As a new mom, you need more flexibility in your life than before. One way you can make this happen is by starting your own home-based business. This will give you more time to spend with your child and an opportunity to make some extra money. Here are some ideas for starting a successful home business amid the diapers and drool.
Write Children’s Books
Freelance writing is a relatively easy career to break into especially if you write well, pay attention to grammar and you are dedicated to meeting deadlines. However, writing non-fiction for corporate companies can become rather boring after a while, so why not try your hand at writing fiction. As a mom you will spend years reading stories to your children, so you’ll soon get a very good grasp of the market. Focus on a particular age group and decide what types of stories you’re going to write. For example, a thrilling adventure, a humorous character tale, or a cute story with animal characters. It’s not difficult to publish a book online. You can find out how to do it here.
Become a Consultant
A great way to start your own business is to use the skills you already have to help others by offering expert advice. You can draw on your previous career experience and help other people and businesses within the same field. Think about what skills you have that are useful to others. In which areas can you make their life easier and add value or save them money? Can you see business problems that you can solve? You don’t have to narrow yourself down to a particular industry, focus instead on the talent and experience you have to offer.
Offer Online Classes
You can become an online tutor and help current students who may be struggling or falling behind with their school subjects, or even devise a course of your own. FaceTime and Skype offer perfect opportunities for you to get face-to-face with your students and share your knowledge and information first-hand. Depending on your skill and experience you could any number of things including languages, musical instrument lessons, cooking lessons, fitness coaching, drawing and more. As well as online lessons, you can offer e-books and video tutorials, set up specific lesson times and question and answer times. You can make your schedule as flexible as you like.
Become a Blogger
Making money as a blogger is becoming more and more popular. If you’re a creative person, it’s a great way to get paid for sharing your ideas. Start your blog by creating useful content in an area that you enjoy writing about. Next, you have to start drawing readers to your blog. Think about the type of reader you want to attract and where you will find them online. For example, with they be listening to podcasts, will they me members of certain social media groups, or will they participate in certain forums? You can begin to build your presence by visiting these places, leaving useful comments or perhaps writing a guest post. Engage with readers who come to your blog by asking them to comment and share their ideas. As time goes by, they will share your posts with their friends and your readership will grow. You can now start drawing revenue from advertising, affiliate promotions, events, membership programs, offering services, consulting, and selling e-books.
Make the Most of Online Resources
When you’ve decided what type of work-from-home business you’re going to pursue, it’s time to work on promotion which, of course, will be an ongoing process. Start off by creating a website so you can promote your business. You don’t have to be an expert in web design. Make use of online web building tools like Wix or GoDaddy. Give your company an eye-catching logo so people will remember your brand forever. This logo creator will give you inspiration. You’re also going to need to connect to potential clients through Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Use an automation tool like Hootsuite to help you schedule your posts in advance to save time and make sure you post consistently.
Whichever home business you decide on, don’t forget that while online networking is important, many lasting business relationships are also made in person. Make sure you can fit attending network meetings and events into your schedule. It will do you good to get out of the house and meet new people.
About the Author
Caitlin Miles started her business from home several years ago. She enjoys writing about her experiences on various websites, so she can share her entrepreneurial insights with many other moms.