The economy is becoming tougher, and companies are retrenching their staff. What this means invariably is that the number of stay-at-home moms will increase; as the unemployment rate increases.
Being a stay-at-home mom or full time housewife is no longer fashionable in this present age. Why? The reason is because the economy is getting tougher and the income from the man alone can no longer sustain the family. Some men even keep two jobs, just to make ends meet.
However, being a stay-at-home mum or a housewife doesn’t mean that a person is lazy and refuses to work. People decide to become stay-at-home parents for various good reasons.
Children require a lot of time and energy to be properly brought up and though there are nannies and child minders that can be assigned these tasks for a fee, many parents would rather sacrifice their time-consuming jobs to raise their children themselves and give them full attention.
Now as a stay-at-home nursing mom or house wife, you have to contribute your own quota to the family. This is very important because sooner or later, your husband will begin to see you as a liability. So is it advisable for you to take a part time or full time job?
The answer is no. Getting a job is not feasible because unemployment rate is high, the labour market is getting more competitive and companies are seeking ways to downsize their workforce. Another good reason why you don’t need a job is that a job will only increase the strain on the family, as you may no longer have time for your husband and kids.
Now since you can’t get a job, what do you do? Well, the best solution is to work from home either as an entrepreneur or as a freelance contractor for companies. For those who are enterprising and good at selling, below are 20+ small home based online business ideas for house wives.
Best Business ideas for Moms and Housewives
1. Start a daycare center
A daycare center is one of the best businesses you can start from home, especially if you love being around children. Operating a daycare center allows you to spend a great deal of time with your own children while taking care of other people’s children as well. This business is a good choice for moms and women who are already experienced in caring for children.
2. Start making gift baskets from home
If you are a creative individual, and you have an eye for good art designs; then you can start making gift baskets from home. With proper marketing, you are sure to make a lot of money on Christmas, St Valentine day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, etc.
3. Start selling home baked goods
If you are skilled in baking and making snacks, you can as well consider going into the business of selling home baked snacks. This business is lucrative especially when you become a known brand within your neighborhood. You can start by baking cupcakes, pies, buns, homemade bread, etc.
4. Start a medical transcription service
This business is a great choice for moms with a good command of the English language and excellent typing skills. Medical transcripts are always in demand and so many doctors prefer to outsource their transcription function, thus giving you an opportunity to make money. Another sweet part of this business is that it requires very low overhead and a minimal equipment.
5. Become a freelance contractor
Doing freelance jobs is another great way to earn money from home. In fact, this business is very profitable especially for those residing outside the United States.
If you reside in countries such as Philippines, Nigeria, Ghana, China, India, etc; then this is an opportunity for you to earn an extra income because jobs are now been shipped out of the U.S. Example of jobs you can do online from home include writing, typing, editing, scriptwriting, animated video production, etc.
6. Offline and Online Tutoring
This field no longer only caters to struggling children or those people with learning disabilities. Rather, parents are now flocking to tutors to help their children get ahead and learn much faster. Times are changing indeed. Another tactical approach to this business is to take your teaching skills online.
Do you know that there are a lot of people online willing to pay to learn English language? Do you know that the educational trend is now moving towards online learning? Well, I leave you to your thoughts.
7. Start a business coaching service
Do you have administrative or management experience? Have you been through trying times and overcame? Then you can become a business coach. When the economy gets tough, business owners need all the help they can get to move ahead.
As a business coach, your duty is to empower these business owners and managers, and help them improve their work performance; through personal development and change.
8. Start an elderly care service
A growing population of elderly citizens means big opportunity for non-medical home care service providers. Your task in this business is to help the elderly people go through their daily lives. Examples of services you can offer include house cleaning, transportation, dietary assistance, bathing, etc.
9. Start a web designing business
In today’s technology driven world, business owners are realizing the importance of having their businesses on the internet. In fact, running a web based business is a trend that has come to stay. So, if you have got the technical know-how and the skills, you can build a career as a web designer right out of your closet.
10. Start a candle and craft production
Making and selling these handicrafts is a great way to make good money. If you are good at making attractive crafts, you can have your children help you create these items while you market them easily from your home. You can also venture into small scale candle production as candles are always in demand throughout the year.
11. Affiliate marketing
Online affiliate marketing does not require you to directly interact with customers or worry about finding a place for products in your home.
You can start a successful affiliate marketing business by finding companies that offer products you are interested in and then you market them on the Internet. Some of the biggest affiliate marketing companies on the internet include eBay, Amazon, Clickbank, CJ, etc.
12. Start a catering service
Catering can be a good idea for that mom who loves cooking and entertainment. Most of the work can be done in your home while looking after your children. You don’t need to rent a space and you can only spend a minimal time out of the house; that is if you plan adequately and have a competent staff.
13. Start a legal transcription service
To become a legal transcription expert, you will need the same equipment as a medical transcriptionist, but you will have to swap those medical books and dictionaries for legal ones.
14. Start offering nanny services
Another business you can do from home is a babysitting business. You can fulfill your dream of working from home by rendering nanny services to busy mothers who do not have enough time for their babies, as a result of their job or other things.
