Three Strategies for Generating an Income From Home

With families facing the worst recession to hit the country in 25 years, everyone could stand to make a little extra money. Thanks to the Internet, Work At Home Moms now have the ability to generate an income from home, without compromising their already demanding workloads. Here are a few of the most practical and realistic tips that Moms can use to bring in the goods:

Sell Your Stuff

A recent eBay/Nielsen study revealed that there are 52 unused items worth over $3,000 just lying around the average American household. Turn your clutter into cash by posting it on eBay, Craigslist, Hoobly or efleaa. People buy furniture, jewelry, antiques and tons of other things from these sites every day.

Because your things have value, even if unused, make sure to set a minimum asking price so you come out ahead! You can also try visiting local garage/estate sales or end of season closeouts to find great deals that can be turned for a profit.

Shutterbug Moms can shoot photographs of kids, food, landscapes, cars, or buildings and upload them to sites like BigStockPhoto, ShutterStock, or Fotolia. These photos can pay 25 cents per download or a percentage of the commission gained as corporations across the globe use them for web sites or advertising. The more you shoot, the more you can make!

If you can’t find any of your own stuff to sell, try selling other people’s stuff. Find a topic you love then buy the master rights to various eBooks on that topic and build a simple site to market them. There are many places to buy these rights and all you need to create the site is website builder software such as Wordpress.

Sell Your Time

Time is a valuable commodity, and companies are willing to outsource work to others when they don’t have time to manage it themselves. For instance, many small businesses are hiring Virtual Assistants to help with their day-to-day processes for a few hours a week. Sites like Elance or recruitment agencies such as Virtual Office Temps, Team Double Click, or Alpine Access will help you make up to $20 an hour for working on travel arrangements, bill paying, or customer service for these small businesses.

Other companies will pay you to visit their stores or restaurants as a “mystery” shopper so they can get a customer’s point of view on their services. You’ll need to fill out a detailed questionnaire and make a small purchase as proof of a completed job. These assignments are great if you have a toddler or baby since you can bring them along with you while you work!

Search for assignments online or register with sites like Service Intelligence, Shoppers View, or Service Excellence Group. Most assignments pay around $20 per visit, and you should never be asked to pay to register.

College graduates can find work as Virtual Tutors. If you’re bilingual or have expertise in a specific discipline such as science or math, connect with students from around the globe with Transwebtutors. You can also be paid by the hour for mentoring or essay reviews at Tutor.com, which even has an interactive work board for working on problems.

Experts on particular topics can get paid to put their knowledge into words. Many companies use sites like Elance, GetaFreelancer, and ODesk to outsource the production of their content to freelancers. Create a sample portfolio of original articles on topics you know, then grab one of the 4,000 new projects posted on Elance every week. That’s over $2 million in fees out there for the taking on just one site!

Sell Your Talent

One of the best ways to make money in your spare time is by marketing your natural talents and abilities. Most Moms have tons of knowledge and unique skills learned in the life they led before they had a family, and there are thousands of potential clients waiting to pay you for your abilities.

Interior design, computer troubleshooting, or wedding planning may come naturally to you, but many people will pay big money to avoid the headache of attempting it on their own. The best part is that using your natural talents doesn’t cost you a dime and is easy to balance around your schedule.

Print up flyers and distribute them in the mail or to local stores, then watch as your clients advertise for you by word of mouth. If you’d rather work from home, get paid by the minute answering topical questions on a site such as LivePerson or JustAnswer.

You could also try crafting for cash. Set up your own custom store on Silkfair for 24.99 a month (basic registration is free) and sell handmade items, limited edition work, or antiques. They charge 3% on your final sales. Another popular site for crafters is Etsy.com. In 2008, Etsy sold over $88 million in vintage items, handmade toys, and countless other crafts. For 3.5% on your sales, Etsy can connect you to thousands of potential buyers.

The great thing about the Internet is that it takes very little investment or technical knowledge to make money. If you have great new ideas on parenting or a collection of family recipes, use a website builder program (which will provide training, support, and software) to create a site filled with good content. Do some research on getting traffic, then add a few advertisements and affiliate marketing links to make it profitable.

Though times may be tough, they have also never been better for the Work At Home Mom. There are endless easily accessible opportunities out there for pulling in a little extra cash. Taking advantage of these chances may not make you rich, but it could help put a nice dent in your bills or boost your savings. With a little work and a lot of passion, you could be on your way to earning a great income from the comfort of your own home.


About the author: Melanie Citron is a freelance author who wants the web to be open to everyone. She regularly researches and writes about great free or low cost resources to help all have a great presence on the web. See more of her writing at BuildMySiteforFree.com.