Owning a business creates images of renting a space, managing employees, and commuting. It may be too much for a busy mom. Today, technology and access allow home-based business startups.
Find out which at-home business ideas for moms are most profitable and how you can succeed in business.
Look after other people’s children.
Moms who want to spend time with kids—whether their own or not—can start a home-based family childcare business. If you need to make money but can’t invest much, this business idea is low-cost because you’ll run it from home.
Work as a pet sitter
Pet sitting may be the perfect business for animal lovers. Many people use pet-sitting apps like Rover to earn extra money around their schedules by offering dog walking, drop-in visits, and overnight and long-term pet care.
Sell cosmetics online
Selling cosmetics online is a popular home business for makeup-loving moms. In such a crowded industry, you must carefully consider your target audience and build your brand identity around them.
Start a blog
Because of its accessibility, blogging is a popular business idea for stay-at-home moms. You’re an expert at full-time parenting, even if you don’t think so!
Start tutoring.
If you love teaching, online or in-home tutoring is a great way to make money. If you have never tutored before, you should get certified. Make educational content and sell downloadable forms and videos.
Remote travel agent
Travel is highly regulated, but being great at planning and booking vacations helps. You must follow the Travel Industry Council of Ontario’s guidelines for selling travel and related products and services in Ontario (TICO). Before investing in your business, download the TICO Education Standard Manual and prepare for a mandatory travel agent exam.
Offer graphic design services.
As a stay-at-home mother, you can sell your graphic design services if you have a degree in graphic design or illustration and access to Adobe Photoshop or Procreate. As a mompreneur graphic designer, your design skills and ability to meet client needs matter more than your education.
Freelance writing
Stay-at-home moms can manage families and businesses with freelance writing. Start by deciding what kind of writing you’d do for free. Want to write a regular column for your favorite blog? If you’re always thinking of new article ideas, pitch them to different publications.
Offer grant writing services.
Grant writing is a great way to help nonprofits get funding and make a difference. Grant writing is a lucrative business for stay-at-home moms, charging $25-CAD 100 per hour. As a grant writer, you must demonstrate that your client deserves the grant by describing the organization and how it will use the funds.
Mobile hair and makeup artist
Even if you’re great at hairstyling and makeup, you should take a course or certification to improve your skills and learn about hygiene and sanitation for hair and makeup artists.
Organic skincare line
Moms interested in home health care could start an organic skincare line. Your products will touch people’s skin, so don’t take shortcuts. It’s best for everyone to take a course or certificate on safely making organic skincare products. Be sure to follow local skincare laws.
Online children’s clothing store
You shop for clothes often as a mother of growing children. Why not start a kids’ clothing business with your expertise? If you like to knit and crochet, you could sell handmade clothes and accessories, import kids’ clothes, or drop ship.
Funny T-shirts
Pun master? Design funny clothing and accessories to support your family with mom jokes. Your two-dimensional designs can become wearable art in several ways. Set up a seller profile on Redbubble to upload and sell your designs without production or shipping. Selling your designs this way has no upfront cost and is completely passive once you upload them.
Sell vintage clothes
Can you spot vintage treasures? Many people love vintage but need more time, energy, or expertise to scour racks for treasures. People will pay a premium for you to find and curate what you sell, and you get to shop for a living!
Influence beauty.
Beauty influencers get more than free makeup for features. Social media influencers can work full-time. Companies will pay you to review their products if you have a large social media following and high engagement rates.
Home-based cooking and baking businesses
Selling your pies and biscuits is the next step if you enjoy cooking. Before selling your delicious food, check local laws. If you like sourcing exotic foods or curating culinary experiences, start a foodie subscription box for monthly income.
Start an online cooking school.
You could teach your favorite recipes online if you love cooking and teaching. Choose recipes that customers can follow at home without instructions. Include meal kits with your online cooking courses or pre-plan the menu and ingredients. In addition to teaching recipes, you could sell online meal plans to help your clients prepare meals.
Run cake decorating classes.
If you know how to decorate cakes, you could teach classes in person or online. Make your lesson plan beginner-friendly. To determine time and supplies, try a trial class. Make a finished cake decoration example to show your students.
Sell jewelry online.
Starting a jewelry business requires choosing a style. Selling fine jewelry requires different supplies than costume jewelry. Next, improve processes and products. Search engine optimization, targeted ads, and organic social media reach are key to marketing your small jewelry line to your ideal customers.
Offer gift baskets.
Are you starting a gift basket business? First, choose your target market and gift basket theme. Do you want to include food or make self-care spa day gift baskets for moms who need a break? In addition to product costs, consider startup costs like shrink-wrapping equipment for your gift basket.
Sell candles
One of the best things about making and selling candles is the extremely low upfront investment required. Candles are cheap to make, easy for beginners, and in demand. Materials, packaging, and branding can set your candles apart.
Sell essential oils
Essential oils are popular, making them a profitable business. Since essential oils are produced naturally, you can save on expenses by learning to extract the product directly from its source rather than paying someone else to provide the finished product. You could also buy wholesale essential oils and mix custom blends in your packaging.
Frame and sell your art.
Put your art online to start a successful art career. Create a website or social media account to sell your best work. Use local SEO and hashtags to reach buyers and grow your business.
Start affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing involves creating product-related content for a commission. Affiliate marketing lets you use personalized links on your website or social media to earn a percentage of sales from many companies.
Start your own resume-writing business.
You can help others with resumes if you’ve always gotten interviews. Target your audience in their online hangouts.
Stock image websites buy your photos.
Stock image websites are a simple way for photographers to make money. Depending on the website, you may be paid for your images or receive a royalty for each download.
