Work-At-Home Moms: Top Ten Ideas For Busy Mommies

By Shuchi Kalra

Have the demands of motherhood forced you bid goodbye to your job? Do you wish you could continue being in the DIG (Double Income Group) without having to compromise on family time – but would you rather watch your children grow than spend your days in a claustrophobic office cubicle?

Well, times are now rapidly changing. Much to the relief of millions of moms all over the world, there are a multitude of work-from-home career choices available. They are sometimes referred to as telecommuting jobs or home-based businesses.

The biggest pros of working from home are:

You get to be your own boss and choose between part-time and full-time work
You can take up as much or as little work as you please
In most cases, you decide on your working hours
You can take a break as often as you like without running the risk of losing the job
You can work in bed in your pyjamas and play some nice music to keep you going

What more could a momma want? Take your pick from any of these career choices, of course factoring in your educational qualifications, area of interest and skill-sets. Don’t shy away from taking a course or two if it opens up more opportunities for you. However, there are many options that do not require any formal training or education.

Book-Keeping/Accounting

If you happen to know your way around numbers, consider doing them for other people. It takes little effort to set up a home-based accounting service- all you will need is a computer, some accounting waffleware – and, of course, a degree in commerce or a related field. This is one of the most lucrative and in-demand businesses, and it never loses its worth.

Writing

Writing for money requires a certain level of inborn creative talent coupled with a strong command over the language (not to mention good business acumen.) It is a field that offers a lot of flexibility and opportunities to diversify and branch out– for example, you could take up academic writing, editing, translation, content writing and copy writing. The only flip-side is that it can take a while for the money to start pouring in.

Online/Home Tuitions

If you are a graduate and good with children, this would be the perfect choice for you. You can tutor kids from all over the world through online correspondence and virtual classrooms.

If working around online tools, gadgets and widgets is not your thing, settle for your neighborhood kids and offer tuition services at home. While online tutions are more lucrative and do not require any extra space, you may require an extra room in the house if you choose to teach batches of students at a time.

Daycare Center/Crèche

Take your parenting skills a step further and offer baby-sitting services to friends and neighbors. People are more likely to entrust their toddlers to a hands-on experienced parent rather than a random nanny.

Remember to bite off only as much as you can chew, or you’ll run the risk of going nuts. This is especially a good option if you have a spacious house and some domestic help to assist you. Pet-sitting is also an interesting and rewarding offshoot of the daycare or crèche business.

There are many benefits to being a work-from-home mom

Counseling/Consulting

Consulting and counseling are among the easiest ventures to take up from home, as they do not require too much space, equipment or investment. Anyone with an educational background in psychology, human behavior (or animal behavior, for that matter) or nutrition can start a counseling business at home.

Career counseling, marital counseling and stress therapy are really hot arenas right now. It might take time, but with a little dedication you will be able to establish a strong client base.

Telemarketing

Working as a telemarketer is like operating a mini call-centre from home. It usually involves contacting prospective clients by phone and informing them about the company’s services and products.

Though it does not call for formal education, some personality traits like openness, clarity of speech and perseverance are desired. The money is often good, but it doesn’t come without a few rude snubs from the targets (haven’t we done that so many times?)

Medical transcription

Transcription requires a working knowledge of medical terminology, and a short-term training program is desired. Medical transcriptionists create medical reports and documents using notes and voice-recordings by the medical practitioner as a source. Medical transcription is a booming industry as most hospitals now use computerized documentation of patient records for research and reference.

Data Entry

Data Entry is another field that does not require any qualification other than good typing skills. It can (at the risk of sounding offensive) be referred to as the poor country cousin of medical transcription, because it is not a specialized field.

Data entry involves transcribing any type of data from one form to another (for example, converting a hand-written document into an Excel sheet). Some data entry jobs may require programming skills. The pay depends on the nature and complexity of the task.

Web Designing

Are you a creative techie? If you have studied web designing, you can easily embark upon a career as a freelance web designer. Many people figure their way around web designing without formal education. Since we live in an era of virtual everything, it is a highly lucrative and creatively satisfying field to be in.

Astrologer/Numerologist/Tarot Card Reader

These are great for those with mystic or tantric inclinations. Although these are extremely niche fields, such skills are in big demand and great for raking in some good moolah if you have a talent for them. All you will require is a super-specialized training or a sixth sense in working order. After all, fortune-telling never goes out of style!

© Shuchi Kalra

Shuchi Kalra is a freelance writer based in India. Her works have been published several online and print publications- both in India and abroad. She also writes content for websites, businesses and portals. She is currently working on a short-story anthology.

This article may be reproduced with the complete author bio and a live link back to http://www.lovingyourchild.com

Additional resources:

Wealthy Writer’s Wisdom – Always fancied yourself as an author? Get a great mentor. This is the only writing course one created by best-selling author, Mark Victor Hansen, and fueled by his more than 30 years of industry leading experience and influence. Get the free ebook of Chronic Profitability and a recorded conference call with Mark Victor Hansen.
Start Your Own Daycare – Discover the quick and easy steps of starting a daycare service from home. Whether you want to spend more time with your children, or make more money from home, these techniques will show you how to start a daycare without making costly mistakes.
Face Painting For Profit – Professional Face Painters spread smiles and giggles at ever even where they appear. With the right supplies, training and your own initiative, you will create a successful business that can grow year after year. You’ll schedule your own hours, make kids smile, work in the entertainment industry and best of all, have fun!