How to combine being a mother and working: 10 ideas to inspire you
Are you a mom? It doesn’t mean your life needs to revolve around cooking and changing diapers – you can realize your ambitions working from home if you wish. Here are some ideas to help you.
When they become a mom, many women often rethink their life. They realise that they perhaps no longer want to return to the office – or that isn’t practically possible. Instead many of them start businesses or launch freelance careers from home.
Of course, it may take money to start your own business. It is not always possible to find the right amount in your home savings. In these cases, you may wish to seek out the best installment loans. Find the right loan and you can get the money you need to launch your project, without paying extortionate interest rates. And as your business develops, you will be able to repay the loan.
“Being a working mom doesn’t mean my family isn’t my first priority”
Just because you’re a mother doesn’t mean you suddenly lose all your ambitions. And just because you’re a working mom doesn’t mean that your family are any less important to you.
In order to be a good mom you need to be happy and fulfilled. And if that happiness and fulfillment comes from working (or even if you need to work for financial reasons) then your family will be all the better for it.
But what can you do from home? When deciding what you can do from home to earn money, there are several criteria and benefits to take into account. Here are just some of them:
- The opportunity to plan your working hours yourself, so you can work around your family.
- The ability to pause at any time for several days or even a few weeks if you wish, for example during maternity leave or school holidays.
- The chance to decide how much you work, so you’re not stressed trying to meet deadlines.
- The option to choose activities that will challenge and interest you as you develop new skills or support existing ones.
- The possibility of growth and development, including career, financial, professional.
Statistics: women who have children under the age of 3, 61.9% participate in the workforce; under the age of 6 — 65%; 6-17 ages — 76.4% (Source: Pew Research Center).
Why are women looking for a job once they’re a mom?
Let’s look at some of the key reasons why women look for part tie jobs, go freelance or start their own business once they have children:
- Lack of money – Perhaps the most common reason why mothers consider earning money from home is the need to contribute financially to the household, or they’re the only breadwinner.
- The desire for self-realization – As we’ve already pointed out: our ambition doesn’t disappear when we give birth! Just as we did befor we have children, we need fulfillment, challenge, excitement, change, meaning, purpose, a sense of community… all things that working can give us.
- The desire to support qualifications – Remote employment allows you to stay up to date on any industry changes so you don’t fall behind in your career. You can also maintain and update your professional qualifcations and experience.
- Personal expenses – Paying bills isn’t the only financial incentive for earning money. Many women who were financially independent before having children miss choosing how they spend their own money, and resent needing to ask for money from their partner, or having to justify or explain what they spend money on. Working from home enables them to retain some of their financial autonomy.
- Thinking about the future – While the early years of motherhood can be all-consuming there will come a time when your children grow older and become more independent and you may wish to resume your career. If you’ve taken a complete break you might find that harder. So many mothers choose to keep ‘one oar in’ by maintaining some form of employment.
10 ideas for ways moms can earn money from home
So what exactly can you do to earn money while at home raising your family? How can you combine work and care for a child? Here are 10 examples of simple work from home ideas for moms.
1) Start a mom blog
One popular option is to launch a mom blog and share your experiences with other mothers. If you do, it’s important to find a niche. There are many other mom bloggers out there; what makes you special?
What unique experience, characteristics, interest or voice do you have? How can you differentiate yourself from other blogging mothers? And why should another mom read and follow your blog? Will you be sharing information she needs? Or entertain her in some way?
Once you’ve decided on your niche and audience you need to build up a loyal following by posting regularly and engaging with your readers on social media and blog comments. Then, once you have a healthy amount of traffic and a strong reputation you can monetise your blog with advertising, affiliate links and influencer marketing.
2) Launch a Youtube family channel
Children love watching videos about the lives of other babies. Many adults are also attracted to these funny and touching videos of other families like them. So could you start a family Youtube channel?
The same advice as blogging applies here – you need a niche, audience and persistence to build a following. When you have one you can start earning money via ads. Payment begins with 1,000 views and cost ranges from $0.2 to $5.
3) Learn to program
Writing code has a reputation of being a man’s domain, but women make great coders too! And demand for coding is only set to increase. So could you take an online coding course and launch yourself as a freelance programmer?
4) Organize classes or events for children
If you’re spending the majority of your time around children, then why not monetise the skills and experience you gain? You could start classes for babies or children – either in your home or a rented hall. Some mothers have gone onto franchise their idea and build large, successful businesses.
Or, if you pride yourself on organising the best parties, you can launch yourself as a children’s event planner and take the stress and hassle from other parents.
5) Become a copywriter
If you have a way with words you can make good money as a freelance copywriter. With a small amount of training you can easily master the basic principles of writing copy, then hone your skills on real life paying clients. As you gain more experience you can raise your prices and bring in a healthy income around your family.
6) Photo
While we’re on creative careers, if you’re handy with a camera, why not set yourself up as a photographer? With some training and basic equipment you could set up a home studio and take family portraits for money. It will take a while to build a portfolio to attract customers, but you can start out photographing friends and offering attractive discounts.
7) Set up a home bakery business
Do you like to cook? Are you a brilliant baker? Do your friends and family always admire your cakes? Why not set up a home bakery and earn money from your talents making celebration cakes?
8) Be a bookkeeper
You’ll need to invest in training, but small businesses area ways crying out for great bookkeepers. So if you love numbers you may wish to return as a bookkeeper.s.
9) Make money from beauty
Could you retain as a nail technician? Masseuse? Hair stylist? If so, you can earn money going home to home or even create a small salon in your own home or garden.
10) Sell your crafts
If you are a keen and talented crafter, why not turn your talents into cash by selling your crafts to family and friends, online or at craft fairs? With a move towards local, authentic products there’s increased demand for locally made crafts. If you have a real talent, you could even launch local or online classes and workshops teaching others.
How can you earn money from home?
So how will you make money from home, if you nat or need to? These are just 10 ideas that many mothers find attractive, and none may appeal to you personally. But if nothing, we hope they get you thinking – and excited at the potential choice you have to earn money while raising your family.
