The trend for working from home has helped so many people attain a level of financial freedom unthinkable before. This is especially true for new mums, or women looking to keep their career opportunities afloat while juggling a family.
If you’ve always wanted to be a work from home mum, there are plenty of options to start a business online. Now, we’re not saying these are easy options, and they will take an effort (and time).
In fact there are number of profitable niches that can help you make money online.
But if you are looking for inspiration to be a work from home mom, these are solid choices.
Social media manager
If you already love social media, this can be a useful way to monetise your time on the socials. Businesses often want someone to manage their social media campaigns, which can be relatively straightforward.
There is more to being a social media manager than meets the eye. You’ll need to understand how to generate engagement across multiple platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and more) although you can be a specialist in one or two specific platforms.
You’ll also need to work with the company, or the marketing manager, to create a strategy. Importantly you’ll also need to stick to the strategy too.
Using scheduling tools like Hootsuite is going to be an important way of managing your campaigns.
But as a work from home job with the potential for flexible hours, and a good income, there is lots of potential here.
Content writer
If you like to write then blogging, or content writing as it’s called these days, can be a good way to monetise your time.
Don’t think it’s easy though. Content writing does require a degree of skill,the ability to research a subject well and usually the need to stick to deadlines.
Although the world of content writing is quite competitive, with many people trying their hand at work from home blogging, it can be lucrative if you land a good consistent client.
As a work from home job for mums, the flexibility of content writing is very appealing.
The good thing about this is you won’t need many tools beyond a word processor (such as Google Docs).
Proofreader/copy-editor
If you have an eye for detail, you could be a proofreader on a work from home/remote basis.
This can involve reading large and complex documents, and you will need to have a good understanding of language, grammar and spelling.
But, it’s a job that is always in demand.
Data entry
Another job which is in high demand, data entry clerks can earn a good living working from home. Many companies hire for remote data entry roles, but you can also work as a freelancer on an ad-hoc basis. Making this a great role for work from home mums.
This can include anything from inputting details onto databases, reconciling invoices, sending emails/responding to customers or other admin based activities.
On this list, it might be one of the lowest paying, relatively speaking. But it is still a job that provides consistent opportunities and can be flexible, making it a great work from home mum job.
Virtual Assistant
This catch-all job role can cover a very broad range of duties, including the roles above. A virtual assistant can mean managing a persons diary schedule, responding to their emails, handling their social media campaigns, or whatever admin duties are needed.
The flexibility of the role depends on the client of course. But there can be many opportunities to work remotely as a virtual assistant on your own terms.
Buy/sell online
Love shopping? Of course you do!
If you have an eye for a bargain, you might be able to find products to buy and sell online. An example of this is selling on eBay, which can be a useful platform.
Consider that Jeff Bezos started out just selling books, mostly second hand, and see where he is today!
Now, you might not be the next Jeff Bezos, but by spotting bargains and selling them via an online shop you can make a very good living. Yes, eBay is one way. But you could also set up your own Shopify store, or use the other online shopping platforms like Vinted, DePop or even Amazon itself.
Specialising in a product is going to be one of the best ways to get some success with your business. Again, look at Jeff Bezos… You can always expand as your business grows.
Remote fitness or lifestyle coach
More than ever, people are looking for remote lifestyle advice. This can be anything from being a life coach or fitness instructor, to a personal therapist or professional assistant.
Of course, you need to have some experience and skills to back up your expertise. But if you have maybe worked in a relevant field, people are more willing than ever to pay someone to help them get to where they want to go…
Sell your skills
Do you have a hobby or a skill that you enjoy doing? Perhaps you like to paint, do pottery, or knit? Perhaps you can sing, write poetry or even provide voice overs?
There are so many ways you can sell your own skills online. Fiverr is a good platform to get found if you want to be a work from home mum selling a skill.
Whatever you’re good at, look at how you can package this skill into a business service and find a platform to sell online.
Choosing your online selling platform
I’ve mentioned a few platforms above, such as Fiverr, eBay, Shopify and Vinted. But whatever service you’re selling as a freelance work from home mum, you’ll need to use one of these established channels.
Yes, you can also set up your own website. One of the best ways to do this is to buy your domain name (approx $5-10 a year), and then use a basic web hosting package such as Carrd ($19 a year), or use a WordPress hosting package (approx $50-70 per year).
In short you can run a website for as little as $25 a year.
But it can take time to get found on Google.You will need to put time into building awareness of your site which can be time consuming of course.
So apart from your own website, you should also consider using external channels such as freelancer sites like:
- Fiverr
- PeoplePer Hour
- Upwork
- Freelancer
There are also ways that you can use social media to find business clients.
So if you want to follow your dream of being a work from home mom, be brave and make a start!
