How to make money as a stay-at-home mom: A quick guide
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Being a stay-at-home mom is a full-time job in its own right! It's like working as a child care specialist, grocery delivery service, gourmet chef, tutor, Uber driver, and more, all rolled into one.
But if you're wondering how to make money as a stay-at-home mom on your own schedule, you've come to the right place. Today, there are more remote jobs out there than ever before, many of which come with the added benefits of a very flexible schedule.
Join us as we explore how to earn money from your own home, all while enjoying the benefits of raising your own children. We'll go over some of the best jobs for the stay-at-home parent and introduce you to a great way to generate passive income on your own schedule.
Main takeaways from this article:
From freelance writing or teaching English online to remote data entry or pet sitting, today there are more opportunities to make money as a stay-at-home mom than ever before.
Print on demand is a business model that allows you to sell items featuring your own designs, without ever having to worry about product creation, managing inventory, or order fulfillment.
Running a print on demand store can be a great way to earn extra cash while enjoying the freedom to create your own schedule.
What kind of jobs can a stay-at-home mom get?
As many stay-at-home moms can attest, there are now more opportunities for remote work than ever before. Finding the perfect job for you will largely come down to your own personal interests, skills, and even the age of your child.
For instance, if you're a stay-at-home mom who is caring for a newborn, then offering pet-sitting services from your own home may not be the smartest play. Instead, you might look into part-time jobs that allow you to earn cash doing something like:
Freelance writing
Working as a social media manager
Data entry
Finding ways to monetize your own blog
Monetizing your craft skills by starting an Etsy shop
Creating online courses
As your kids get older, you'll enjoy less fear of your phone waking up your infant during the few hours of precious freedom you score during nap time. As your kids grow, so will your options for great ways to make extra money or even generate a full-time income while working your own hours. You might consider flexible jobs such as:
Remote customer service rep
Remote real estate agent
Doing odd jobs such as earning money as a mystery shopper
Teaching English online
Virtual assistant
Offering pet-sitting services
Remote accountant or bookkeeper
Personal finance advisor
No matter what your interests are, there are now plenty of legitimate jobs out there for stay-at-home moms searching for flexibility. Sites like FlexJobs are dedicated exclusively to remote work, but even popular job sites like Indeed now offer a remote job filter.
What is print on demand (POD)?
Print on demand (POD) has become an increasingly popular way to make money as a stay-at-home parent. Not only is it a fantastic way to make extra cash in your spare time, but it's easy to get started with minimal effort or overhead investments.
The print on demand business model allows you to get into direct sales by selling items from your own website or online marketplace account without ever actually having to create or ship your own products. Here's how it works:
You create your own unique designs or slogans.
Select a print on demand supplier like Gelato that provides high-quality merchandise like apparel, mugs, totes, wall art, and more.
Upload your designs and offer them for sale on the products of your choice.
When a customer places an order, your POD supplier will create the product and ship it right to the customer.
You only pay the POD supplier's fees for products that have already been sold and keep the extra cash.
Print on demand can make for a great stay-at-home mom job due to the fact that there's no need to set aside a spare bedroom to manage your own inventory. Since you don't even have to worry about shipping your orders to clients, you can earn money and spend time with your child all at the same time.
How to make money as a stay-at-home mom with print on demand
Just how much money can you make from your own POD store? This will largely depend on how much or little time you want to put into your business.
Some stay-at-home moms make a few hundred dollars a month, while others are able to generate a full-time income. It's important to realize that while it's definitely possible to make money running your own Etsy shop or online store, neither is a get-rich-quick scheme.
In order to generate extra income, you'll still need to take the time to manage your store and market your products. But the upside is that you'll be able to enjoy the freedom of working your own hours.
Interested in finding out more? Let's go over how to make money as a stay-at-home mom by launching your own POD store.
1. Choose a niche
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The good and not-so-great news about the print on demand business model is that the word is out that it can be a great way to earn extra income. On one hand, there are now plenty of great resources, but on the other, there's also a great deal of competition.
