Home Business Ideas for a Stay at Home Mom

Being a stay at home mom is tough, but even harder if money is tight or you feel like something’s missing. Here’s some great home business ideas for a stay at home mom that won’t take you away from the kids.

If you’re home with the kids and want to make a little bit of extra money it’s not as easy as going out and finding a job. Jobs mean childcare requirements, and that’s not always possible if your partner works long hours or you can’t find work with a flexible schedule. Or maybe you want to make a little extra, but at something with a lot more flexibility.

That’s why so many SAHMs turn to small businesses or home businesses that they start themselves. Sometimes they become mompreneurs who start large scale companies, others earn a bit extra to help with the family budget or save for a vacation.

Having a business is also a great way to feel like you’re participating in society – especially if staying at home day in and day out is starting to wear on you.

16 Stay at Home Mom Friendly Business Ideas

As someone who’s been self employed while raising my kids for over 14 years I know first-hand how useful business ideas for stay at home moms can be. Here’s some tried and true ones you can start today!

Traditional Craft Business

If you have any kind of crafting talent then you can easily turn it into a business. Crafting in your free time is one of the more flexible options because there aren’t usually deadlines or a lot of pressure. Just build up an inventory of finished products and take them to craft sales.

Or sell your wares on Etsy and Facebook marketplace to reach more customers.

Obviously the craft business you go into will depend on what you’re skilled with, but common ones include: Knitting, sewing, painting (or other art), jewelry, candle making, and woodworking.

Unique Handicraft Business

Although this falls into the category of crafts, it deserves its own mention. Mostly because you don’t always need to be super skilled to make these types of crafts. (There is some skill, but you can learn it.)

These are things like resin art, concrete planters, or stenciled signs.

Personalized Items

If you have a Circuit (or are willing to invest in one) you can easily personalize all kinds of products. Whether that’s homemade t-shirts, mugs, or similar items there’s no limit to the amount of products you can make at home.

And people are willing to pay for this because they don’t have a machine of their own or don’t want to bother with learning how to use it.

Cleaning Business

We’re getting out of the more flexible stuff now and into client care. But, unlike craft businesses, services are a lot more reliable. One of the easiest ones to start is a cleaning business. Being a stay at home mom means you probably already have a tonne of experience!

There’s a couple ways to do this. You could clean during evenings and weekends, or whenever your spouse is home. Or find jobs where you can bring your child with you. You’d be surprised how many places are flexible with this!

(Actually, when I was little I would spend summers with my grandmother who cleaned houses and brought me along.)

What’s nice about cleaning jobs is it can be reliable income (set up a weekly or bi weekly schedule with each client) and you can book clients at times that fit you best.

Childcare

This is the go to for many stay at home moms. You can make some extra money caring for other peoples’ kids while also taking care of your own. Depending on where you live there might also be some government help for opening a home daycare.

Another option is nannying. While it’s less flexible, there are plenty of employers who are willing to let their nanny bring their own kids to work.

I have several friends who have made a very good living doing childcare!

Consulting Professionally

If you were in a career prior to staying home with your kids then why not turn those skills into a business? Draw on your connections and experience to find clients in your field that you can service at home in a flexible way.

Personally, this is what I do. I’m a writer and web developer, and make income on the side providing these services to clients. I set my own hours and take on work as my schedule allows!

Service-based companies like bookkeeping or marketing are easy to get going, but most professions can be turned into some kind of business if you get creative.

Travel Agent

I have a family member who completely supported her kids on a travel agent income. Right now with the pandemic work is kind of slow, but it will pick up again. Now with everyone booking online this job has move mostly virtual, which means you can easily do it from home.

It takes a bit to get going and pick up clients but if you have a good network it’s a lot easier. Regulations vary from place to place, and you may need some extra licensing make sure to check on the laws in your area.

A huge perk to this is getting to travel more with the family!

Pet Sitter/Dog Walker

Pets are big money, especially with fewer people having kids and more having animals. That means that the industry is booming. As people get travelling and working outside the home again there’s going to be more need for these types of services.

For pet sitting, you can arrange a schedule beforehand with the clients. Then it’s just providing those services, which can usually be done with a child in tow.

VA Service

If you haven’t heard of this, a VA is a “virtual assistant”. They provide all kinds of services to professionals. Everything from booking flights to updating websites can be done by VAs.

It’s a competitive market, but if you have any unique skills you can stand out. Think about what kind of tasks plague business owners (too many emails, outreach, bookkeeping, social media) and tailor you packages to solve problems.

Tutoring

Depending on your education and background this can be really lucrative. There are also online teaching sites (like VIP kid) that you can sign up for to teach ESL if you hold any kind of university degree.

Math and reading tutors are especially in high demand. So are music tutors!

You can have people come to your home to make things easier, too.

Start a Resale Business

I’ve seen people do this very successfully. There’s a couple kind of resale businesses you can start:

1. Find products that are marked down but sell for higher prices elsewhere. List them on websites like eBay.

2. Look for vintage and antique treasures that are being sold at thrift stores or rummage sales and flip them on websites like Etsy for a profit.

The biggest thing when starting this kind of business is to not spend too much at front before you know the market. You should also try and keep a good inventory so nothing gets lost.

Personal Care Business

If you’re a hairdresser or cosmetology graduate you can easily turn those skills into a home business. Get set up with an at-home salon and then have people come to you. The same goes for massage therapists, yoga instructions, and similar professions.

But this niche isn’t limited to those with a formal education. I know someone who took a course on how to do eyelash extensions and runs a very successful business from home. And another friend learned how to do sugaring and turned that home business into a storefront location.

Gardening

Gardening is a wonderful hobby that can be turned into a business without much effort. Plant extra and take the veggies off to the farmer’s market during the summer. You can also sell canning all year long.

If you have the space and time, a larger garden with weekly veggie pick ups in the summer is always in demand by locals.

As far as home business ideas for a stay at home mom are concerned, this is one of the most relaxing.

Furniture Upcycling

Flipping furniture and other household items is big business. If you’re talented at this, or want to learn, it can be a nice little side hustle for moms. The biggest hurdle is you need money up front and the space to do it.

But, keep your eye out – it’s easy to find old, discarded pieces for free or cheap that can be given new life.

Photography Business

I personally know multiple stay at home moms who turned their hobby photography into legitimate businesses. You can book around your schedule, or take kids along to photo sessions.

The good thing about photography is that you can make a lot of money with a small amount of childcare hours. If you need a day to shoot a wedding, for example, you can get your spouse to look after the kids. Or pay a babysitter for the day.

Most of your hours will go towards editing, planning, and marketing – stuff you can do at home with kids.

Need More Ideas for Stay at Home Moms?

• How to Make Money as a Stay at Home Mom
• How to Become a Stay at Home Mom
• Finding Purpose as a Stay at Home Mom
• The Best Hobby Ideas for Stay at Home Moms

Final Thoughts on Home Business Ideas for a Stay at Home Mom

When I was researching this article I found a bunch of tips on other sites. I decided to take the less is more approach, and actually provide ideas that made sense for real stay at home moms. Some ideas, like driving for Uber, don’t really count as a home business in my opinion.

That’s also why you don’t see network marketing companies on here. While selling Tupperware or Avon are a great way to meet people and get out of the house, they’re not good reliable sources of income. Especially when you have spend money up front and meet quotas.

Finally, I don’t think starting a blog is a good business idea unless you’re willing to invest a lot of time and skill into it. And only a few people actually make a good income from it.

Hopefully you found these home business ideas for a stay at home mom useful. I hope you can find something that works for you and your family!