Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

Do Not Believe What You See on Social Media

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Woman Recording herself for social media

When I had three young children, I was a stay-at-home mom who did freelance writing on the side for about 15 to 20 hours a week. In addition, I enjoyed reading blogs, which were popular at the time. Unconsciously, I found myself trying to emanate these women, especially another mother who also had three young children and ran a successful blog. She wrote about pushing herself hard, working long hours at night, and devoting herself to her children during the day, so I tried to do that, too. Only later did I learn an important lesson—do not believe what you see on social media.

Not Modeling a Healthy Lifestyle

I read that blogger even now, over ten years later. She had a shift in how she spends her time and admits that when she worked so hard and slept so little, she was not leading a healthy lifestyle. This blogger openly admits that her workaholic tendencies affected her family and children.

Now she has a much healthier work-life balance, but for years, she was very driven and encouraging other women to do so even though it was unhealthy for her family. Luckily, I gave up that lifestyle about a year after I tried to adopt it because living that way exhausted me.

Do Not Believe What You See on Social Media

Besides not emulating others who may live an unhealthy lifestyle, it’s also important to not believe what you see on social media.

Help Behind the Scenes

Woman with a laptop and two children surrounding her

For instance, one influencer used to give the impression that she ran her business entirely by herself. I used to marvel at all she could do and wondered why I failed so miserably at trying to accomplish what she did.

Only recently has that influencer talked about her team, which consists of two full-time and four part-time employees. If you compare yourself to another and think that person gets way more done than you can, you likely don’t have the full story.

Additional Perks the Influencer Doesn’t Mention

Not only do I, unfortunately, compare myself to how productive some influencers are, but I also compare myself to their budgeting skills. For instance, I used to follow one vlogger who can feed her family of six for only $300 to $400 a month, or so she says.

True, she snags all the clearance deals when she shops. However, I’ve noticed recently, as she has become more popular, she gets more sponsored deals. As part of her sponsorship, she gets free food. For instance, she gets free boxes of Hello Fresh meals from all of her affiliate credits. In addition, she gets free boxes of gourmet food from Thrive Market. Yet, she never acknowledges these items when she shares how much she spends on groceries. Yes, she didn’t spend money on these items, but because she gets them for free, she can spend less on other groceries.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a mom following social media, learn from my mistakes. Do not believe what you see on social media—live your life doing what’s best for your family and your budget because you only see part of an influencer’s life. There may be much more happening behind the scenes that you will never know.

Read More

7 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

Budgeting for Family Expenses

How Parents Can Use Their Social Media Influence

My Employment Advice to Stay-at-Home Parents

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Mom helping her daughter.My husband and I have each had a chance to be stay-at-home parents. When our first child was born, I worked full-time, and my husband was in graduate school full-time. My husband reduced his school load to stay home with our child. He did the same after our second child was born. When our third child was born, I quit my job, and my husband became the full-time breadwinner. Based on our experience and the experience I’ve seen others have, I have employment advice for stay-at-home parents—continue working, even if it’s only a few hours weekly.

Why the Stay-at-Home Parent Should Continue Working

Being a stay-at-home parent is hard work. Your days are filled with cooking, cleaning, laundry, playing with kids, and taking them to activities. As a result, you may feel as if you have no time for yourself, let alone time for a part-time job. However, I urge you to find the time for a job for several reasons.

You May Want Adult Interaction

Being able to stay home with your kids is a privilege. However, you will likely long for adult interaction now and again. At a part-time job, you can talk to other adults and get out of the house for several weeklies.

A stressed out stay-at-home mom in the foreground. Her children bicker in the background.

Your Spouse May Die

If you’re a stay-at-home parent and your spouse dies, you may suffer severe financial difficulty, especially if your spouse does not have life insurance. You may think you’re young and you and your spouse have a long life, but that may not be the case.

