Making Money without Direct Sales or Etsy: The Ultimate List of Unheard-Of Work-from-Home Ideas
Staying home with kids can be full of fun. You have a relaxed environment that is comfortable, and you get to watch your babies learn and grow as a direct result of your efforts. Yet despite your hard work and determination, it’s also easy to get discouraged. Staying home with babies can be isolating, and fighting the mentality that you’re all alone and not contributing as much as you’d like can be difficult. For more on making life a little easier for yourself, check out this previous post. These skills are important to have, but this post will focus more on what you can do if you want to bring in an income from home. Even if you stay home with the kids, a valuable, full-time job in itself, we understand if you want to find a side gig to supplement the household budget or feel more fulfilled. Here are some of the best, unheard of ideas for working from home.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.
Lease Part of Your Yard for a Cell Tower
Depending on the area you live in, this could be a steady stream of passive income for you and your family. All you have to do is let a cell company build a tower on your property. You must own the property and have the authority to grant them the permission. For more on getting started with this option, check out this post.
Participate in Court Cases Online
If you’re interested in crime or law in general, then participating as an online juror may be for you. While not all areas have a need, if you’re in the right court district, you could get lucky. Websites like Ejury and OnlineVerdict are places where you can sign up to be an online juror. Then you have to sit back and wait to see if any attorneys in your area need to try out their strategies on you. These are mock trials that you participate in to give the real-life participants an idea of how their arguments will hold up in court. Some may even be real cases.
Teach English
As a native English speaker, you have valuable insight for people in foreign countries who want to become fluent. Teaching with companies like VIP Kid is entirely over Skype, so you don’t have to report for work outside the home. Many of the participants are overseas in other time zones. This means that, while you can set your own available hours, some times of day are in higher demand. You may have to get up early or stay up late in order to find kid-free time to get this work done. However, the pay rates are good ($22/hr) and well worth your time if you can be consistent. Nothing beats working at home in comfort.
Help Teachers Grade Papers
If you’re taking classes at a college or university, then you can use your .edu email address to sign up to help teachers grade papers. Based on a rubric, you’ll make money for your time spent evaluating assignments. The Graide Network is a startup that offers teachers help with correcting their assignments. Their remote work opportunity is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, and a lot of time stay-at-home moms are in school, so you’d definitely qualify! Check out this opportunity if you’re looking for a fulfilling opportunity that you can work around your school and kid schedule.
Market Your Services
Whether you’re a crafty mom who’s got talents you’d love to use more, or you’re really good at writing or designing, websites like Fiverr can help. Post a gig by stating what you will do for someone; for example, you could say, “I will design your unique business cards.” Then you can include details about what your offer includes, and how customers can purchase extras (like a certain number of edits if they want you to make tweaks, or extra types of design files).
Another website that lets you market services is Upwork. While this platform has recently moved to a subscription-based system, you do get 20 credits free when you first sign up. This allows you to bid on jobs. You do not need credits to receive requests for work from potential clients.
Transcription
This is a gig I tried briefly, but I found that my slight hearing loss made it nearly impossible. I could get the work done, but I wasn’t fast enough to make it worth my time. However, if you have a decent typing speed and good hearing, I’d suggest taking a look at some transcription gigs. TranscribeMe is one place to get started. You can also look on sites like Crowdsurf, as well as WorkMarket, although not all the work there is for transcription jobs.
Writing
The HOTH, iWriter, and other conglomerate sites that find clients for you. All you have to do is pick from a list of assignments, write the article, and submit it. Occasionally you’ll be responsible for edits, but the more you practice, the better you’ll get. You’ll have fewer and fewer articles that need revisions. If you feel like you could do this job with a little training, check out my post about the best free training courses out there for writers.
Living Your Best Life
Being a mom is the most important job you’ll ever have. It’s vital to focus on your kids’ development. But you also have to take care of yourself, and part of that includes earning money to help with the family budget, and doing another job as a work-at-home mom can give you a challenge and another fulfilling purpose with more adult conversations. These ideas above are unique ways to earn an income while still being at home with the kids. We hope you #adventurousmoms find everything you’re looking for.
For more posts about working from home, check out my guide to investing like a boss and my top reasons to start your day early.
*Disclaimer: Some of the links you see may be affiliate links. All that means is if you click through and end up making a purchase, I’ll earn a commission.