing your shirt or piecing designs and fonts together. In that case, customizing shirts using a Cricut machine is your best bet. For starters, you can practice creating custom designs for your little ones. They definitely would love it, no matter the outcome. After a few trials and errors, you can start gifting and getting feedback from family and friends. Word of mouth and social media will be your best friends. You can then sell locally, online, and join fairs.
The key to starting a manageable at-home business as a military spouse is to start a business that you can bring with you no matter where you get deployed. The list of ideas shared today will be a valuable resource to help guide you forward with your mission to find a manageable at-home business to help bring in income to support your family as a military spouse.