I saw this firsthand when my father died at age 38. I was 15, and my brother was 8. My mom had worked from home babysitting while my dad was employed full-time. However, after he died, she had no source of health insurance or retirement. She was lucky to have a friend who found her a part-time job working with an understanding boss. In a few years, she was able to work full-time. I don’t know what she would have done if it were not for this friend.

You May Divorce

Likewise, you may never think you will divorce, but if you do, do you have a way to support yourself? If you work part-time while staying home with the kids, you’ll be better positioned to support yourself.

My friend had been married for 23 years when she left her husband. She had been a stay-at-home parent for two decades. She found a job, though it was low paying, and she struggled to pay for her own place and the expenses of maintaining a household as a single person. Eventually, she and her husband reconciled, but she confessed that part of the reason she reconciled was that she could not survive financially on her own and was exhausted from trying to.

You May Need/Want to Work Full-Time Again

Many parents stay home until their kids are in school full-time. Then, they plan to rejoin the workforce. However, if you haven’t done any professional work in the five or more years you were home with the children, re-entering the workforce may be difficult. A part-time job can help you find a full-time job more quicker and easier.

Find Ways to Start a Part-Time Hustle For Free or Minimal Startup Costs

It takes money to make money. But with the benefit of e-commerce and the online gig economy, you can start a small business at home if you have access to everyday items other people find valuable.  You will need to network online to find clientele to buy your items.

If you know how to find old vinyl records, 1980s video game cartridges, or even old comic books, you can flip these items for profit. Such items can be valuable to nostalgic collectors. People give these items away all the time on social media.

If you have caches of old comic books in your home, you could start flipping them for quick cash right now. And you don’t need startup capital.

Flipping Old Comic Books as an Online Hustle

Do you have boxes of old comic books at home? Perhaps you can network with other parents to get old comic books they don’t want. You can also source cheap or free comic books from social media and auction sites. You could potentially create a side-hustle selling old comic books from home. And you can do this at home, online, and on your own schedule.

Whenever the comic book film industry announces new films and creates online hype, there are momentary spikes in relevant collector markets. And any comic book collector with nostalgia wants to get the comics that are being used as inspiration for upcoming films.

There are also many free online comic book guides that you can use to check the ballpark market value of the comic books you own.

Have reasonable expectations. You won’t make a fortune overnight. But if you make some connections and find ways to get old comic books cheaply, then you could make an at-home side hustle. And you can do it entirely online.

Final Thoughts

My employment advice to stay-at-home parents is to continue working, even if only a few hours a week. You never know what the future will hold, but by maintaining your presence in the working world, you can find full-time work more easily, should you want or need to.

Read More

My Husband’s Stay-at-Home Dad Experience

Can You Homeschool and Work from Home?

How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home

5 Best Comic Book Storage Boxes and Bins

6 Best Comic Book Display Shelves

3 Best Comic Book Album Binders

And, as a final note, if you want good basic personal financial advice, consider surfing over to The Free Financial Advisor, they have a good series on personal finance basics.

Donate Breastmilk to Make Money from Home

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Donate Breastmilk to Make Money from Home

Every year in the United States, nearly 10% of babies are born prematurely. These babies often struggle in the first few months of their lives, but thankfully, strides have been made in the way preemies are treated. Now, premature babies born as early as 25 weeks have an excellent chance of survival if they receive proper care. One company, Prolacta Bioscience, is helping premature babies get the nutrition they need with the help of breastfeeding mothers.

What Does Prolacta Bioscience Do?

Prolacta Bioscience recognizes that preemies often need protein and calorie supplementation in addition to their mother’s breastmilk. Prolacta “provide[s] hospitals with the world’s first and only nutritional fortifiers made exclusively from donor breastmilk instead of cow milk” (Tiny Treasures Milk Bank).

Studies have shown that babies who utilize Prolacta’s “fortifiers had fewer complications and went home sooner” (Tiny Treasures Milk Bank).

Donate Breastmilk to Make Money from Home

To make the fortifier for preemies and critically ill children, Prolacta Bioscience needs human breastmilk. They rely on donors to supply this milk.

