This list is not limited to moms—anybody who is housebound or chooses to work from home can avail of the ideas here. It would be a huge benefit to have some training or work experience to start you off. If not, try to take some online classes when you have a spare hour during the kid’s nap time. Many universities now offer long-distance qualifications. Or, if you have a partner or helper, try to get some night classes for jobs that require hands-on training. Make a list of your skills, and rate your ability at them (from beginner to expert). Then, plan out how much time you could put into a home-based job, and on what days. This will determine which kinds of jobs suit your combination of skills combined with your availability. What stay-at-home moms can benefit most from are jobs that involve short and irregular appointments with non-specialised equipment.
1. Beauty: Hairdresser, Manicurist/Pedicurist, Massage Therapist, Make-Up for Special Occasions
These are jobs that can be done skilfully with or without training depending on your personal skill and time practising. It is a good move to start on friends, build up a reputation and start advertising online with the before-and-after photos of your successes. The tools required are not too expensive and the facilities can be improvised in your house. For the massages, you may want to take care to book them during nap time!
2. Web: Social Media Manager, Content Creator, Blogger/Vlogger, SEO Specialist, Online Marketing Executive, Remote Assistant, Critic
The internet brings a wealth of stay-at-home possibilities. Using online resources, it is quite easy to keep up-to-date with your team. Thousands of people work in global virtual teams today—so can you. Using online tutorials and studying core textbooks, you can become a competent online marketer and SEO optimizer. If you enjoy writing, you can become a critic of issues that you are knowledgeable on, and perhaps get picked up by a webzine. Or, you can handle the content for websites (just think of all the terrible websites you have seen and think you can fix them!). There is always the possibility that somebody needs a part-time assistant for organizing their virtual lives (email, social media, applications, bookings: all can be done via computer or phone). Depending on the duties required of you, as long as you are savvy at using email and cloud-sharing platforms such as Dropbox and Google Drive, it is very possible that you can be a part-time assistant. If you have a flair for story-telling, passing on knowledge in an entertaining way or simply engaging with the masses, a video blog (vlog) or blog can bring both fame and fortune. Check out the top YouTube personalities and see if it’s the way for you. Money is typically made from advertisements on your vlog/blog.
3. Creative: Artist, Designer, Journalist, Writer, Researcher, Musician
The creative mind is always at work and knows no hours. If you happen to have a creative skill, there is no reason why you can’t squeeze it into your spare time. You can sell yourself as a freelancer, you can take up at-home project work, or you can start giving video tutorials. If there is a large project you want to tackle requiring more resources, it’s worth it to set up a crowdfunding campaign using a platform like Kickstarter or Indiegogo and see if you get lucky.
4. Business: Phone Sales, Event Organizer, Wedding Planner
OK, phone sales may not be the sexiest job out there but it pays bills, and all you need is a phone. Event organizing and wedding planning can be possible depending on whether you can occasionally take your kids with you to view a venue or taste some cake. Generally speaking though, it is again a case of using the internet for your background research and presenting the interested parties with options to satisfy their budgets and wishes.
5. Teaching: Music, Languages, Tutor (various subjects), Fitness
Using Skype, or any video chat medium, you can teach or tutor others in the areas you are skilled at. Set up an online calendar with your free times and let them book a spot to be with you!
6. Care: Counsellor, Childcare
Training or certificates in these areas can also be very useful. Counselling may require a quiet environment, depending on if your clients enjoy children or not. It’s up to the trained counsellor to know best. Childcare is also an option if you acquire the certifications for keeping extra children in your house. If you can handle two kids, perhaps you can handle three and get paid for it!
7. Freelance Projects
Being registered as self-employed or a freelancer can give you the freedom to pick and choose projects based on your immediate situation. It depends on your area of expertise of course, but have a long hard think about your skills and see if you can use them to be self-employed.
8. Repairs
People bring their broken stuff to your house, and you fix them. And finally… Make the most of time management technologies and to-do lists so you can keep track of your activities and be able to structure your day. If it has been many years since you worked, it may seem intimidating to pick it up again. Conquer your doubts and give it a try. Give it enough time to flourish—just like going to the gym, the results can take some months to be tangible.
