5 Business Ideas for Women Who Stay at Home

While there are more stay at home dads than ever before, the reality is that, in our society, the stay at parent is still more likely to be female.

Stay at home parents, no matter their gender, are taking a risk with their financial futures. Women risk leaving money on the table, and blighting their career prospects when they stay at home.

However, thanks to the Internet, women who stay at home have options. Many of them even start business. If you are a stay at home mom, you might benefit from these 5 business ideas for women who stay at home:

1. Freelancing

Many women have developed valuable skills. Whether it’s writing or web design, these are skills that can be sold to clients. You can provide a valuable service that others need — and you can do it in your spare time from home. Start a freelancing business, and you might be surprised at how much you can make.

2. Selling Items

If you don’t feel like you can sell a skill like software development or graphic design, maybe you can sell something else. There are a number of web sites designed to help you sell things that you make, or even things that you find at a yard sale. I know a woman who sells great vinyl lettering sayings on woodblocks from her Amazon store. And there are countless enterprising women who sell items on Etsy and eBay.

3. Virtual Assistant

Start a virtual assistant business. You can help executives and others with their schedules, answer emails, and perform other tasks remotely. Virtual assisting is a fast-growing career that can provide you with an opportunity to make money from your home, and do a lot of the work on your own schedule.

4. Child Care

You’re already watching your own kids. What if you started watching others’ children? Make sure you follow state regulations as a child care provider, and you could start a thriving business. You could even hold a preschool, providing valuable educational skills as well as providing care.

If you don’t want to watch others’ children for that long, or hold a preschool, but you have a skill you can impart, you can teach lessons. My mom taught piano lessons while I was growing up. It was a way for her to earn a little extra money, even though she stayed at home and didn’t have a “real” job.

5. Consulting

Many women these days have careers before they decide to stay at home. As a result, one of the business ideas for women who stay home is consulting. You can share your expertise — and get paid well for it. Whether it’s public relations consulting, social media consulting, or some other type of work, you can charge for your time and expertise, working it in around your household duties.

After starting your own side business, you might be surprised at how you might even become the primary breadwinner if you business takes off. And, once, you start making that money, don’t forget to put it to work for you through investing, or by saving it in a retirement account.