If you have a baby, are currently breastfeeding, and have excess breastmilk, you may be able to become a milk donor. Because of the time and effort required to pump, Prolacta gives mothers $1 per one ounce of milk that they donate.

After you’ve pumped, you’ll need to follow strict protocols to keep the milk frozen so that it does not spoil while you store it or when you ship it out.

How to Donate Breastmilk

First, you must take a prescreening exam to see if you qualify. You’re likely to qualify if you’re healthy, don’t take medication regularly, your baby is healthy, you don’t smoke, and you have a freezer at home. However, you must make sure other variables don’t apply to you, or you may be disqualified.

Once you pass the prescreening, you must then have a medical review as well as undergo blood testing and give a DNA sample. You can read about the entire process here.

How Much Money Can You Make?

Donate Breastmilk to Make Money from Home

How much money can you make from donating your breastmilk? The answer depends on how large your milk supply is and how long you breastfeed your child. One woman said that she has donated 30,000 ounces and earned $30,000 from donating to Prolacta Bioscience.

Remember that any money you make from your milk donation is subject to state and federal income tax. Prolacta will not deduct any taxes. You will need to talk with your accountant to determine how much money you should set aside to pay any taxes on your income from donating milk.

Final Thoughts

If you are lucky enough to have excess breastmilk and you meet all of Prolacta Science’s qualifications, you may be able to donate your breastmilk to make money from home. Most importantly, you’ll play an important role in helping a premature infant survive and potentially leave the hospital earlier than other preemies who do not receive fortification.

Read More

How to Make It Through Your First Year of Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding at Work?

Breastfeeding Information at a Glance

Can You Homeschool and Work from Home?

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Homeschool and Work from Home

While homeschooling had been steadily growing in popularity, that growth exploded during the pandemic. Two years into the pandemic, some of those families who started homeschooling in 2020 have sent their kids back to school. Yet, many of them found that they enjoyed homeschooling and continue to do so. However, can you homeschool and work from home?

How to Homeschool and Work from Home

With the rising prices of food, gas, and other necessary items, for many families, having one parent stay home to homeschool isn’t an option unless that parent can also work part-time from home. I’m happy to say that you can homeschool and work from home. I’ve been doing so for the last eight years.

Homeschooling and working from home require excellent time management skills and flexibility on your and your family’s part. I can’t say what will work best for every parent who homeschools and works from home, but these are the steps that make it possible for me to do so:

How to Find Time to Work from Home

The first step to successfully juggling homeschooling and working from home is determining when you can work.

Co-ordinate with Your Spouse

My husband’s cooperation is essential. He’s the primary breadwinner, but every weekend for the last eight years, he’s spent his time with the kids so I can complete my work uninterrupted. I work about 10 hours total on the weekend, so I still have time to spend with the family. However, I do the bulk of my work on Saturday and Sunday. If my husband wasn’t willing to spend weekend time with the kids, I wouldn’t be able to work and homeschool.

Get Up Early or Work Late

Another way I find pockets of time to work is to get up early. I typically wake up by 5 a.m., do an hour or so of my work, and then exercise for 45 minutes, all before the kids wake up. Keeping this routine allows me to get another five to seven hours of work done each week.

If you’re not an early riser, you can stay up late. One homeschooling, work-at-home mom I know starts her workday after the kids go to bed. She typically works from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day.

Take Jobs with Flexible Deadlines

I find the best jobs for me to complete while working at home are ones that have flexible deadlines. I am a freelance writer, and I have assignments due on certain days of the week. However, I know the topics well in advance, and I can work on them anytime during the month as long as I get them done by the deadline. Having that flexibility is essential.

I know some work-at-home jobs require that you’re available during certain hours and have a quiet location to answer the phone. While that may work for some families, for my family, I wouldn’t be able to do that because my kids are rarely quiet!

