3 Ways for Moms and Dads to Make Money at Home

Many Moms and Dads are setting aside the prestige of an impressive career for the satisfaction of a life lived at home, raising the kids they love. Being a parent is a sacrifice in some ways, but if you have a good plan, you can save yourself some of the trouble that can come with putting family first.

photo by photoSteve101 via Flickr

Now that I have kids of my own, I’ve had a series of failures (and a few successes) as I’ve learned about how to make money at home. But now, things are working out pretty well. I’ve got a strong community of folks, in person and online, who are all trying the same thing. Today, it’s easier than ever to make a livable work/life for yourself, making sure your kids get the best of you as a parent and breadwinner.

Here are 3 of my favorite ways.

• Create From Home, According to Your Specialty. People in their 20’s and 30’s, those who are starting families about this time in great numbers, are the first generation of people raised with powerful home computers and devices. They know a lot about how to use these machines and softwares to create stuff: documents, images, virtual infrastructures, software, and the like. It’s likely that you’ve picked up some of these skills in the past decade. So start with what you know. Even if you aren’t an expert at any one of these skills, it doesn’t mean that you can’t develop your chops on the job. I started writing for hire over a year ago, and I’ve already been able to more than replace the income I gave up when I began working as a freelancer. Being a freelance writer, artist, or creative is a challenge. There are tax laws to learn, personal schedules to keep, and you’ll find that it can be difficult to keep yourself motivated with no boss over your head. But it’s possible to do really well. Check out these freelancer resources if you want to learn more.
• Watch Your Kids…With Other People’s Kids! Turning your home into a daycare has some specific regulations that go along with it, for accountability and safety of all involved. But it’s not impossible, and it can be an amazing relief to your friends and neighbors if they can come to you for an excellent service. I haven’t done this one personally, but I know several people who have, and they find it to be a very rewarding and profitable (if challenging) exercise. Look into your state guidelines, as well as state legislation for home daycares. Also avail yourself of great online resources such as SkyChildCare.com – a web-based software for managing your daycare. It’s the perfect solution for collecting tuition electronically, managing cash flow, tracking enrollment and other business needs. You can turn a home daycare into a real, viable business. Just make sure you’re profesh from the ground up.
• Physical Labor! That won’t be as exciting for some as it is for me, but I’ve enjoyed using some of my unimpressive carpentry skills to help other people fix up their houses. I turned it into a nice little side hustle, where I can learn more about this craft, and make extra money doing something I enjoy. If you’re good at construction, interior design, even gardening, you can start picking up clients in your surrounding area to help beautify and improve homes and lives.

There are plenty of ways to find work from your home, or really close to it. Get creative and make your own career, while leaving plenty of time for you and the little ones that you love.

Guest Author: Lolita Di