15. Start offering pet sitting services
There’s a growing demand for pet services around the world. If you have a passion for animals, and you feel comfortable being around pets, then you can offer to take care of other people’s pet while they are away. Services you can offer alongside pet sitting are pet grooming, doggy day care, dog walking and other pet-related services.
16. Publish your own book
Yes. You can become a publish author without even leaving your home. Instead of spending your free time gossiping with other jobless housewives or chatting online, why not write a book. You can either publish through a traditional publishing company or you can self publish online through Amazon and Kindle. J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter series became a billionaire right from home. If she can do it, you too can.
17. Start a wedding planning business
Do you possess good organizational skills? Do you thrive under pressure? Do you have a flair for putting together beautiful events? If yes, then you will succeed as a wedding or event planner. You can even take your business further by putting it on the web.
18. Start a carpet cleaning business
Only but a few people are willing to let their carpets get dirty but unfortunately, they don’t have time to clean their carpet. This is where you come in. You can help people clean their carpet and you get paid for the service that you have rendered.
19. Start a housekeeping service
Housekeeping services is all about helping people maintain and keep their houses in order. You can start around your neighborhood and with time, you will get to extend your services to other areas. Extra services you can do alongside your housekeeping service include housecleaning, lawn care, etc.
20. Start a medical billing service
This type of business offers you another opportunity to showcase your accounting experience in a steady work-from-home career. There are many opportunities in this field for moms who want to work from home.
21. Marriage Coaching
With the rate at which marriages are ending up in divorce, marriage coaching is not such a bad business idea. A lot of people would not mind paying someone to help them cope with the challenges of marriage, and help them build a better relationship with their spouse.
Marriage coaching business can be done from home if you have a computer and access to the internet. You will just need to create your own website. However, this is a business for people who are passionate about marriage and would not mind listening to other people’s problems.
22. Children’s Book Writer
If writing is your thing, you can make money from writing books for children with interesting story lines. You can sell it online or publish hard copies for sale in bookstores.
23. Online Travel Guide
A new Online business concept is providing tour-guide services to people traveling to your country or city. This is a very good business opportunity for people who live in places where people visit for vacations.
24. Gift Delivery Services
You can start your own online gift delivery service and help people surprise their friends and loved ones by packaging and delivering exotic gifts and flowers on their behalf.
25. Remote Computer Repair Services
Lots of people are embracing remote computer repair as a means of solving PC issues. If you are Tech savvy, you can start an online computer repair business.
26. Business Plan Writer
More people are turning to business as a result of the recent economic downturn which has caused many people to lose their jobs. Such people need professionally prepared business plans to help raise capital from financial institutions or to serve as a business pilot. If you have the knowledge and expertise, you can become a freelance business plan writer.
27. Blogging
Blogging is a popular business for stay-at-home moms. Just look for a niche you are passionate about and start blogging about it. You would make good money from adverts if you can attract a lot of traffic.
28. Consultancy Services
If you have expert knowledge about a particular industry or business, you can become a business consultant in that area and offer your services online for a fee.
29. Cake making and Designing
As a stay-at-home, you can bake cup cakes for sale and make use of the internet to increase sales. All you need to do is to create a business website where people around your local area can order for your cakes and have them delivered to their door steps.
30. Online Baking Institute
The internet has made a lot of things possible and it is now very easy to transfer your knowledge of baking to others on the internet by starting your own online baking school.
31. Online Health Food and Vitamin Store
If you are someone who is passionate about helping people to live healthy, you can start your own online vitamin shop and make money from selling health products and supplements to people.
32. E-mail Marketing Consultant
E-mail marketing is becoming more popular among business owners. You can help people create contents for their e-mail marketing campaign and make money from it from the convenience of your home.
33. Bridal Consultancy Services
How many brides can go through the stress of planning their own wedding? Very few indeed. If you are good at organizing and you are someone who pays attention to even the smallest details, you would make a good bridal consultant and you can earn money from helping brides reduce the stress of organizing a wedding.
34. Jewelry making
If you enjoy making jewelry and beads, you can make money from it by creating lovely pieces and selling them online. You can also take orders for custom jewelry and make them to suite customers tastes.
35. Virtual Assistance
There are lots of opportunities for Virtual Assistants online. A Virtual assistant is someone who provides administrative and clerical services to people who need it from a home office.
36. Internet Research Business
Another very good business opportunity for house wives and stay-at-home moms is to start your own internet research company. You can help people conduct internet-based research and get paid for it.
37. Online Cosmetics Store
Are you very good with make-up application? Do you have a good knowledge about cosmetics? You can provide online makeup tutoring services to people or sell cosmetics online for a profit.
38. Online Clothing Store
This is one business you cannot go wrong with. A lot of fashion lovers barely have time to go around shopping and would rather sit in front of their computers and admire as many clothes as possible before settling for the best ones. Online clothing business is getting more popular and this is one business that you would enjoy doing if you are fashion conscious and you have a little capital to spare.