Recognize Some Home Tasks Won’t Get Done

Homeschool and work from home

As a homeschooling, work-at-home parent, recognize that you can’t do it all. It’s just not possible. For instance, I think I do a fair job of homeschooling, working, and cooking meals at home for my family. The neatness of my home is a different story. Our house has a lived-in look and is not as tidy as I would like. Although it bothers me sometimes, I know that I can’t do it all. For this season of my life, my house will be messier. I can have a tidier home when the kids are grown, and I’m no longer homeschooling.

You’ll Have Less Time to Relax

If you both homeschool and work from home, your days will likely be tightly scheduled, especially if you have several kids. Understand that you might not have as much time to relax as you would like. I love to read, but I don’t get to as often as I want because of my homeschooling and work responsibilities.

How to Find Time to Homeschool

Once you figure out how to find time to work, you next need to find time to homeschool. Keep in mind, you don’t have to teach your kids from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Since your kids are the only students, you may find that you get more done in less time than a teacher at a brick-and-mortar school who has 30 students she has to manage.

Be Flexible with the Schedule

In addition, be flexible with the homeschool schedule. For instance, if you need to read aloud a book to your child as part of your lesson, you can do that at night when you read to the kids before bed. No one says you have to read it during the school day. Or you could get the book on audio and listen to it in the car while you drive to an appointment.

Have Teacher-Led Activities at Scheduled Times

If you thrive on a schedule, determine when you will work one-on-one with each child. For instance, I work with my middle child from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and my youngest child from 9:30 to 11 a.m. After that, I prep lunch, and the kids do independent work. If we have anything to finish up together, we do that in the early afternoon, and then we are done with school for the day.

Choose a Less Teacher-Intensive Curriculum

Homeschool and Work from Home

If you’re working more than 10 to 15 hours a week, you may want to choose a less teacher-intensive curriculum such as an online program. That will free you from some homeschool time and give you more time to work while your children complete their schoolwork for the day.

Final Thoughts

Trying to homeschool and work from home is not easy, but it is possible. If you need the money from a job or enjoy working, know that you can both homeschool and work from home if you are flexible and well-organized.

Read More

How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home

Four Legitimate Work from Home Jobs for Moms

Get Some Extra Cash: 9 of the Best Ways to Make Money from Home

Side Hustles for Single Moms

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Sometimes money is so tight that the only way to stay afloat or pay off debt is to get a side hustle.  Years ago, side hustles meant working a second job somewhere outside the home.  For married couples with kids, this might work because one spouse could stay home with the kids.  However, for a single mom, sometimes a side hustle just wasn’t worth it because you’d also have to arrange additional child care, which may take up most of the money you make on the side.  But times are different now.  There are plenty of side hustles for a single moms that you can do from the comfort of your home while the kids are playing, napping, or sleeping.

Side Hustles for Single Moms

Side Hustles for Single Moms

There are so many ways to make extra money in the Internet age.  What you decide to do just depends on your natural talents and proclivity.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Side Hustles You Can Do on Your Own Schedule

These side hustles let you set your own hours.  Prefer to work at midnight when the kids are sleeping?  No problem.  Prefer to work at 5 a.m.?  That’s okay, too.

Writer

There are plenty of writing jobs available.  You can work for brick and mortar businesses, or bloggers, or online businesses.  The hard part is getting your first writing job.  After that, you can let your samples speak for themselves.

Some places to look for writing jobs include Pro Blogger’s job board as well as Media Bistro.

In the beginning, when you’re still trying to get samples, you may need to take low paying jobs.  However, with experience, your rates will rise, and you’ll likely get word-of-mouth referrals, giving you more jobs.

Virtual Assistant

If you aren’t a writer, being a virtual assistant is another great side hustle that’s home based.  You can find a virtual assistant job working for someone like a real estate agent or a blogger.  You’ll likely be given a set of tasks to complete within a certain time frame.  I work as a virtual assistant and have specific jobs I have to complete by Sunday night, but I can do them any time during the week.  Being a virtual assistant often means you have a flexible schedule, though some people may need your services at specific times and specific days.

