There’s no avoiding it anymore: you know it’s time to start contributing to your family’s finances, but you have no idea where to start. You know you need to start earning money, but there are so many options out there…what’s the best work-at-home job for moms?
Have you had those nights where you lie in bed, thinking of all the things you could do to earn extra money? Your husband works hard and stresses about making enough to support your family, but no matter how much you both stress, it doesn’t bring in more cash…you have to DO something.
I know how these moments feel because I was there. I thought about serving tables after my husband came home from work, but I wanted to see him and also be home to put my baby to bed at night. I thought about teaching English to kids online, but waking up in the wee hours of the morning had literally made me feel crazy as a college student. I couldn’t imagine how that would feel as an already sleep-deprived mom. And MLMs weren’t my thing. But what could I do?
If you can relate to any of these late-night ponderings, you’re in the right place. And no, this isn’t one of those situations where I’ll teach you how to make $500 in just 20 minutes a day by posting cryptic messages on your FB to get people interested in what you’re doing. These are real options that have helped so many moms I know (myself included!). I honestly wish every mom knew there’s a better way to make money than many realize!
This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy to learn more.
The Best Work From Home Option For Moms
I searched for YEARS to figure out the best work-from-home option as a mom because I wanted to be home with my kids, but I also needed to make money. There are so many work-from-home options out there, but not all of them are flexible enough for moms. I wanted to be able to work but also take my kids to the splash pad when I wanted. I didn’t want to have a schedule, but I wanted to make good enough money that it would be worth it to work as a mom.
The best work-from-home job I found was to be a freelancer. There are so many different options of what you can do as a freelancer, but I’ll dive deeper into those below. First things first: what even is a freelancer? (Maybe you know, but I sure get a lot of blank stares from my friends and family who have no clue what I do.)
A freelancer is someone who provides services for a person or business but is self-employed. Depending on what you do as a freelancer, you may commit to working with one or more clients regularly, but you’re not their employee. Your line of work may not be the type where you work with a client regularly (like web designers often find new clients for each project), or you may choose to work with different clients regularly.
Why Freelancing is a Great Gig for Moms
I’m not going to pretend that freelancing is easy. It’s not. It’s hard work; you still have to show up and do your job. You may have to wake up early so you can get work done before your kids start asking for cereal and Goldfish, or you may have to work at night while your husband watches The Office for the 70th time. But one of the biggest life lessons I’ve learned is that anything worthwhile takes hard work.
On the flip side, there are a lot of reasons I love freelancing. Here are some:
- You can choose who you work with. This is HUGE for me. You can decide who you’d most like to work with and find those types of people and businesses. It really is your choice! I know many people determine the types of companies they want to work with; for example, you may choose to work with female-owned solopreneurs whose target market is parents. Honestly, my ideal client has less to do with what a business does and a lot more to do with the personality of who I’m working with. I enjoy working with easygoing, kind people. I’m usually able to figure out if someone fits this bill in the early stages of communication before officially deciding to work together. And if you think someone is a good fit and they turn out not to be, you can always end a contract and find a better fit.
- You can choose what you want to do. Isn’t it crazy that we’re supposed to figure out what we want to do with our lives when we’re only 18? How are we expected to stick with it?! I studied English in college and began my freelancing journey writing blog posts for businesses. I still enjoy writing blogs, but I discovered that I love doing so much more! I was surprised to find out I love designing websites (which is what I mostly do now). I was also surprised to find out I don’t enjoy editing books, which I thought was my dream! You can choose the work you want to take on and say no to what you don’t want to do. And you don’t have to figure it all out when you get started. I’ve shifted gears a few times in my freelancing journey, and I love that I can do that.
- You can choose your own schedule. Some of your clients may need you to be available during specific hours or days, but as a freelancer, you should be able to set your schedule. I prefer working as a writer and web designer because there is usually no set time to get my work done as long as the whole project is finished on time. This is important for me because my schedule is pretty inconsistent–I try, but I have three little kids who don’t have consistent sleep schedules, and I deal with insomnia a few nights of the week, so I’m not always able to wake up early to work. I love that I don’t have to worry about showing up to work at a particular time!
Another perk is that it’s easy to take time off, whether for fun or a family emergency. When my father-in-law passed away, I just let my clients know what was going on and that I’d be spending time with family for a few weeks. They were all super understanding. This may not be possible for all freelance positions, like Social Media Managers who need to post consistently for their clients, but it worked for me.
- You can choose your rate (to a certain extent). When have you ever had a job where you got to choose what you get paid? I love that I get to choose my rate as a freelancer. However, you’ve got to be reasonable. As a beginner, you probably shouldn’t be charging $40/hr to maintain a business’s email inbox, but you should definitely charge more than $7/hr. Also, there may be times when someone is hiring for a position you really want to take, but your rate doesn’t fit their budget. You’ll have to decide if you want to try to compromise or if you’re set on your rate.
I’m a design assistant for a web designer, and I took the job for less than my typical rate, but I did it because I knew that it would bring consistent work. It has been 100% worth it, and I’m happy I didn’t decline just because my client paid less than what I typically charge.
