Firstly,  let me make one thing very clear.   I am not a stay at home Mom!  But I am a stay at home Dad.  And my wife is a stay at home.  So I reckon I can talk about this subject, no problems.

Over the last few years I have introduced a number of stay at home mums to the word of home based business and self employment.  And during that time I have found that the prime motivation for these mums is – as you would expect – to have more time to bring up their kids.  A secondary motivation for some is to earn more money than they were before, but I would not say it’s the main reason.  Family, comes first for these women.

What Money Making Options Are There For Stay At Home Mums?

1. Online Process Work

If you’re not entrepreneurial, a few computer based options could be:

Surveys. There are a lot of survey programs on the internet.  I can’t vouch for any as I have had no first hand experience that any of them work.  But I have spoken to several women who use them, and have made a small income as a result.

Transcription. First option is transcription work.  Transcribing words from tapes and Dictaphones etc is what’s required here   It is helpful if you have good typing skills!  This is hourly rate work.

Data Entry. Menial work ideal for people with fast data entry speeds.  This is hourly rate work.

Please note that for this type of non-entrepreneurial approach the income potential is modest, to say the least.

2. Marketing Opportunities

If you are a budding entrepreneur you have a variety of options:

Affiliate Marketing. Promoting e books, software etc.  Many of these affiliate make money work at home programs are free to to join.  You can find lots of opportunities via online market places such as Clickbank.   A variation is to promote physical products for online retailers.  Little or no set up costs, but you will need to school yourself on internet marketing techniques and strategies.

E Bay Reselling. My son buys items cheap at old style markets and auction houses, then sells them through E Bay for good profit.  It works!

Online Network Marketing. Network marketing is not for everyone, but from a making money point of view the potential is large, if you find the right program.  The difference between online network marketing and the offline version is that you don’t need to approach people – they come to you.  Opportunities abound with products as diverse as health and nutrition, personal development, financial education, skin care, various digital products, and my favorite - travel.

Traditional Network Marketing. If you have a gift for talking to people, lots of contacts and don’t mind approaching people, then traditional network marketing might fit the bill.  There is no doubt that the top earners in this category make more money than other folk in the other categories.

Other Options. Other options include buying a franchise (although most franchise options will take you AWAY from home).  Also, if you already have a product or a product idea, see if you can transform it into a real business – home based of course.

Finally, if you have a skill, why not exploit it?   Set up a little tutoring business, promote it, and wait for customers to appear.  As this is hourly rate work it’s not really an entrepreneurial activity, but it could represent a viable option nevertheless.

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