If you’d like specific training to be a virtual assistant, there are many online classes you can enroll in.  Another excellent resource is the book, The Bootstrap VA by Lisa Morosky.

Etsy Shop Owner

Side Hustles for Single Moms

Photo by Alex Jones on Unsplash

Are you creative?  Crafty?  If so, Etsy may be for you.  However, don’t just think that you’ll make a few items, set up shop and make sales.  It’s not that easy.  To sell on Etsy, you need to not only have professional looking items to sell, but also have a strong marketing plan, excellent pictures, and amazing customer service.

If you open an Etsy shop knowing all that it entails, you have a better chance of being successful.  I’d highly recommend speaking to other Etsy shop owners first.  In addition, there are plenty of web articles both for and against setting up an Etsy shop as well as YouTube videos that can explain what you need to know.

Side Hustles You Must Do at a Designated Time

In addition to side hustles that require you to maintain your own schedule, there are also side hustles that happen at specific times, though you do have a say in what those times are.

Tutoring

Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash

With so many students still doing virtual schoolwork, the need for tutors has exploded.  Kids seem to have a harder time learning via Zoom, and tutors can fill in that gap.  I’ve even seen jobs advertised to help kids stay on schedule with their Zoom classes.

In addition to helping Americans, you can also find jobs teaching English to children in China.  A homeschooling mom of four I know went this route.  She did her tutoring from 4 to 7 a.m. PST.  She was finished working for the day when her kids woke up.  She worked for VIPKid and loved that the company had the lessons already made for her.  VIPKid does require a bachelor’s degree, but there are other companies that don’t.

Teaching on Outschool

My girls (12 and 10.5 years old) have recently discovered Outschool.  On this platform, teachers have free rein to develop whatever classes they have expertise in, no degree required.  These are high quality classes, monitored by Outschool.

My girls have taken classes on dance, Descendants trivia, and cat behavior.  They’ve also started to learn the Japanese language through Outschool and joined a recurring book club and social club.  Take a peek at Outschool; there are truly an endless array of classes you can teach.

As a teacher on Outschool, you’ll earn 70% of the class fee (Outschool takes a 30% cut).  You’ll be responsible for paying your own self-employment taxes.

Babysitting

Babysitting can be an excellent side hustle.  This job allows you to stay home with your own children while also caring for others’ children.  A single mother I knew ran an after-school program for five neighborhood kids from 3 to 6 p.m.  She charged $7 an hour per child.  Each week she earned $525, for a total of $2,100 a month.  Plus, she didn’t have to worry about after school care for her own kids.

If you don’t know where to look, consider advertising locally and by word-of-mouth.  A more organized option is to join Care.com or Sittercity.com where you can advertise your babysitting services.  When I needed child care for my kids, I found the sitters on Sittercity.com.

Final Thoughts

If you need to make some extra money, know that there are plenty of side hustles for single moms that you can do from the comfort of your own home.  I’ve been working online for over 10 years, and I love the convenience and the extra money I make for my family.  You can do this, too!

Read More

Four Legitimate Work from Home Jobs for Moms

Get Some Extra Cash: Nine of the Best Ways to Make Money from Home

3 Unexpected Options for Stay at Home Moms to Make Extra Money

 

How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home

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Working from home can be difficult for some people.  It’s easy to get distracted and make a phone call or do the laundry instead of working.  However, if you have a situation like we have now where kids are home from school every day all day, working can seem impossible.  Luckily, you can learn how to work from home when the kids are home.  Doing so might not be your favorite way to work, but for now, you can get done what you need to get done.

How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home

How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home

There are several strategies you can use to try to get work done when the kids are home.

Work Early in the Morning or Late at Night

How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

I work from home part-time, and my favorite time to get work done is early in the morning.  My kids generally wake up by 6:30 a.m., so I get up at 4 a.m. and work for two hours (after allotting myself 30 minutes to wake up!).  Night owls may prefer to do the reverse and work late at night.  The nice part of working early for me is that there are very few distractions, so I get a lot done during that time.

