Starting a Blog as a Full-Time Working Mom: My First Month Recap
They say if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Turns out, if you want a job with flexibility (and money!) as a working mom… you might have to build it yourself too.
A few months ago, if you had told me I’d be starting a blog while teaching full-time and raising two young kids, I probably would’ve laughed (or cried, depending on the day). But here we are—and somehow, The Home Work Hustle is officially up and running!
This blog wasn’t just about starting a creative project for fun. For months, I had been searching for side hustles and part-time remote jobs that could help support my family. I love teaching and don’t want to leave the classroom, but like so many working moms, I needed a way to earn extra income without adding even more chaos to our daily life. After endless job applications, competitive markets, and experience requirements I didn’t have, I realized that if I wanted more options for my family’s future, I might have to create them myself.
Blogging felt like the perfect path: a creative outlet, a flexible side hustle, and a way to build something entirely my own—focused on the parts of life I’m most passionate about: mom life, teaching, wellness, and keeping it real through it all. (Shout out to my husband for encouraging me to go for it)
The only problem? I knew absolutely nothing about building a website. I’m talking zero. Luckily, with a lot of late nights, endless Googling, and some serious help from ChatGPT, I managed to launch a site I’m genuinely proud of. It’s been overwhelming at times, but also incredibly exciting to learn something completely new outside of my usual world.
I spent about 10–15 hours a week on the blog during this first month—mostly in the evenings and on weekends—and while it was a lot, I’m hoping to streamline things to closer to 6–10 hours a week moving forward. In this post, I’m sharing an honest look at what I set up during my first month, what I’ve learned, what’s been harder than expected (spoiler alert: a lot), and what my goals are moving forward. If you’re thinking about starting a blog as a working mom too—or just wondering what it actually takes behind the scenes—here’s the real story.
What I Set Up in My First Month of Blogging
Quick Note:
This post is a long one—sorry (but also, not really)! 😂 If you’re short on time, feel free to skim and click to the sections that interest you:
- Building the Website: Bluehost + WordPress Setup
- Best Friends with ChatGPT: How AI Saved My Sanity
- Email List + Automation: Getting Started with MailerLite
- Affiliate Programs: First Steps into Monetization
- Planning Ahead: Laying the Groundwork for Growth
Building the Website: Bluehost + WordPress Setup
This journey officially began in early April 2025. I decided to build a website from scratch with the goal of publishing my first post by the third week of April. I knew WordPress was the go-to for building websites, so I started there first… and quickly realized you don’t actually start there. First, you need a web host and a domain name.
WordPress recommended Bluehost, which offered great deals for first timers. Since I’m always a sucker for a discount, it was an easy sell. I signed up, bought thehomeworkhustle.com for $35, and thought, “Great! Done spending money. Let’s build it!”
Well… not exactly.
When it comes to WordPress, you have two options:
- WordPress.com handles hosting for you but limits your flexibility for things like running an online store, adding plugins, and serious monetization.
- WordPress.org (which I chose) gives you full control over your site—but requires managing your own hosting and setup.
WordPress.org is more work up front, but way more freedom long term. I figured if I was going to put this much effort into building something, I might as well set it up right from the start. Plus, if I ever get rich and famous (hey, dream big), I’ll already have a solid foundation.
After I got everything set up, I learned that people can’t visit your site unless it is “secure.” Securing a site requires an SSL certificate which is another hidden cost—$89 I hadn’t planned on. It’s worth it, but that surprise expense definitely stung a little.
Overall, setting up my website was a much bigger project than I expected—but I’m so glad I stuck with it. Between figuring out hosting, navigating WordPress, troubleshooting beginner coding issues, and learning the basics of backend setup, it pushed me way outside my comfort zone. There were definitely moments of frustration (and a few “what have I gotten myself into” meltdowns), but now that the site is up and running, I feel like I have a solid foundation to keep building on.
Best Friends with ChatGPT: How AI Saved My Sanity
While building my website, I quickly ran into issues I had no idea how to fix. WordPress is pretty user-friendly once you get the basics, but starting out felt like a massive learning curve.
After hours of Googling and chatting with customer support but not getting very far, I finally thought, “I wonder if ChatGPT could walk me through this.”
Sure enough, jackpot. I could screenshot every step, and ChatGPT would tell me what was wrong, how to fix it, and how to customize things exactly the way I wanted. It wasn’t 100% perfect, but it was always close enough that I could figure it out without losing my mind.
The only catch? The free version limits how many screenshots you can send, so I upgraded to ChatGPT Plus for $20/month. Another unexpected expense—but honestly, the best $20 I’ve ever spent.
