Do any of you know any single moms who have been able to continue homeschooling and work from home? I would love to hear some general ideas for our friends in those situations. What kinds of stay-at-home jobs are you aware of?
I know some moms who
Do you know of other ideas?
I don't know if this would be enough income to stay home all the time, but if you're crafty and good at jewelry-making, hair bow-making, sewing, or other handicrafts, an Etsy store is an easy way to make money. I've thought about opening one several times just to supplement our income and give us a little more "play" money!
Lindsey
nerakr
Member
I'm not doing this, but I've heard that this was developed with SAHMs in mind: opening a Kids Can Sew business. I think the web address is kidscansew.com.
pollysoup
Member
I did this for a number of years. Sewing from home makes a meager wage at best. Cleaning houses and offices was the biggest money maker for me. I took my children with me and they either helped or did independent school work while I cleaned. I also nannied. It was not easy, but God did provide and we were never hungry.
Scherger5
Member
Could she do tutoring or instrument lessons?
She could become a licensed childcare provider and maybe just take on one or two small children during the day and then fill up her remaining slots with older children for after school care. I did childcare once, and while it is not for me 
, it did make pretty good money.
Heather
I have two friends that homeschooled while single and were able to earn an income. One cleaned houses, taking her son with her, and the other worked as a real-estate agent - relying on family and friends to care for her children during showings. Each situation is different (ie a person's background and skills, age of children, help of family & friends) but like pollysoup, God provided for each of these families.
Last year Mothering magazine featured work from home moms in an article entitled Work is Where the Home Is. Most of the moms featured were not single and I am the only mom that homeschools but there are a lot of ideas in there. I am able to generate a part-time income from home but it took about eight months to get my business off the ground and I have a husband. I did oral storytelling, storytimes, ran bookfairs and trained teachers in a specific storytime approach, all of which I took the children along for.
If I needed to generate a full-time income I would probably pursue free-lance writing or translation work. The journalist that wrote the article works almost exclusively from home and told me it took a small amount of time to do the reasearch and get started.
HTH
missingtheshire
Member
I have a question to link with this. Is anyone worried that their older teens may not have jobs after either college or high school. With the economy as bad as it is. and the state of the world getting worse all the time, is anyone wondering what things will be like for our teens, and if so, have you any contingency plans. I was just reading an article in the British press about university grads coming out with a degree and no jobs to go to, and some who cannot even afford to go to college in the first place - I wonder if it is, or will be like that here. There is no doubt it is a difficult time for those getting ready to make the college decision. In regard to home business, with money getting tighter and tighter for people, will home business be successful?
wearejenandkev
Member
I have a couple SAHM friends that do customer service work at home. There are several companies that do it. One friend did it for infomercials. She had to have a computer and a phone line. Her work phone would ring....the info for the product would pop up onto her computer screen...and she would read the script as the company has it laid out. She took credit card info and sold them other products out of her home. She sold everything from workout videos to toys to makeup! She told me that almost anytime you call an infomercial you are actually talking to someone in their home. Kind of scary, huh? It is really low overhead for the companies!
Another friend works for one company doing customer service. The customers call with questions about their bill and she can pull the info up on her screen and help them.
With both companies you have to have a house that is completely silent, though! They don't want the customers to know that you are in your home! So, you would have to have older kids that can keep quiet while you work!
Jennifer
MeadowLark
Member
I currently am... well, not worried. Just need to help a special needs 17 yr old son.
His special needs are in the area believing the stories he tells. His size affects others. He is 6 ft tall and currently trying to lose some weight (he wants to lose about 40 lbs) (I'm diabetic and he does not want that to happen to him.)
He will need help finding and keeping a job. I've thought about the only thing beign something I really prefer not to do. That is : taking him to Job Services and letting him apply through there. I feel it will open up a lot of "worldly influence" that will put him in "harms way."
I would sure love some encouragement and suggestions for him.
MeadowLark
I'm afraid that I don't have much suggestions either.... I tried Avon and Tupperware, and determined that I am not good at that type of selling. I also know that childcare wouldn't work too well for me either.
MeadowLark, I wonder if Nathhan might have some ideas or could point you in a good direction for your son.
RobynN
Member
Article Writing - there are tons of people that will pay pretty good for a well written article. ($5 - $8 per original article) ($2 - $5 per article rewrite)
Virtual Assistance - If you have any data/office skills - this can be a VERY good paying job. ($8 - $15 hour avg) I know some make around $25 an hour. Start out low and work your way up.
Call Centers - You get paid for taking phone calls/orders (at home, you will need a headset About $50) for companies. Mostly for infomercials. Pays pretty good and you can pick hours.
Here are some places where you can look for a job or post your service or just get some ideas:
http://www.wahm.com/jobs.html - the message boards are full of ideas and job opportunities.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/ - article writing
http://www.odesk.com/w/ - post your service and search for jobs. (I use people from here to rewrite articles for me, it's legit)
http://www.elance.com/ - similiar to Odesk - post service and look for jobs
http://www.warriorforum.com/ - this is an internet marketing forum but there are people looking for writers or VA's.
http://www.poewar.com - writing, copy editing, etc
http://www.whydowork.com/jobs.php - lists jobs by categories such as data entry, marketing, writing/blogging, research, etc.
I knew a single mom (she wasn't homeschooling but she had a child who was under school age thus with her all day) who made a living cooking out of her home and selling single serving size pies at a farmers market. She worked hard, was very professional, and managed to eke out a living without having to put her child in daycare to do it. There is also the "personal chef" job if one was in an area that could support it - I can see this as very doable with kids.
The friend I know who does medical transcription does not homeschool - she is pretty consistantly working during "work" hours - I don't know if this would lend itself to stop/start work to help a homeschooler with their lessons etc. It does seem to pay well, and maybe could be done part time (work days, school days). She had to invest time and money into training to get her position, and she is not single, so her husband provided the sole means of support while she pursued the training.
The etsy route is good if combined with other outlets - farmers markets, local stores, craft shows. All of these options are hard work.
I am not a single mom, but I do a csa type produce delivery service that could be done by a single mom - my kids just rode along with me when I did the deliveries. This is the equivalent of a part time job for me. If I had to expand this to full time income I could but it would be alot more work than I want to do. A diviersified income from farmers market, cooking and craft sales could be a wholesome way for a single mom's family to earn a living - kids can help out, not be placed in the position of hindering their parent from earning an income.
I too am concerned about my kids finding a job someday - I am going to start a new thread asking the question "do any of your children earn an income/have their own business?"
One way to "earn an income" is to do more yourself, like grow a garden. This cuts down on the amount of money you need to spend at the grocery store which means you can earn less money. If you grow extra you can sell it or can it. Other self-sufficiency skills would help as well, like sewing and baking from scratch. These are also things we can teach our kids for the possible tough times ahead.
YES - I was thinking I should go back and add this to my earlier post - my income from the csa is not the only way it provides - we get a large portion of our family's groceries this way LOL - so it also displaces the need for that income - Ben Franklin said it, and I believe it "A penny saved is a penny earned."
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