By Melanie Citron
It seems that financial troubles abound these days. Because the economy has been in a recession many people have lost their jobs or had their hours cut back, prices have gone up due to the struggling dollar, and yet we still have to feed and clothe ourselves and our families. If you are an at-home-mom there are ways that you can help your family without having to leave your children to go to work.
Use What You Know
Before you became a mother, you probably had a job and you very likely went to school to learn a trade or earn a diploma or degree. Even if you didn’t, you still have special knowledge when it comes to a hobby or some other aspect of life. These skills and the knowledge that comes with them can earn you money.
Writing an eBook is a great way to earn money. You can’t write, you say? You might be surprised. You have three options. You can write the book yourself and hire a professional to edit it, you can simply hire someone to write it for you, or you can buy the master resell rights to eBooks online. These books are complete and you will have the rights to sell it and keep all the profits. You will need a simple website, which you can build for free using a business website builder such as WordPress.
Another way to use what you know is to write articles about it and sell them. The internet is an information paradise and there are companies and individuals who are looking for well-written articles on virtually any topic you can think of. You can work through a site such as Elance, GetaFreelancer, and ODesk and you can make up to $50 per article once you have built up your profile and have a good rating.
You can also work from home as a virtual assistant or a virtual tutor. As a virtual assistant you can help businesses with their administration tasks and hiring a freelance virtual assistant will cost the company less money than hiring someone in-house. Check out Elance or virtual assistant agencies such as Alpine Access, Virtual Office Temps, and Team Double Click.
If you have a college degree, then you can be a virtual tutor and institutions will hire you to mentor and tutor their students. One of the best is Transwebtutors, which offers live homework help for students.
You can also use your everyday knowledge to help people and get paid for offering that help. Sites such as JustAnswer or LivePerson pay people by the minute to answer other people’s questions and you can also spread the word in your own neighborhood. You never know who might want to know how to grow a vegetable garden or need decorating tips.
Use What You Have
Many people have loads of stuff just lying around at home that they don’t use anymore. eBay/Nielsen recently released the results of a survey that determined the average US household has 52 unused items laying around that are worth over $3000. I bet you are already wondering what you have.
Think about it. Are your babies getting older? Do you need your baby gates anymore? Do you have old toys or clothes that you can do without? Is there a tricycle sitting in the garage that is no longer needed? Do you have old jewelry sitting around? You can sell all your unused items on sites such as Craigslist, efleaa, Hoobly, and eBay.
Do you craft? If you knit, make jewelry, or sew, you have an instant money-earner. People like handmade goods and many people are willing to pay for them, even if they cost a little more than something factory-made. The best place to sell handmade goods online is on Etsy. Etsy is dedicated specifically to selling handmade goods and all sellers pay is a small startup fee and 3.5% of each sale.
Another site on which you can sell your crafts, handmade goods, and also antique and vintage items is Silkfair. You can simply list your items for free or you can build your own store for $24.99 a month. You only pay 3% per sale.
If you like to take pictures, then you can turn these into a paycheck too. There are companies all over the world that need images for their marketing material and websites. They want these images at a low price and often go to websites to purchase and download the images they need. You can place your photos on sites such as BigStockPhoto, Fotolia, and ShutterStock and they will pay you every time one of your photos is downloaded.
Build A Website
The ways to earn money that are listed above make use of the internet, but you can make money with a simple yet effective website and without selling anything at all. Take advantage of free website builder software which will allow you to design a website on which you can post blogs.
This is so simple and wonderful. You simply give the reader solid information in a particular niche and learn how to direct them to your website. As long as you have good content, you will find that people will come back again and again and you will earn money when people click on the ads on your site and by using affiliate links.
Do What You Love
Do you love to shop? Of course, during these economic times you might not be able to shop as much as you would like, but there is a way to earn money while you shop. You can become a Mystery Shopper. When you are a Mystery Shopper companies pay you to shop at certain businesses and report how the service is. They can find out how their staff is performing and you get to have fun and get paid. And the best part is that you can take your children with you. The best companies to work with are Shoppers View, Service Excellence Group, and Service Intelligence.
Working from home and earning a supplemental income for your family has never been easier. These ideas won’t make you rich right away, but they can take the stress off and allow you to enjoy life again without worrying about how much money you have in the bank.
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.
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