How Stay-at-Home Moms can Work from Home
Are you a SAHM (Stay-at-Home Mom) who would like to become a WAHM (Work-at-Home Mom)? Not so long ago, I was in your shoes. When I started surfing the net looking to find out #HowStayatHomeMomscanWorkfromHome, I had never even heard of the acronyms SAHM and WAHM – now they describe me.
I made it. I’m making money from home. Online. Yay!
Back then, this was exactly the kind of post I was looking for – some fab advice and ideas in the contributed post below. I love how the Writer tackles the practical challenges around working from home.
How Stay-at-Home Moms can Succeed in the Business World
Most stay-at-home Moms think once they become a parent, everything changes and they cannot become a successful businesswoman.
However, there are plenty of opportunities to make money from the comfort of your home, so this article is for the Moms that want to do more than looking after the children.
Here are ways stay-at-home Moms can succeed in the business world.
Make the most of their sleep
You will have probably realised that children need a lot of attention while they are awake.
The trick then is to make sure you know the periods of the day when they get tired and need to sleep.
Take them for a walk or out in the car before they start showing signs of tiredness. Once they appear, make your way home and take them to bed.
Ensure they are as comfortable as possible and have everything on hand for when they wake up, so they can get back to sleep as quickly as possible.
This will give you regular working hours to be productive and work on your business.
You will no longer have the problem of not having enough time because you have created the perfect window.
Make the most of when they’re awake
Once they’ve woken up, your child will want you. This means that most of your attention will switch from business needs to their needs.
There won’t be too much time so to maximise it, ensure that the tasks you complete do not require too much effort or thinking.
Admin jobs such as sending emails and tidying things up are perfect.
If you’re offered work, take it
Your children are obviously the priority, but clients will understand the situation.
Accept everything you have been asked to do. If you can’t do it exactly how they would like, offer a counter suggestion to meet them halfway.
For example, if they require you to have a meeting with them every Wednesday afternoon, suggest a video call instead of a physical meeting.
If it means that you need to ask your partner, family or friend to look after the child for a few hours, be sure to communicate it. It’s highly unlikely they will let you down.
All the employer cares about is you meeting the demands – it won’t matter that it’s being done from home.
As long as you don’t say no, you will have lots of things to do and make money and progress in the business world.
Find time to self-teach
One of the wonders of the internet is how information is so accessible. Everything that you’ve ever wanted to know can be found online.
For stay-at-home moms, Google is their best friend.
If you need to research a specific topic, Google will find you informative books or articles. If you need help coming up with content ideas for yourself, a simple search will show you all you need to know.
Social media also allows you to connect with people who are in the same boat to find the tools you need to make your business work.
Like-minded business people connect with each other. So find these groups and join them.
Ok, so now you some of the techniques to use, here are some roles that can work well while still being an incredible parent. You will be able to find many roles on freelancer websites.
Telemarketing
Telemarketing is a great job for stay-at-home moms because the shift patterns work incredibly well. It does not require much training, although if you want to get really into it, watch some videos online or read some books to perfect the craft.
Some of the skills you will need, and ultimately improve as you take on the role, are being able to articulate why the person needs the product, thus improving communication skills and being able to react on the spot.
Virtual Assistants
These roles are purely based around performing various admin-time jobs for businesses. It’s essentially being a PA but over the internet.
You will be required to use your organisation skills to book meetings, do emails, make travel arrangements, etc. If you have had any sort of administrative background this is an ideal role for you.
If you are good enough with a computer, this role is great to have alongside being a parent.
Online Expert
The freelancer market has opened the doors for expert moms in their field to apply their knowledge from the comfort of their own home.
If you have a background or education in the law, accounting or medical industries, there are plenty of opportunities. Offer your services to potential clients or bid on jobs.
This doesn’t just apply to ‘old school’ professions. For example, if you are an expert in SEO or you know how to optimize Amazon listings, there are plenty of roles available.
Market Tester and Researcher
Businesses are always looking for people to test out their new products or services and will offer to pay for your opinion. This is more of a short-term solution but is still great for cash.
There are multiple ways you can do this, such as being a mystery shopper, filling out surveys or even becoming part of focus groups.
Depending on how much you can get done in a day will determine what is best for you.
Writing and Proofreading
This role will require you to review already written material, checking for correct spelling and grammar, making the sure the piece reads well and that all facts and data claimed is correct.
If you are competent in writing, businesses will pay decent money because they recognise well-written content will help them make more money in the long term.
You could even take some courses to finetune your methods and show potential employers how great your skills are.
As you can guess, I chose to use my writing and proofreading skills to become a blogger as my way of transitioning from Stay-at-Home Mom to Work-from-Home Mom. Which of the ideas above appeals most to you?
