28 Lucrative Home Businesses for Stay-at-Home Moms

Are you a working mom who longs to stay home with your babies, but you need that income you bring home every month? Maybe you’re a stay-at-home mom who needs to supplement your husband’s income to provide for all the “extra” in life. Or maybe it’s your heart’s desire to build an online empire. Wherever you fall on this spectrum, you’re in the right place.

I’ve always wanted to own my own business. I’ve started a few, but it wasn’t until recently that I found my groove in the online business world. I became a freelance proofreader about two years ago and haven’t looked back. Today I’m going to share with you 28 lucrative online businesses you can start today, some with little to no start-up costs.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means I earn a commission from purchases made through certain links on my site at no extra cost to you.

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Blogging
Income potential: Unlimited (I’ve seen blogs earning 7 figures a year and more).
This one is probably my favorite; although I haven’t earned enough from my blog to call it a business yet, I do enjoy it. There are many different ways to earn money from a blog.
1. Ads
2. Affiliate marketing
3. Sell your own physical products
4. Create and sell your own digital products
5. Write an ebook and sell it on your blog
6. Provide freelance services
7. Create and sell an online course
  I use Squarespace for my blogging platform, and I highly recommend it. Here is a free course to get you started with your own Squarespace blog.
Virtual Assistant
Income potential: $25-$50 an hour
A virtual assistant helps other online business owners with tasks they don’t have time for. There are many jobs a virtual assistant can do, but if you go this route, I recommend picking only a few to specialize in.
1. Data entry
2. Email management
3. Answering phones
4. Generating reports
5. Accounting
6. Community management for social media accounts
7. Online customer service
8. Setting appointments
9. Preparing presentations
  There are many, many more jobs a VA can do, literally hundreds. Think about which skills you have, and see how that can translate to online VA services. If you think becoming a VA is something you’d like to try, here is a blog post by Gina Horkey from The Horkey Handbook to get you started. Gina also has a paid course that teaches you how to become a VA in just 30 days!
Social Media Manager
Income Potential: $1000-$10,000 per month
Tasks include (again, just pick a few to specialize in):
1. Posting on different social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
2. Facebook group admin
3. Instagram management
4. Blogging
5. Pinterest management
6. Facebook ads management
7. Graphic design
8. Website design
9. Copywriting
  Alma Bradford has a free guide to get you started as a social media manager. Alma also has a paid course on how to create your own social media management agency.
Pinterest Manager
Income potential: $300-$500 per month per client.
Instead of being a social media manager who manages multiple platforms, you could specialize in one area: Pinterest. I had no idea you could get paid to pin, but it is actually a growing business opportunity. One client pays $300-$500 per month, so you’ll want multiple clients, which isn’t a big deal at all considering it only takes 2-3 hours per month to manage an account. This is a fantastic business idea! Gina Horkey from the VA course I mentioned above also has a course to teach you how to do this.
Blog Manager
Income potential: $60,000 per year.
A blog manager is someone who, like the title suggests, manages a blog. This person will need experience in project management as there are many different roles a blog manager plays. Blogging for business is becoming a huge moneymaker for businesses these days. Companies are looking for someone to help manage all the tasks that come with running a successful blog. These tasks include:
1. Developing a content strategy
2. Following a blogging calendar
3. Hiring and managing writers
4. Training internal writers
5. Finding guest bloggers
  At the time of this writing, I don’t know of a course to teach you how to do this. I suppose this is one of those businesses where you’ll need experience in each of these areas to pull it off.
Freelance Proofreader or Editor
Income potential: up to $43,000 per year
This is my area right here! I started proofreading over two years ago and haven’t looked back. I enjoy finding errors in written text and correcting them (don’t judge), so this is a very satisfying job for me. If you find that errors pop out of the page, then you might have what it takes to get paid to proofread. Authors are looking for proofreaders in a number of ways, including:
1. Blog posts
2. Magazine articles
3. Advertisements
4. Social media posts
5. E-book authors
6. Novels
7. Children’s books
8. Emails (business)
9. Court reporters
  … The list goes on. If you’re interested in becoming a proofreader, this course is the one you want. Caitlin, the creator of this course, taught me how to proofread for profit, and I can tell you that it is worth the investment! The link above is for the general proofreading course. She also has a course for transcript proofreading.
