While staying home with your children can be a rewarding experience on its own, jobs designed for stay-at-home moms will let you enjoy the benefits of building professional skills while contributing to your family's monthly finances.
Seven Work Ideas for Stay at Home Moms
You don't have to leave your house to supplement your family's income. Many jobs can be done from the comfort of your own home while also allowing you to care for your children.
1. Day Care Provider
In many parts of the United States, the demand for childcare providers greatly exceeds the supply. If you love working with small children, opening your own home-based daycare center may be a rewarding endeavor. Keep in mind that every state has specific requirements for becoming a licensed provider, so be sure to check with your state's Department of Human Resources (DHR) to find out what is required before getting started.
2. Direct Sales Representative
Direct sales companies such as Avon, Pampered Chef, and Creative Memories offer great jobs for stay-at-home moms who are outgoing and passionate about the products they want to sell. Typically, a direct sales business requires a sign-up fee to become a registered representative. You then earn a commission based on the number of products you sell within a particular time period. To learn more about this type of work-at-home business, visit Work at Home Mom Online.
3. E-commerce Entrepreneur
Stay at home moms who feel comfortable working with computers may find that the world of e-commerce opens up many career opportunities. For example:
- On eBay, you can sell spare items from around your own home or merchandise you've picked up at garage sales. Alternatively, you can list unwanted goods from people in your community in exchange for a percentage of the profits.
- If you enjoy knitting, quilting, jewelry making or other crafts, you may be able to sell your handmade items through Etsy. This popular Web site is similar to eBay, but devoted exclusively to original works of art.
- You can build your own website to sell merchandise through a drop shipping method, thus eliminating the need to carry large amounts of inventory in your own home.
4. Freelance Writer
If you love to write, the Internet offers many chances to turn your skills into an opportunity to earn extra cash. Sites such as HubPages and Squidoo offer you a chance to earn money for your writing through online affiliate ads, even if you have no previous formal writing experience. The Freelance Writing Jobs team compiles announcements from companies in search of freelance writers several times each week. If you have a degree in English or journalism, or if you have experience writing professionally, you may also be able to apply for content writing positions for websites like About.com, SheKnows.com and Demand Media Studios.
For those who are passionate about one particular topic, blogs offer a unique way to make money. Blogger is one of many services that let you include Google AdSense advertising on your blog to earn extra money. If you have blogging experience, Jobs.ProBlogger.net is a good place to look for job opportunities.
5. Virtual Assistant
A number of companies and professionals are looking to virtual assistants to help them with scheduling, maintaining their websites, composing letters and press releases and other general office tasks. So much of the work performed in an office can now be communicated and performed remotely, opening up opportunities for highly-organized individuals to work from home in this capacity. Keep in mind that your job as a virtual assistant is to assist other people, so while you have the flexibility to take on as many or as few clients as you want, you do have to be available during the times of day that they need assistance.
There are online schools, like AssistU, designed to help prepare you for a career as a virtual assistant, but one of the most important factors impacting success in this field is personal marketing. If you want to start a virtual assistant business you have to be able to connect with individuals looking for help through advertising and/or networking. Websites where you can look for this type of work include Virtual Office Temps and Virtual Assistant Jobs.
6. Online Tutoring
If you're a teacher, a graduate student or a professional in science, math or education, all that knowledge bouncing around in your head can be put to good use as an online tutor. A number of online tutoring services like Tutor.com, Tutorvista.com, and Eduwizards are often looking for tutors to work in a freelance capacity to help the students paying for online tutoring services. Based on your own expertise and available time schedule you'll be matched with students who need help in school, providing them with one-on-one tutoring assistance.
7. Web Design
The internet is an important place for gathering and disseminating information in today's marketplace, but many local companies still don't have a web presence. If you have knowledge and experience in web design, consider building websites for an hourly fee or on a project basis. Most businesses will need a basic website with some ongoing content turnover, so you may even be able to promote long-term web maintenance into your contract structure. Web design is particularly nice in that you can complete the work on your own schedule, as long as you meet the deadlines agreed upon with the client. Indeed and Project4Hire can be good places to look for these kinds of opportunities.
More At-Home Job Resources
To learn more about how to find jobs for stay at home moms, visit the following helpful links:
- FlexJobs.com: Leading online resource for finding announcements for various types of telecommuting positions
- WAHM.com: Active forum and job posting resource focused on the needs of moms interested in working from home
- Bizy Moms: Information on becoming a mom-entrepreneur with resources on starting your own home-based business
- Upwork: Freelance worker marketplace where those seeking home-based project work can connect with potential clients
Self-Reflection Can Lead to Work-at-Home Ideas
These are just a few of the many ways you can earn money providing services from home. There are a number of ways to make a living by telecommuting, but you may just have to think outside the box to do it. Ask yourself this: What skills do I have, and who can benefit from them? The more you think about your skills and how they can benefit others, the more home-based employment, contract work and entrepreneurial opportunities you will begin to discover.
