If you’re a mom looking to help your family financially, you’ve probably considered one of the many work-from-home jobs available to help pay the bills.
Unfortunately, many of the jobs aimed at moms like you and I are MLM businesses, in which you’re asked to sell stuff (you might not even like or want) to your family and friends.
As a mom, I know how important it is to be able to stay home with your kids if you want to. I felt that immense desire after my kids were born, and I’ve had many moms express the same sentiments to me, too.
And while it was so important to me to stay home, I also knew there was no way I wanted to sell stuff to other people. I am not a natural-born salesperson and the idea of selling things to people I know and love just sounded terrible to me.
I figured there had to be another way. And that way is freelancing.
Luckily, we are so fortunate to live in a time period when you don’t have to sacrifice being with your kids for a paycheck. There are many real work-from-home jobs for moms available, and they don’t involve signing up with an MLM, purchasing a large inventory, or selling items to family and friends.
In fact, the workforce as a whole is trending towards using more remote workers. A 2018 Future Workforce Report from Upwork found that a whopping 59 percent of companies are now using remote workers or freelancers to some extent. As a mom, there’s no reason why you can’t jump on this up-and-coming trend.
While there are lots of remote positions available, they aren’t all equal. Here are some of my favorite positions for moms because they’re super flexible, offer a decent wage, and you can fit them into your own schedule.
Freelance Writer
Freelance writing is one of the best jobs for moms because the income potential is extremely high and the flexibility it offers is unbeatable. The term “freelance writing” covers a lot of different things, from copywriting and blog posts to white papers and ebooks.
As a freelance writer, you could take over an email marketing campaign for a client or you could ghostwrite in-depth articles for a website. The possibilities are endless and so is the work potential.
Every single business, individual, or organization with a website needs regular content to stay relevant to their audience. Let that amount sink in for a moment, and then you’ll understand why this is such a lucrative work-from-home position.
Editor
Writing isn’t the only job for those who have a love for the written word and are good at grammar. If you have an eagle-eye, utilize your skills to be an editor or proofreader.
Because of the amount of work writers are doing online, editors are also in high demand.
The great thing about being an editor is that you aren’t limited to clients who only work in the virtual space. You could also offer your services to anyone who writes for print pieces like books, newspapers, or magazines.
Virtual Assistant
If you have great organizational skills or come from an administrative background, put those skills to work as a virtual assistant.
As a virtual assistant, you could provide support for a wide variety of tasks including research, email management, customer service, bookkeeping, social media management, and more.
Virtual assistants are in especially high demand among online businesses and those who conduct much of their day-to-day operations over the Internet.
Pinterest Manager
Pinterest is a huge platform for bloggers and entrepreneurs who want to grow their business. You don’t need any special qualifications to do this job – just a love of being on social media.
As a Pinterest manager, you may be asked to design pins, set up boards, and actively pin according to a schedule in order to drive traffic to your client’s blog or websites.
There are many Pinterest strategies that optimize the platform, so you should have some familiarity with these before taking on this job.
Graphic Designer
If you have an eye for design, working as a graphic designer might be the job for you. There is a big need for good graphic designers to create company logos, social media graphics, flyers, and the like.
You don’t necessarily need any formal training for this, but you should have a good handle on design strategies and familiarity with graphic design tools. If you have a technical background, you could even combine this with web design services, which would greatly increase your income potential.
Social Media Manager
Having a strong social media presence is an important component of doing business today, but many entrepreneurs and business owners are far too busy to spend their time scheduling posts, answering messages, or engaging the community on social media.
That’s where you come in.
As a social media manager, you’ll act as the face of the brand online, doing everything from scheduling posts to handling any customer service issues that are brought to your attention.
Podcast Manager
If you haven’t noticed, podcasts are the in-thing right now. They are extremely popular and effective, which means that many successful entrepreneurs are getting on the bandwagon and creating their own shows.
This creates a (good for you) problem. It takes a lot of time to record, edit, publish, and promote a podcast episode, which is why a podcast manager is such a needed position.
As a podcast manager, you’ll take charge of doing those things, as well as booking guests or interviewees, typing up show notes, and everything else involved in the production of the show.
If you’re techie and love marketing, a job as a podcast manager might be right up your ally.