Scopist
Potential income: $50,000 per year.
Court reporters work hard to create a flawless transcript, and while flawless may be an unattainable goal for most, having a team to help them get as close to perfect as possible is really important to a great court reporter. A scopist is someone who translates steno to English. If you’re good at typing, listening, spelling, and punctuation, you could be a great scopist. I highly recommend taking a course before you get started. This is a great one!
Freelance Writer
Income potential: up to $100,000 per year
If you have a passion for writing, you’d be a great freelance writer. There are many different writing opportunities for freelance writers, including:
1. Web content/blogging
2. Technical
3. Business
4. Newspaper or magazine
5. Copy writing
6. Grant writing
7. Ghost writing
  Elna Cain has a great course that teaches you how to make your first $1000 as a freelance writer. I’ve taken this course, so I can vouch for how great it is.
Coaching
Income potential: Unlimited
Online coaching is a fairly new concept, and the great thing about it is that in most fields, you don’t need any certification; although, it does help in certain fields to have a certification to gain trust with your clients. There are probably hundreds of coaching niches, but I’m just going to list the most common ones I’ve seen.
1. Personal/Life coaching
2. Financial coaching
3. Relationship coaching
4. Business/Career coaching
5. Mindset coaching
Transcription
Income potential: $25 per hour or more
A transcriptionist is someone who types out, word-for-word, what’s being spoken on a voice recording or video. You can learn about the different types of transcription and take a course to learn how to do it here!
Website Designer
Income potential: It varies, depending on how much you charge per website. I’ve seen a price range of $500 to $15,000 for one website.
This is probably one of my favorites. I did Squarespace web design last summer before I decided to start my blog. It took me just a couple of days to find my first client, and I made $400 from that website, which took me two weeks to create. I’d say that’s pretty good as a newbie. If you want to learn allllll about creating your own Squarespace website, Paige Brunton is your girl. If you’d like a simple website designed for your new freelance business or blog, I’d be happy to help. Just email me! P.S. I created this blog myself on Squarespace.
Graphic Designer
Income potential: $25+ per hour
A graphic designer creates graphics for:
1. Logos
2. Business cards and brochures
3. Flyers
4. Print ads
5. Postcards and greeting cards
6. Company letterhead & envelopes
7. Booklets
8. Catalogs
9. Packaging design
10. Invitations
11. Social media pages
12. Web advertisements
  Training is this field is a bonus, but there are lots of self-taught freelance graphic designers who make a great income. You just need to research which tools you need. This blog post may help inform you about how to get started.
Etsy Store Owner
Income potential: Unlimited
You can sell any handmade item or digital product in an Etsy store. If you are crafty or great at designing printables, an Etsy store can be a great place to sell your things.
Online English Tutor
Income potential: Up to $2000 per month
VIP Kid is one that I know of that hires people to teach kids English as a second language. I believe it does require a bachelor’s degree. I think this would be great for a teacher who wants to become a stay-at-home mom!
Facebook Ads Manager
Income potential: $2000+ per month
We’ve all seen those sponsored posts in our newsfeed, but have you ever wondered how it got there? A company hired someone to create an ad and have it sent to the appropriate audience’s newsfeed. To do this, it requires a little research, but I’ve read a lot about how you can make a great income doing this for businesses. Laptop Empires has a great course to teach you how to do it!
Bookkeeper
Income potential: $50k+ per year
Are you good with numbers? Did you know that you can learn to be an online bookkeeper from home? You don’t have to take a college course or even get a certificate. If you want to learn more about becoming a bookkeeper, sign up for this free course.
