When I first began my stay-at-home adventure, I was so excited to be home with my kids and spend some extra time with them that I didn’t think much about the transition. About a year into staying home, I was beginning to feel an “itch” to do something more. Don’t get me wrong, I love every moment of being home with my littles, but as a girl who wasn’t entirely fulfilled in my past career, I started to feel the need to explore other avenues.
Fast forward a couple of months later, and my research for finding a home business kicked into full gear as it became painfully evident that my hubby was overwhelmed with trying to support our family on one income. I knew I needed to find something easy that I could manage while also raising my babies. Thankfully this was also the time when I first discovered sites like The Work at Home Woman and was able to quickly find home businesses I could start up on my own.
Whether you’re a new stay-at-home mama, a woman who’s decided to take a different path, or somewhere in between, there has never been a better time to start up your home business!
We’ve rounded up five of the easiest home businesses to start so you can stop worrying and start cashing in!
1. Freelance Writing Home Business
Freelance writing is one of the easiest home businesses to start! With zero out-of-pocket expenses and a plethora of job opportunities, you can jumpstart this home business as soon as today.
Freelance writing was my first work-at-home business adventure, and it continues to be one of my favorites. When I began my work-at-home search, I started with a paid membership to Flexjobs so I could start to beef up my writing resume. I found a few temporary writing gigs here and there that I loved, and those jobs helped light a fire to find more. From there, I branched into specific freelance job boards such as Upwork and Freelancer.
While freelance writing job boards don’t usually have high payouts, these spots are great to use if you’re looking to add to your resume, gain experience, and grab some referrals along the way. Plus, they’ll put a little cash in your pocket as you start out! Here’s a list of a few of those job boards:
Another way to gain exposure as a freelance writer is through guest posting. Look for blogs and businesses in your niche (or what you like to write about most), and see if they offer guest posting opportunities. If you can’t find any on their website, go ahead and send an email inquiry to the editor or author of their blog. While most businesses don’t pay for guest posting (or pay very little), there are benefits to guest posting such as:
- Additional experience
- Building credibility
- Making yourself known amongst businesses and potential new clients
The best thing about this networking trick is that you never know where your guest post might lead. Companies are always looking for content marketers, copywriters, and blog writers. Your guest post might just lead to a real gig with a big company!
Other opportunities under the freelance writing “umbrella” include transcription and copywriting jobs! Places like Copify and Rev are usually looking for freelance writers and offer an array of writing opportunities.
While everyone’s freelance writing journey is a little different, these ideas are certain to jumpstart your freelance writing business search!
Related Content: 99+ Paid Writing Gigs and Opportunities
2. Virtual Assistant Home Business
Starting a virtual assistant (VA) home business has never been easier! With many companies outsourcing everything from administrative work, customer service, social media management, and more, the opportunities for starting a VA business are endless. If you have some experience in administrative work, you could start this business with zero out-of-pocket expenses. However, if you’re new to the VA game, you may want to consider investing some time and money into courses and social media groups that focus on training and support for VAs.
If you’re looking to save some money and have some VA background knowledge, networking in online groups to grab ideas and advice is also a good place to start.
Ready to dive in?
Check out these VA sites to get your feet wet in the world of virtual assisting:
- Assistant Match
- Belay
- Fancy Hands
- Freelancer
- FlexJobs
- People Per Hour
- Time Etc.
- VaVa Virtual Assistants
- Worldwide 101
3. Direct Sales Home Business Opportunities
If selling is your strong suit and you carry a passion for promoting products you love, then a direct sales business is for you! From beauty products to cookware and everything in between, the world of direct sales is booming!
While some direct sales companies do carry a significant start-up fee, there are quite a few that are easy on the pocketbook as you start out! Below, we outline a mixture of direct sales home business opportunities you can investigate today!
- Cabi: Have a love for fashion? Then cabi is the perfect direct sales business choice for you! Selling everything from gorgeous jewelry to shoes and clothing, check out this amazing company and start your direct sales home business in clothing today.
- Tastefully Simple: If you like to cook, you’ll love tastefully simple! This company sells delicious meal-kits, seasonings, dips, desserts, and more. Consultants make 30% on all products sold.
- Traveling Vineyard: This direct sales business sells wine and accessories. Consultants can earn between 15% to 35% on personal sales and when you build a team—cha-ching!
With so many direct sales opportunities out there, you’re sure to find one (or five) that speaks to your true passion!
4. Selling Crafts, Décor, and More!
Are you the creative type? Do you adore crafting, designing home décor items, creating jewelry, or more? If you love creating products from the comfort of your home, then opening your very own Etsy shop is a great place to start! There’s zero up-front cost to open an Etsy storefront, and all you’ll need are your beautifully made products, a few high-quality photos, a description for each product, and you’ve opened your store! There are small selling fees you should be aware of on the Etsy platform but, overall, this is an easy way to start your very own home business. If you’re looking for more information about being successful on the Etsy platform, check out our interview with full-time Etsy seller, Melanie.
5. Childcare & Tutoring Home Businesses
When I stopped teaching to stay home with my kiddos, I began to research virtual teaching jobs and other ways I could continue working with kids. After all, it was what I had been doing for so very long, and I could start without costing anything upfront.
I started by talking with people in my kid’s social circles and then branched out to some online job boards. Here are a few of those spaces that you should check out if you have a love for teaching or interacting with children.
- Care.com: More than just a babysitting site, you can also post tutoring gigs on this platform too!
- TutorMe: Offers an array of tutoring opportunities.
- Sittercity: Whether you’re looking to set up a full-time job with one family or are looking to start a business with more than one client, this site is a great place to start!
- FlexJobs: You can find individuals or (occasionally) private institutions seeking tutors on this site.
Aside from online platforms, it’s a solid idea to promote your new home-based tutoring or childcare business on local job boards and social media. As you gain clients, you’ll most likely gain referrals and grow organically as well.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking to start your home business in direct sales, freelance writing, or one of the other many opportunities out there, you have countless options for opening a successful home business of your own!
If you’re not sure where to start, think about what you love doing. Begin with what makes you excited on a day-to-day basis and write it down. You can then take that list and think of ways you can turn your passion into a business.
After all, the success of your home business greatly depends on how much you, the owner, put into it, and that all begins with a passion for what you’re doing.
We would love to hear about your home business adventures, ideas or questions. Drop us a line below!
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