Laurynn: A Mom and Small Business Owner Uses Side Hustles to Make Ends Meet

The COVID-19 pandemic cut Laurynn’s business down 99% in a single day. 

Laurynn owned and ran an in-home daycare with three employees and 16 children. On March 13, when schools shut down in Florida, all of her clients except for one decided to keep their children at home. 

It was an especially devastating loss because Laurynn’s small business had been growing. 

“I was doing very well financially,” Laurynn said. “I had been branching out and had just added transportation so I could do after school pick up. I was prepared for the 2020-21 school year to be great.”

When she lost most of her business, Laurynn immediately went into problem solving mode and began applying for jobs and grants. She applied for unemployment benefits immediately, but was denied because there was “nothing to show” she was employed in 2018-2019.

“I was self-employed,” Laurynn said. “I filed my taxes every year. But when the system kept crashing, I stopped trying. I knew I had to get out there and hustle.”

Read Laurynn’s Q&A on SaverLife.org

With only one child and Laurynn’s own two girls in need of care, she had to lay off two of her employees. Her financial coach from Neighborhood Trust told her about SaverLife and sent her the link to apply for an emergency cash grant. 

“When I applied for the grant and got the $500 it bridged the gap,” Laurynn said. “It was a grant I didn’t have to write a dissertation to qualify for! It was a very simple process.” 

Laurynn was able to receive other grants and federal assistance for her business, but the grant from SaverLife was helpful because it could go directly toward paying for food and living expenses. 

“The flexibility on what I could use the grant for really helped,” Laurynn said. 

A recent analysis of the effectiveness of SaverLife’s cash grants found that many families used this extra money to pay rent, buy groceries, and pay credit card bills. 

Laurynn tried two different jobs working from home, but keeping a quiet environment for eight hours in her room with three kids in the house—one of whom was completing remote schooling—was nearly impossible. 

Laurynn is not alone in finding working remotely to be extra difficult with children at home. An August survey of SaverLife members found that 41% of respondents would not be able to work remotely, even if schools were remote. Of those who were able to work remotely, 47% said they would earn less money if schools were remote. 

“I couldn’t do the 9-5 because of the kids, but I work hard,” Laurynn said. 

She was already a licensed notary, and became a process server and began serving people legal papers to make extra money. She also signed up to become a delivery person for Shipt. 

To lower her bills, Laurynn used some money from her emergency savings to pay off a credit card bill. This dropped her monthly debt payment, freeing up some funds for living expenses. 

Things began to improve a bit financially when, over the summer, a few children returned to daycare. Laurynn was cautious because her own child has severe asthma, but is hopeful that more children will return soon. 

She became a SaverLife member and used what she was learning to help pay off her debts and build savings. 

“I haven’t been doing good with the savings part because my income isn’t enough,” she explained. “But I’ve still been saving when I can.”

She also participated in the Race to $100 and follows conversations on Facebook and the forums. 

“Any question you could have, the answer is there—all you’ve got to do is scroll!” Laurynn said. “And if you don’t see the answer, all you have to do is ask. It’s difficult to get out of debt and save, but when you are in a community of like-minded people it’s easier to make that a habit.”