FBA Amazon Seller
Income potential: Unlimited
This one is pretty straightforward. You find products from a wholesaler, have them shipped to Amazon, and start making sales. The Selling Family has a wonderful course called Amazon Boot Camp which can help you get started.
Home Daycare Owner
Income potential: up to $2000-$3000 per month
Here’s another business I have personally done myself. I opened my home daycare business and immediately began filling spots. I did it for two years and brought home $1700 per month. You need to be great with kids (obviously) and be able to handle a high stress level. I’m going to be honest and tell you that it really took everything out of me to work with other people’s children all day. When my third daughter was on the way, I decided to close up shop and focus on just my own children. It was a great experience. To learn how to start your own home daycare, check out your state DHS website.
Sell on eBay
Income potential: Unlimited
This one is pretty straightforward as well. Just gather your items you’d like to sell, and post them up on eBay. Items can be found at garage sales or on sale in stores.
Online Boutique Owner
Income potential: Unlimited
This one can be a great option, especially since drop shipping has entered the scene. Here’s a great blog post to help you get started.
Stock Photographer
Income potential: $40k-$50k per year
Businesses and blogs are constantly looking for stock photography to feature in their posts and ads. If you are great with a camera, selling your photos to these businesses can be a great way to earn a living. Read this post to learn how.
Ebook Author
Income potential: $500+ per month
If you love to write (and even if you don’t) selling ebooks can be a great way to earn extra cash or even make a full-time income. You can write the book or hire a ghostwriter to write it for you, and sell it on Amazon. I found this post that explains how you can start making money selling ebooks part-time.
Travel Agent
Income potential: Up to $80k per year
If you love to travel or help others find great deals while traveling, you might be a great travel agent. This is a great low-startup-cost business you can start from home. You can even work from home for a travel agency if the thought of starting your own business is out of your comfort zone. Click here for more information about becoming a work-from-home travel agent.
Translator
Income potential: $40k+ per year
If you can speak more than one language, you could become a freelance translator. Good translators are in high demand from businesses to blogs, and the great thing about this is that you can work from home and set your own schedule. Of course, the more you work the more you earn, but you could earn anywhere from $40k to $55k per year as a freelance translator.
Telephone Nurse
Income potential: $64k-$79k
If you are an LPN or RN, you could work from home as a telephone triage nurse. A triage nurse helps patients over the phone to determine if they need to seek emergency treatment, schedule an appointment with their doctor, or if they could just treat themselves from home. Many companies are hiring telephone nurses to work from home. Two great articles about how to become a triage nurse can be found here and here.
Closed Captioning
Income potential: $1500+ per month
Want to get paid to watch TV and movies? Are you a great typist? You could be a closed captioner and work from home. A closed captioner transcribes what’s being said onto the screen. All you need is an Internet connection, a great set of headphones, and a foot pedal. Learn how you can become a closed captioner and work from home.
Medical Coder
Income potential: Around $50k per year
A medical coder is someone who converts medical services into code for billing. This occupation does require certification to get started. Check out this post to learn how to become a medical coder, as well as which companies are hiring and how to spot a scam.
Instagram Influencer
Income potential: Unlimited
Did you know you can earn money on Instagram by promoting products to your followers? I never knew this was a legitimate business until recently. In order to become an influencer, you’ll need a lot of followers. Companies look for people with a large following to promote their products, and I’ve heard of companies shelling out $200,000 for a one-year contract. Crazy, right? Don’t have a lot of followers? There are plenty of resources online to learn how to grow your followers and become an influencer. Here’s one!
Endless Possibilities
The possibilities are endless for finding a home business that resonates with you. There are so many more choices than just what I have written about here. You can make money online doing literally anything. The key is to figure out what you’re passionate about and do the steps to make it happen. Anything is possible now. Whether you’re wanting to start a new career or continue the career you have now at home rather than in an office, I hope this helped you realize what’s out there and what is possible for you. You can be a work-from-home mom! Isn’t that exciting?
Do you already work from home? I’d love to hear about what you do in the comments! And don’t forget to share this post if you found it helpful!