How To Be a Work at Home Mom

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Do you want to be a work at home mom but just don’t know how to go about it? I understand. I’ve been there.

When I was pregnant with my first child I had no idea how I was going to afford daycare, raise my child, and continue working. Staying home with my daughter was just not an option. We needed my paycheck.

Then the Great Recession hit and I lost my job. I was seven months pregnant and it was weeks away from Christmas.

In hindsight it was such a blessing to get laid off although it didn’t seem that way at the time! We were freaked out, broke, and pregnant.

But you know what? We made it work and I’ve been a work at home mom ever since. Plus, I had the freedom to go back to school and earn my master’s degree. I would have never been able to do that had I been working a nine to five.

I’m hoping that you have more flexibility that I did when you’re figuring out how to be a WAHM.

Here are some ways to earn an income at home so that you can raise your children on your own terms.

Sell Used Items on Ebay

I started my journey as a WAHM (work at home mom) by selling used items on Ebay. I suggest this avenue first because it’s easy to get started and the overhead costs are low. I bet you could look around your house and find a few things lying around to sell on Ebay.

You can sell almost anything on Ebay. I made a huge profit on die-cast cars and bras. Yup, you read that right. Bras.

Think about it, a really good bra can put you back about $60. People go on Ebay to find deals, and that includes spending less on high quality bras. So, if you can find a gently used one at a thrift store and sell it for $20 to $30, you make a hefty profit and someone gets a good deal.

I bring this up to encourage you to think outside the box. At first, try a variety of different items and see which ones move better than the others. Once you’ve found something with a low cost and a high profit margin, sell the $%*# out of it!

Related Post: The Best Schedule for WAHM’s

Start A Mom Blog

Now full disclosure, you probably won’t make money off of a blog immediately although some people do. But, blogging is a super low-cost way to create extra income without a lot of money or time. I suggest starting a blog in addition to doing another work at home job. That way you can grow your blog while you’re still earning money in other ways.

Some bloggers start seeing real monetary results in only a few months. Plus it’s a fun way to track your parenting journey!

You don’t have to start a mommy blog, you could write about fashion, beauty, finance, web developing, marketing, whatever!

If you want to make money from your blog, avoid free hosting platforms and get a self-hosted site with your own personalized domain name. Hosting with Bluehost is only $3.45 a month and you get a free domain name if you use my link. Sign up for my FREE e-course that teaches you a step-by-step system for setting up a profitable blog.

Sell New Items on Amazon

Selling new items on Amazon is a different beast than selling on Ebay. The learning curve is a bit higher BUT the return can be substantial. Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) is the easiest way to to this. You just ship all of your items to Amazon. They will store it for you, ship it for you, handle the money and handle returns if needed. Plus, you get to tap in to the millions of shoppers that go to Amazon everyday. I wrote an entire post about selling with Amazon FBA here.

Because there are a lot of things to learn when you begin selling on Amazon FBA, I recommend Jessica Larrow’s Amazon Boot Camp. She is a work at home mom who’s turned her Amazon side hustle into a six figure business. I went through her boot camp and made a profit my first week of selling.

Become a Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistants (VA) are people who do office work from home for other people. Office work can pretty much mean anything, from scheduling social media for bloggers to helping real estate agents post listings. Really it depends on what you can do and what the person hiring you needs.

You can get started as a Virtual Assistant with little to no experience. You don’t need a degree or special training. Take into consideration what you’re good at and start from there. Maybe you’re great at spreadsheets or perhaps you’re a Pinterest super star. Think about your strengths and look for job postings that will highlight your skills.

There are two ways you can become a VA. You can contract with companies who hire VA’s. This is probably the easiest way to begin because you don’t have to go out and find the clients yourself. This link leads you to list of companies that hire Virtual Assistants.

You can also create your own VA business. You’ll need a self-hosted website to get started. Then, decide what kind of client you want to work for. If you want to be a VA for bloggers, join blogger Facebook groups and advertise your services. If you want to work with real estate agents, join those Facebook groups.

To learn more about becoming a VA, download the free Kindle app and sign up for a free 30-day trial of Kindle unlimited. There are a TON of really helpful ebooks that explain VA work in detail. I like:

• Take a Leap of Faith: Your Guide to Establishing a Successful Business as a Virtual Assistant
• Fast Track Your Way to a Successful Virtual Assistant Business

Take Care of Children

It’s hard to find quality childcare, especially for babies. If you want to stay home with your kids, why don’t you take in another mother’s children. You both win; she is assured that her babies are being taken care of by a caring mom and you make enough money to stay at home with your kids.

Start a Craft Business

There is an estimated 300 million buyers on Etsy and the site is growing. Etsy also has about 3 million sellers. This means that competition is high but so is the potential for amazing sales. This just means you need to be strategic during your first year. You can check out this book for more info.

• Etsy Excellence: The Simple Guide to Creating a Thriving Etsy Business

Just remember mama, YOU CAN DO THIS!

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