Hire Your Teen

If you have a teenager at home, you may ask if the teen would be willing to watch the younger kids while you work.  If you could pay the teen, that would be extra incentive, but if not, just find a way to reward your teen for helping such as treating them to a movie or letting them use the car for a special event.

Give Your Kids Your Time First

You may feel like you need to get to your work right away, but that isn’t always the best decision.  Often, if you give your kids your time before you begin to work, they’re happy to let you work uninterrupted afterwards.  That’s because you’ve filled them up emotionally, and then they can play on their own.  If you don’t spend the time doing this, they may pester you because they want your attention.

Utilize Down Time

How to Work from Home When the Kids Are Home

Photo by Blake Meyer on Unsplash

While you’re probably spending part of your day making sure your kids are doing their school work, there are also times of the day when they are otherwise occupied.  This might be when they’re playing outdoors, on a Zoom meeting for school or tutoring, or watching TV.  Use that time to do your work.  I save lighter work that doesn’t require as much concentration for these times.  Then it doesn’t matter as much if I get interrupted.

Trade Off With Your Spouse

If you have another adult at home, trade off watching the kids.  My husband is also working from home right now, so he works his traditional 8 to 5 hours during the weekdays.  I let him work and don’t interrupt him or let the kids interrupt him.  Then, on the weekends, he gives me time to work and complete anything I couldn’t finish in the early mornings.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to work from home when the kids are home is definitely a learning process.  However, it can be done.  As you adapt to this new situation, you will likely find working from home gets easier.

Four Legitimate Work From Home Jobs For Moms

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Work From Home Jobs For Moms

Last week I talked about three ways moms can make extra money. Today I want to continue the discussion with additional jobs to make money, specifically work-from-home jobs.

Four Legitimate Work-From-Home Jobs For Moms

1. Court Transcript Proofreader

They’re, their, there – if you know the difference between these three words and have an eye for detail, proofreading court transcripts may be just the thing for you. Court testimony is often transcribed word-for-word for future reference. A court reporter captures the live conversation with a stenotype. Because the reporter is simultaneously typing and listening, there is room for error. That’s where a proofreader adds value to the process.

Your primary tool will be an iPad and your eagle eye for grammatical errors. English teachers are great candidates for this side gig, as are you if you’re the kind that scours social media comments looking for the wrong use of the word “affect”.

If this is something that interests you, check out Proofread Anywhere. Caitlyn Pyle s a former court transcript proofreader who created a course to teach you to do the same. Included in the course is how to find clients. There is a free quiz to see if it’s something you have an aptitude for and might enjoy.

If court transcription proofreading doesn’t thrill you, you can also provide proofreading services to blogs, books, and website copy. These avenues are often less technical than court transcription proofreading.

As a mom, you can do this job from anywhere – your couch, the car while your son is at soccer practice, or on the plane to Disney World.

2. Life Coach

Do your friends and family come to you for advice? Do you like to serve and help people? Are you big on self-improvement? If you answer yes to each of these questions, you may want to consider becoming a life coach. A life coach is someone who helps others with struggles in their life and/or provides guidance and direction to lead them towards their personal goals. 

A life coach may be a generalist or may specialize in weight, business, or even organization. It’s different from therapy but can serve as a partner to a mental health professional. Life coaching is an up and coming profession. Brooke Castillo likens it to the rise of the gym. In the 70s, no one had gym memberships. As health and personal care started to rise in the 80s and 90s, a gym membership became the norm. Think of life coaching as the present-day equivalent of a gym membership. In a decade or so, everyone will have a life coach.

There are many avenues available to become a life coach. Tony Robbins has a program, as does Martha Beck. Brooke Castillo has one of the best programs, and I’m a big fan of her podcast. A great example of a successful life coach who makes seven figures working from home three days a week on her business, while a full-time mom of four is Jody Moore. She is a student of Brooke’s and is evidence a life coach is an excellent work-from-home option for moms.