One of the best ways to help your online store stand out is to cater to a specific niche. Basically, this means choosing a certain audience or theme to stick to rather than simply offering a huge variety of random products.
The key to selecting the perfect niche for you is often considering your interests, hobbies, and passions. For instance, if you love to pet sit but are on a hiatus due to your new baby, you might consider designing pet-themed shirts and hoodies.
You may even discover that your own child is a great source of inspiration. If you are known for your witty social media posts about the stay-at-home mom experience, you might consider printing funny slogans on baby gear like t-shirts or onesies.
No matter what niche you select, use everything from your social media accounts to tools like Google Trends to research what types of products are trending among potential clients. The better you get to know your audience, from their age and interests to their locations and demographics, the more ideas you'll generate.
2. Find a reliable print on demand supplier
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Selecting the right print on demand supplier can go a long way toward generating extra income while maintaining control of your own schedule. Make sure to do your research to ensure that you select a supplier that you can count on for:
High-quality products
A thorough variety of products to choose from
Reliable shipping and delivery options to plenty of different locations
Great customer service
Sustainability and other values that align with your own
At Gelato, we only sell items of the highest quality standards and offer plenty of free resources and educational guides to help you get started. With an emphasis on sustainability, we partner with over 130 production partners in 32 countries to produce a 90% local production rate, quicker delivery times, and few carbon emissions.
Our customer service team has always got your back when it comes to any questions or concerns to ensure that you can enjoy making money in a smarter, faster, and greener way. We're dedicated to helping busy moms everywhere earn extra money while enjoying the freedom to raise their own children.
3. Select your products
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Now that you've selected your niche, it's time to decide what type of items you want to sell! If you already run your own blog or enjoy a large number of followers on your social media accounts, then running surveys and polls can be a great way to get feedback directly from your audience.
Otherwise, you can use the time-honored direct sales strategy of creating a customer persona. A customer persona is more or less a fictional character that represents your target customer, their interests, profession, values, etc.
For instance, you might create a persona called Maggie the stay-at-home mom. By visualizing Maggie and her needs, you might discover that she's in the market for things like:
An indestructible phone case
A tote bag with plenty of room for extra diapers
A customized baby onesie
A wall calendar to help her stay on top of her busy schedule
A shatter-proof travel mug she can use on the go
Or maybe your shop caters more to a niche like yoga lovers? In this case, you might create a persona called Yoga-loving Laura, who might be more into things like:
A performance tank top to wear during class
A 100% biodegradable phone case
A stainless steel water bottle
4. Design your custom products
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Once you've narrowed down the type of products you want to offer, it's time to tap into your inner graphic design skills! Rest assured that if you aren't quite so confident in your own inner Picasso, it's now easy to hire a freelance graphic design expert on sites like Fiverr or Upwork to help bring your ideas to life.
Otherwise, you can use your favorite design software or the Gelato Design Editor tool to create digital mock-ups of your designs. Play around with different colors, fonts, and design placements, while keeping in mind that too many of any of the above can make your design look cluttered and overwhelming.
This is a great time to take Pinterest or look at the products available on other sites for inspiration. Once you're happy with your designs, it's always best to place a sample order of any product you want to sell to ensure it looks great in person.
Once you've verified that your products are exactly what you want to offer, take high-resolution photos to use for your online store. You might even consider using your friends as models to show off your products.
5. Choose a sales channel
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Now it's time to decide where to set up shop! There are now plenty of different places to sell items online and the good news is that Gelato provides easy integrations that can seamlessly connect with almost any of them.
No matter which option you choose, make sure you come up with a catchy, relevant, and memorable name for your shop. You'll also want to design a sleek logo, either by using free design tools like Canva or by enlisting the help of a freelance logo designer.