What Can You Do as a Freelancer?
You might think freelancing won’t work for you because you don’t have formal training in writing, design, social media, etc., but there is a lot you can do. And you don’t need formal training in most of these areas. I don’t have formal training in web design, but I’ve made good money from it! And though I do have formal training in writing, most freelance writers I know do not.
So I’ll stop beating around the bush…Here are some things you can do as a freelancer:
Virtual Assistant
This is one of the best places to start as a beginner! Many people outside of the online business world don’t even know what a virtual assistant is, but SO many people need one! Virtual assistants perform a variety of administrative tasks for business owners. What you would do as a virtual assistant varies depending on who you want to work with. Some virtual assistant tasks might include email management, customer service, content writing, calendar management, and soooo much more. You can choose what services you’d want to offer as a Virtual Assistant and avoid tasks that don’t sound appealing to you.
If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a Virtual Assistant (or any type of freelancer), I HIGHLY recommend checking out Micala Quinn’s resources. Micala teaches women how to build a profitable freelancing business, and she has literally led hundreds of students to success. She has a free Freelance Starter Kit that describes all the ins and outs and possibilities of freelancing and how to get started as a freelancer. Definitely start here!
She also has a free workshop that dives a little deeper into freelancing and her roadmap to business success.
I took Micala’s paid course Overwhelmed to Overbooked to learn how to start my business, and that was the best decision I could have made at the beginning. It was a huge leap of faith because it was expensive, and we were not rolling in dough. But I needed to make money quickly, and I trusted that Micala’s course would get me there. It did! I quickly made my money back just from the jobs I found on her job board (students of her course have access to this). The highest paying jobs I’ve had in the last two years (since I first signed up for Micala’s course) have been from her job board, and through people I’ve met in her private course group.
Social Media Manager
Social Media is HANDS DOWN what I see most businesses needing help with! They all need it but probably don’t have time to do it themselves or have realized it takes more work than just having it as a side project for one of their full-time employees. Social Media Managers may develop the content and images for posts, stories, and reels, engage with followers, create reports for their clients, and more.
Pinterest Manager
Love Pinterest? There’s a whole lot that goes into all those pins you scroll through after the kids go to bed at night. Businesses may hire Pinterest Managers to create and execute a Pinterest strategy for their business. There are lots of resources online that teach the best Pinterest practices if this is something you’re interested in.
Content Writer
I started my freelance journey as a content writer, and it can be a lot of fun! Content writers write blog posts, newsletters, social media posts, and more for businesses. This type of writing is what companies use to nurture their audience rather than sell to it. You can make more money as a copywriter (I’ll dive into this next), but content writing is a great place to start, still pays well, and is an excellent foundation if you’re just starting as a freelance writer.
Copywriter
Many people think writers can’t make good money, but they probably don’t know about copywriters. Copywriters can make bank–if they’re good and if they find the right clients. Copywriting is writing that sells. It’s what you see when you read as you zoom past billboards on the highway or on those Facebook ads that suck you in. Copywriters also write sales pages for online businesses, web copy (all the writing for a business’s website), email sequences, and more.
If you want to learn more about copywriting, I’d suggest checking out Successful Freelance Mom. She has a free course to get you started but also has a paid course that helps moms go from start to finish as freelancers. I have taken a couple of her smaller courses, but I wish I had just invested in her main course, Writing For Money, early on.
Web Designer
Guess what? You don’t have to go to school to be a web designer! If you had told me four years ago that I’d become a web designer, I would have laughed in your face. I never thought this is where I’d end up. It takes a lot of work and practice to become comfortable as a web designer, but it is totally possible and may not take as long as you think. Web designers can also make great money!
If you want to learn more about web design, check out Julia Taylor’s GeekPack community. She has a free workshop, so you can see if web design is for you!
And so much more! Businesses need help, but they often don’t know that the freelancing model even exists. I’ve worked with several solopreneurs or small businesses who needed assistance but didn’t need to hire a full-time employee.
How to Get Started as a Freelancer
If all this freelancing stuff is new to you, you might feel confused or unsure if it could work for you. I guarantee that if I can make it work, so can you. I’m not a cool mom; I’m not a business genius, and I don’t have my pantry organized with cute bins and homemade labels. I’m just a regular mom who takes a shower at 2:00 in the afternoon if I can fit it in.
If freelancing sounds appealing to you, I’d recommend you start by checking out Micala’s Freelance Starter Kit to figure out if this could be for you. (Spoiler alert: if you like to pick your own schedule, what you do for work, and who you work with, it might be for you.)
If you need to start making money quickly or know this is the best option for you, consider investing in Micala’s Overwhelmed to Overbooked course. Her course teaches you how to start a freelance business from the ground up, including registering your business, finding clients, running a discovery call with new clients, and sooo much more. I know it doesn’t fit in everyone’s budget, but if you could swing it, I promise it would be worth it.
If you have any questions, please let me know! Comment below or find me on Instagram as @themomhubco.