3. Pinterest Virtual Assistant

Do you love social media? Do you spend your free time scrolling Pinterest for your next recipe? You can earn an income off your love of Pinterest. Along with the rise of internet businesses and blogs, social media has taken in growth as a marketing tool. Pinterest continues to rise and is a popular search engine alternative to Google. 

Online entrepreneurs recognize the value of Pinterest to their bottom line, but don’t want to spend the time building their Pinterest presence. As a result, you can capitalize on this need by creating Pinterest graphics. You don’t need a graphic design degree. You can create professional-looking graphics using free tools such as PicMonkey, Canva or Instasize.

As a Pinterest VA, you’ll create and upload pins for blog articles or merchandise for sale. You’ll create pin descriptions using appropriate keywords and possibly optimize your client’s Pinterest profile.  A VA can work from anywhere and anytime, so makes a perfect option for moms to generate extra money. 

Interested in learning more? Gina Horkey and Kristin Larsen have a great class called Pinterest VA. Furthermore, as a VA you can offer virtual assistant services for just about any social media platform, such as Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.  

4. Capitalize on your 9-to-5 skills

Do you have a college degree? Did you work a traditional job before becoming a SAHM? You likely have a set of marketable skills that can be done from home. You probably also have a built-in client base and network you aren’t even aware of.

Let’s say you were a journalist in your working days. You can reach out to your former boss and request some freelance writing work. Perhaps you were an accountant and know your former employer needs some part-time help during tax season. Put a proposal together to offer your services as an independent contractor. In your proposal, note you already have a working space (because your dining table counts) and high-speed internet that would allow you to work from home.

You can also market your skills to the general public. If you were a chef pre-kids, and want to share your love of vegetarian cooking, create a blog and sell an online course for a stream of passive income.  Market to other moms who are trying to teach their picky children the value of a vegetarian diet.

The opportunities are endless with your current skillset. Brainstorm your skill sets and find one that you can offer from home, then market it. You may have to think outside the box, but the rewards are worth it.

 

Do you work from home as a mom? Share what you do and how you got started in the comments below.

Read more:

6 Must-Haves for Working Moms Who Breastfeed

3 Unexpected Options for Stay At Home Moms to Make Extra Money

Get Some Extra Cash: 9 of the Best Ways to Make Money From Home

   

Start a New Business: Franchise Opportunity at Working Mums

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working momMany new mothers hate the thought of having to go back to work after their maternity leave finishes. Not only do they feel guilty about leaving their child with child minders they worry about missing those important firsts, steps, words and the rest.

Staying at Home is Not an Option

For many part time work is not an option, their wage does not cover the child care costs so many are turning to franchise opportunities to allow them to earn enough to live on but also the flexibility to spend time with their children and fit work in with their child’s needs. While franchise opportunities have a number of advantages they also have a few disadvantages which you need to consider. More information about franchise opportunity can be viewed at www.workingmums.co.uk and this of course will be even more relevant if you happen to live in the UK.

The Advantages

The main advantage is of course that you fit your work around you, your children and your lifestyle. Others include the fact that the ‘parent company’ or franchiser will give you support throughout the term you choose to work, they provide a proven business strategy, training and help you advance if you wish.

They will also give you a brand name and as such you will benefit from their advertising campaigns and they will allow you access to existing suppliers making it easier for you to build up your business to a level you feel comfortable with. On top of all this you are your own boss, you work the hours you want and the way you want. You can also keep your business small or build it up depending upon what you want from it.

The Disadvantages

While this sounds great it is important to remember the disadvantages of franchise opportunities before you commit to one. The main one people come across is the fact that the cost of buying a franchise maybe higher than they first thought. After buying the initial franchise you pay management service fees and any profits you make are shared with the franchiser.

Many franchisers also place certain restrictions on how you can run the business meaning it might not be possible to adapt your strategy to the local market. While you maybe safe working for a big business it is not uncommon for them to go out of business leaving you with no job at a moment’s notice, although the same could be said for any job.

Have you ever considered operating a franchise? Why or why not?