Your own custom website
These days, there are plenty of great online tools like Wix and Weebly that offer easy drag-and-drop tools to help you design your own website in no time. The benefit of this approach is that you can customize your site to reflect your branding as much or as little as you like.
If you have the budget to spare, you might even consider hiring a freelance writer or website design expert if you need help. The only possible drawbacks are that, unlike online marketplaces or social media platforms, your site won't come with an established audience, so you'll need to figure out ways to draw in potential customers.
Social media platforms
Ever wish there were more remote jobs available for stay-at-home moms who are awesome at networking? This could be your chance to create your own!
Many social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram now offer online shops that allow you to sell directly to followers. While these shops can be a great way to make extra money, many retailers also choose to use them in addition to their own websites or online stores.
Ecommerce platforms
Ecommerce platforms like Shopify come with plenty of great tools that can connect to your existing website or even help you create a new site. The only potential downside is that Shopify does charge a monthly subscription fee you'll want to work into your overhead costs.
If you are familiar with WordPress, then the WooCommerce plug-in can be a great way to go. If it looks like the best option for you, you might even consider signing up for an online course to help you learn how to use it to create your online store.
Online marketplaces
Online marketplaces like Etsy tend to be very user-friendly and make it easy to get your shop up and running. As opposed to ecommerce platforms, online marketplaces are designed to feature multiple sellers on the same site, sort of like an online mall.
While you won't have to pay any monthly subscription fees to run an Etsy shop, just be aware that the marketplace will charge you a percentage of every sale. Be sure to factor these charges into your pricing to ensure they don't eat away at your profit margins!
6. Set up your online business
Once you've selected your sales channel and customized it with your own branding, you'll be ready to start offering your products for sale. Remember to feature high-quality photos and detailed descriptions alongside each of your products.
You'll also want to use search engine-optimized (SEO) keywords to ensure that your products are as easy to find as possible. If you're new to the concept, it's worth checking out HubSpot's free SEO online course.
The pricing you choose for your products is also a vital key to ensuring you are able to make money from your store. Be sure to factor in overhead costs such as:
Your POD supplier's fees for each product
How much time or money you spent creating each design
Any ecommerce platform or online marketplace charges
Marketing costs
The trick is to ensure you can charge enough to make a profit without overcharging. Be sure to check out your competitors to get an idea of average prices within your niche to ensure you aren't charging too much to remain competitive.
7. Market your products
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Once your shop is open for business, all that's left is to get the word out to potential customers! If you choose to use POD to make money as a stay-at-home mom, then this will be your most essential task in the long run.
Whether you want to earn extra cash or turn your shop into a full-time job, your ability to draw in customers is the key to success. Luckily, there are now plenty of different ways to use the internet to advertise your merchandise.
Social media
Social media sites are a marketer's dream, as they allow you to get the word out about your store to people all over the world. Create dedicated accounts for your shop on social media channels like Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Twitter.
Tools like Sprout Social and Hootsuite can be incredibly helpful when it comes to both managing free posts and running paid ads targeted at viewers in your niche. While Google Ads comes with a bit of a learning curve, it can also be an invaluable tool to generate business.
Collaborate with influencers
Use your social media accounts to follow and network with popular influencers who are relevant to your niche. Influencer marketing and cross-promotions can go a long way toward getting the word out about your store to a wider audience.
Build an email list
It's also a great idea to use your website and social media accounts to compile an email list. While it's important not to overwhelm your subscribers, using tools like Constant Contact to announce discounts, deals, or contests can be a great way to generate interest.
Keep in mind that your emails don't have to be specifically dedicated to sales. You might choose to create a newsletter with articles or stories related to your niche, as well as announcements about new products or designs.
Generate passive income with print on demand
These days, there's no need to choose between raising your own child and making money. Print on demand offers stay-at-home moms the opportunity to run their own businesses on their own time.
Ready to explore how you can turn your custom designs into extra income? Sign up for Gelato today to join stay-at-home moms everywhere who are earning extra cash in their free time.
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