Bookkeeper
Bookkeeping is a necessary task for just about any business, but most business owners consider the undertaking a burden. If you love numbers and aren’t overwhelmed with the small details, I’m betting you’ll find many clients.
As a bookkeeper, you’ll be responsible for the day to day operations of tracking income and expenses in a business. You’ll need to have a good handle on accounting practices to do this job, but you don’t need to be an accountant.
You should be highly organized, responsible, and pay close attention to detail.
Photographer
If you’ve gotten really good at capturing all the precious moments of your little family, you could put those skills to good use as a freelance photographer.
You could work as a wedding or family photographer, or even build up your portfolio and sell your photos online to stock photography websites.
To succeed as a freelance photographer, you will need to have the right equipment, which may require an upfront investment. You’ll also need to brush up on marketing skills, as photography is a common profession. Still, if you possess the right talent this could be a great work-from-home position.
Web Designer
If there’s one thing that every business should have, it’s a really great website. Despite this well-known fact, so many businesses and organizations have no web presence at all, or if they do have a site, it’s outdated or insufficient.
This is where you can come in.
As a web designer, you’ll provide the much-needed service. If you are tech-loving and have some coding knowledge, you can build beautiful, responsive websites for entrepreneurs and businesses who need to brush up on their online presence.
Finding clients for your new venture might be easier than you think. Start by Googling the local businesses you frequent and see how many might be in need of a website refresh. Reach out to them first, positioning yourself as a local professional ready and willing to help.
If you do a great job, chances are it won’t be long before you have an agenda that’s booked with clients.
How Do I Get One of These Work-from-Home Jobs?
Working from home is still just that – work – but it is totally doable. In order to get one of these jobs, you need to set yourself up for success.
This means setting up a website, putting together a portfolio, and putting yourself out there on. Network to all your friends and family, join relevant Facebook groups, and polish that LinkedIn profile. You could also start applying to jobs on job boards or freelancer sites.
If you want a more detailed guide for the process of starting your freelance business, see my post How to Start a Freelance Business From Home. This will walk you through all the steps you need to get started with one of these work at home jobs.
What Do I Do When I Start One of These Work-from-Home Jobs?
Before you start working with any potential employer or client, make sure to have a contract in place. This can be as formal – or informal – as you’re comfortable with, but it should have pertinent information including project details, deadlines, stipulations, and payment terms.
After that, you just complete the work! Once you deliver your completed assignment to the client or you complete the task as requested, you’ll send an invoice and await payment.
Make sure to have a business Paypal account set up and ready to go, and open a separate checking account to keep your business and personal finances separate.
How to be Sure a Work-from-Home Job is Real
It can be a frustrating, gut-wrenching experience to put a lot of time and effort into something only to find that it’s a scam.
While there are plenty of real work-from-home jobs out there, there are also scammers who are all too willing to steal your time, talent, and money. If you’re hired to do work for a company or organization, it’s up to you to make sure they’re legitimate.
Here are some ways to ensure you aren’t being taken for granted:
Ask for references
Depending on where you’re finding this job, it can’t hurt to ask if there are other employees you can contact to verify the company’s authenticity. This is a good step to take if you can’t find any other pertinent or helpful information about the company online.
Research the organization
When you Google this company or client, what are you finding? Look for complaints or bad reviews, and check the company’s rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Think twice before paying
This isn’t to say that you should never pay money for a job or training, but make sure that you’re giving things sufficient thought before you’re just shelling out cash.
Typical red flags are when companies ask you to pay a large sum for a background check, or you’re asked to make a sizable investment with the guarantee that you’ll make a certain amount of money in return.
There are plenty of wonderful training programs that can help you achieve the dream job you want, and some good job sites require a fee to bring you the best listings, but a company can never guarantee a certain amount in return.
Also, be wary if you’re asked to purchase special equipment or software in order to perform your task.
As a freelancer, it will typically be up to you to make sure you have the items you need to perform a job, but there’s no telling what potential clients will ask of you. Always do plenty of research and look for reviews or experiences related to the potential client or employer.
Working from home is the way of the future, especially for moms. Gone are the days where you have to choose between spending your days at a job you hate or forgoing an income altogether.
Now, you can do both. Join the countless other women who have found the freedom of freelancing with one of these, or countless other work-from-home jobs.
What are you waiting for? Let this be the year you make your dreams of financial freedom a reality with freelancing work.