Without AI, this blog would probably not exist. No working mom has hours to waste digging through forums or waiting around for customer support to answer basic questions. ChatGPT helped me troubleshoot, problem-solve, and keep moving—fast—which made the impossible actually feel doable.
Beyond troubleshooting, AI has also been a huge help with editing my blog posts. I write every post myself, then after a quick self-edit, I paste it into ChatGPT and ask it to “polish” my writing. It catches grammar mistakes, smooths out clunky sentences, and helps me tighten everything up—without changing my words or my voice.
Some people might call it outsourcing the grunt work, but I call it working smarter, not harder. If I’m going to be a working mom with a side hustle, it’s going to be as efficient as possible. If ChatGPT can cut down my work time so I can spend more time with my kids, I’m all for it.
If you’re a busy working mom in a career that can use AI, trust me: tap into it. It’s one of the best time-saving moves you can make. It’s also a great confidence boost because it always tells you how great you are doing and compliments your work!
Email List + Automation: Getting Started with MailerLite
Once my website was live, I knew I needed a way to send my posts out into the world each week. I decided to start an email list, but once again—I had no clue where to begin. ChatGPT to the rescue again. It laid out my options and gave me suggestions based on my goals.
I chose MailerLite because it was free for up to 1,000 subscribers and seemed beginner-friendly. In my head, I thought, “I’ll set it up during Violet’s nap and still have time to work out.”
That was a funny joke.
MailerLite ended up being the most confusing part of the journey so far. Between domain authentication, backend settings, and automations, it took three full days to get everything working—and even now, I’m not totally confident I did it all correctly.
This was another moment where ChatGPT became my lifesaver, walking me through things that otherwise would have caused me to quit. I still don’t fully understand what half of it meant… but I’m proud of myself for sticking with it.
Affiliate Programs: First Steps into Monetization
After getting a few posts published and feeling like I was actually building something real, I decided it was time to start learning how to grow—and eventually monetize—my blog.
With some quick ChatGPT research, I learned the basics of SEO (slugs, meta descriptions, keywords), and got a crash course in affiliate marketing. One of the most beginner-friendly ways to monetize is through affiliate programs: recommending products you already use and love, and earning a small commission if readers purchase through your links.
I mostly shop with Amazon and Thrive Market, so those were the first places I applied. Anyone can join the Amazon Associates Program as long as you make at least three qualifying sales in the first 180 days. For Thrive Market, you have to join the CJ Publishers network, which is basically a platform that connects brands with bloggers and creators for affiliate partnerships. Once you’re approved through CJ, you can apply to individual companies—like Thrive—and start sharing links.
I’m keeping it simple for now with just a few brands I actually use and love, but I plan to apply for more as my blog (hopefully) grows.
Planning Ahead
The last thing I accomplished this month was making an effort to plan ahead—mapping out post ideas, setting goals, and figuring out what I still need to learn. Anyone who knows me from the teaching world knows I usually don’t even know what I’m doing an hour from now, let alone a month in advance, so this is definitely not my normal style.
But in this kind of work, where I still feel a little lost and overwhelmed, planning ahead has been a huge help. I’ve started keeping a simple running list of post ideas, rough goals for the month, and a few “next steps” I want to tackle—nothing fancy, but enough to keep me focused and lower my stress.
I’m sure over time I’ll naturally start winging it more—just like I do with teaching—but for now, having even a loose plan is keeping me sane (and actually making this whole thing feel possible).
Looking ahead to next month, my plan is to focus on building my affiliate relationships, do a deep dive into SEO, and finally step into the world of Pinterest—another area I know almost nothing about. I used Pinterest years ago, but it’s been a while, and now I have a lot to learn about how it can actually drive traffic and help grow a blog audience. From what I’ve heard, it’s one of the best tools out there for bloggers—so I’m excited (and a little overwhelmed) to dive in.
Here’s the damage for the first month. The blue light glasses were a total impulse buy, but after staring at a screen for hours, I’m calling it a wellness investment.
April 2025 Blog Start-Up Costs:
| Item | Cost |
| Hosting | $35.00 |
| ChatGPT Subscription | $20.00 |
| Blue Blocker Glasses | $30.00 |
| SSL Certificate | $89.00 |
| Total | $174.00 |
If there’s one thing I’ve learned this month, it’s that starting something new—especially something completely out of your comfort zone—takes way more grit, patience, and late-night Googling than you might expect. But it’s also incredibly rewarding.
This first month wasn’t perfect (not even close), but it was full of progress. I’m proud of how much I’ve learned, how much I’ve built, and how far I’ve already come from that first overwhelmed weekend of trying to set up a website.
I know the road ahead will have plenty more challenges, but for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m building something that’s mine. And that feels pretty amazing.
Thanks for being here at the beginning of this journey. I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Let’s not lose our minds together,
Tori
