6 Ways For Ranch Wives To Make Money From Home

You probably either have a friend who is married to a cowboy and is looking for a way to supplement a working cowboy’s income, or you ARE the friend who is looking for a way to supplement a working cowboy’s income. Dealing with hour long commutes to town on less than ideal roads, and the “town” maybe not being a thriving metropolis of work, is a reality for many. Who wouldn’t want to work from home? Here are 7 ideas for you hard working Cowboy-girls to make some money from the comfort of your own home.

1.    Make and Sell Gear

Most ranch wives are pretty resourceful and crafty, when you get right down to it. They have to be, they’re married to cowboys! It seems like everywhere I look theses days, everyone has a jewelry business. So I would turn to something else. Learn to make headstalls and bridles (saddle makers HATE making bridles and will pay someone to make them for their saddle shop),  learn to make chinks and chaps, braid rawhide, make quilts, hitch horsehair or engrave silver. Look at the part of the world you’re living in, what type of gear the cowboy’s around you use, and then tap into those resources!

2.     Give Music Lessons

Are you musically inclined? Can you play an instrument? When my dad was cowboying on the Big Springs Ranch in Wells, NV, my mums paid a “neighbor” lady to give me piano lessons. We didn’t have a piano, but once a week we’d bump our way down the road for lessons. If you’re gifted musically, share your gift! Put up posters and spread the word that you are now accepting students.  Give a discount for signing up for a month at a time for little Johnny or Susie’s piano, trumpet or guitar lessons. Get after it, maestro!

3.     Start a Bakery from Your Kitchen

Most of you gals that carry the illustrious title of “Ranch Wife”, are more than competent cooks and canners, from necessity for one thing, and pure enjoyment from the other. But if you enjoy something and are good at it, why not share it with the rest of the world and make some money off it while you’re at it?? Can peaches, pickles and plums, make some cute packaging and start a little store out of your kitchen. Are you an excellent baker? Make and sell pies, homemade bread and cookies to people in town and single cowboys. They’ll love you! You could even start a blog with your “bakery’s” name and post pictures of what you make and have a price list for potential customers. And when you do, let me know because I’ll definitely want to put an order in!

4.     Ironing

Yes, I said ironing. You can’t believe the amount of people (in town or maybe single cowboys), who would pay someone to not have to worry about their laundry. When you make a trip into town you can pick up the dirty laundry and return it on your next town day! I actually did this in grade school and had as much work as I could handle!

5.     Dog Sitting

I think you could actually make a killing off of this idea. If you advertised a doggie day care, specifically for town dogs where they got to come to your “ranch out in the country” and run around, go on long walks and be given a bath before they return home…I think you’d have as many dogs as you could handle!

6.     Start a Day Care

There are a lot of ranch wives with babies who some days just want to get out there and cowboy with their hubbies and would probably appreciate a trustworthy and reliable babysitter and/or day care. Or maybe they have to work in town and would feel more comfortable with their children being with another ranch wife. You can have outside/”cowboy”/ranchy games, reading time, roping the cat games (hehehe) and even a cooking hour, depending on their age. You would probably have to get a CPR certification, but that’s easily enough done. Toddlers, anyone?

I know that I didn’t address making jewelry, making wild rags or decorated mirrors, because those all seem to be hugely popular and instead chose to focus on other things. If you guys have any ideas that I didn’t discuss, please share them in the comments!

xo xo Liz