How to Make Money Online When You’re a Busy Mom

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Are you trying to figure out the best way to make money online as a busy mom? Do you keep seeing income reports and wonder how in the world other moms can make legitimate money while raising their kids?

If you want to earn money from home, you’ve come to the right spot! Since 2015 I’ve been making money from the comfort of my home, while homeschooling a large family.

So I know it’s possible! If I can do this, so can you. You just need to find the opportunity that works best for you. Because if you don’t love what you do, you’re not as likely to stick to it.

While there are many different ways to earn money, today I’m only going to tackle five of them. These are all methods I’ve used and am familiar with.

Important note:There are never any income guarantees when it comes to starting your own business. Your effort, personality, and skills are essential variables.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is how I began to make money online. I’ve been writing content for clients since July of 2015, and I’m still going strong.

I love taking ideas and putting them on paper. Well, typing them on the computer at least. It’s so much fun to take an idea, flesh it out through an outline and research, and then put it together into a blog post.

There are plenty of companies eager to hire talented writers, so there’s lots of work to go around.

Here are some skills you need to earn money writing:

• Solid writing skills
• Great command of the language you’ll be writing in
• Good communication skills (so you can make sure you and your clients are on the same page with expectations)
• Excellent organizational skills (keep track of deadlines, remember to send out invoices, etc.)

If you enjoy writing, here are some resources to help you get started making money.

Resources to Start You Own Freelance Business

Blog Posts I’ve Written

How to Start a Freelance Business When You’re Broke

10 Steps to Starting a Freelance Writing Business

The Class I took

30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success (Which is now available as part of Gina Horkey’s Fully Booked VA course.)

Where to Find Paying Gigs (Free Job Boards & Some Online Sources You Can Pitch)

Here are four places to look for your first (or subsequent) paid writing gig.

ProBlogger Job Board

Quill  (Accepts pitches from freelancers)

BlogPaws (Accepts pitches from freelancers)

BloggingPro Job Board

Virtual Assistance

I’ve been a virtual assistant since December of 2015. It’s been a fun addition to my freelance writing.

What I love most about being a VA is the diversity of work. Sometimes just writing can feel boring. But, as a VA, I’ve done a variety of tasks. I’ve:

• Helped plan the logistics of an online conference
• Updated websites
• Planned blog content
• Created pinnable images
• Made travel arrangements
• Filed insurance claims on behalf of a client
• Created swag bags and mailed them out
• Made printable marketing supplies (flyers, brochures, etc.)
• Ensured books were in order
• Called a company to dispute a charge on behalf of a client

And much more!

I really enjoy supporting my clients by taking some smaller tasks off their plate.

There’s really no limit to the tasks you can do as a VA. Some chose to niche down, and others are more generalized. So think about something you’re good at, and start doing that for people who are willing to trade money to get back some of their time.

Here are some skills you’ll need as a VA:

• Great communication skills
• Dependability (your clients will be counting on you!)
• Skills you can trade for money (could be tech, bookkeeping, design, writing, etc.)
• Organization

Resources to Start Your Own VA Business

Blog Posts I’ve Written

How to Start a Virtual Assistant Business

10 Reasons Moms Make GREAT Virtual Assistants

The Class I Took

30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success (Which has been redone and revamped as Fully Booked VA).

Where to Find Paying Clients

• Inside of Facebook Groups (but don’t just go in and pitch – work on building relationships first!)
• Let your network know you’re looking for clients and explain what you can do
• On social media – watch for people you follow saying they need help
• On websites – look for “hiring” pages for people advertising VA positions

Pinterest Virtual Assistance

Remember how I said some VAs decide to niche down? One niche that’s on fire right now is Pinterest. Businesses are paying VAs to create pins, schedule their pins, and grow a following here.

While I provide some VA services that help with Pinterest (creating pins and manually pinning blog posts), I do not consider myself a Pinterest VA.

However, this is a niche my oldest daughter is interested in. It’s definitely viable! Here are some of the skills you’ll need to succeed:

• An eye for design (to make the pins)
• Organization (keeping track of passwords/pinning schedules/etc.)
• Quick learner (Pinterest keeps changing its algorithms)
• Ability to learn from data and make changes based on what the numbers say
• Ability to communicate well

Resources to Start Your Own Pinterest VA Business

Blog Posts I’ve Written

5 Ways Your Teen Can Up Your Pinterest Game

The Class I Took (with my daughter)

Become a Pinterest VA 

Where to Find Paying Clients

• All the places you’d look for regular VA gigs, plus try pitching:
• Local businesses who don’t have a strong Pinterest presence

Blogging

I’m not going to sugar coat it. Blogging is not a quick way to make money online. It takes time to drive traffic, build trust, and gain readers.

The good news?

You can definitely make money blogging! My blogs are slowly providing a little more money each month.

So if you think you’re interested, start now! Learn as you go, and try different monetization strategies to see what works best for you and your audience.

But, definitely know who you’re writing for. It took me almost two years to create a reader persona for my blog. And that was way too long! Learn from me, and do this first!

Skills you’ll need to make money blogging:

• Patience!
• Writing
• Ability to see a big picture and break it into smaller parts
• Friendly/Desire to help other people
• Honesty

Blog Posts I’ve Written

Start a Money Making Blog: A Baby Steps Guide

How to Quickly Find Great Blog Post Ideas

5 Mom Bloggers Share How Their Kids Help Them Blog

10 Tips for Growing a Blog as a Busy Mom

The Class I Took

Ready, Set, Blog for Traffic

How to Make Money Online as a Blogger

Before you make any money, you’ll need a monetization strategy. For instance, I’ve earned money from:

• Affiliate marketing
• Creating digital products
• Offering a service from my blog

You can also earn money with:

• Ads
• Sponsored posts
• Holding online events
• Coaching

No matter how you plan to make money blogging, you’ve got to build trust with your readers first. If they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you!

Network Marketing

I know, I know, this definitely isn’t for everyone! But, if you find a product you can stand solidly behind and a company you can recommend, it’s a good way to earn a little extra every month.

Honestly, I never thought I’d get involved in this. I thought they were all scams where I’d have to beg all my friends and family to buy something from me. And no one wants to be THAT person.

But, Plexus changed my mind.

I started taking their products in May of 2017, and cannot believe the difference it’s made in terms of my mood, focus and mental clarity. I have more energy now, even when I’m up most of the night with the kids. My sugar cravings are nearly gone, and I feel good. We were so impressed with the results, my husband recently started taking them as well. It’s been amazing!

And, the company is heart-centered and truly seems to care (at least the people I’m working with!)

So how do you actually make money with network marketing?

Well, you make sure and pick the right product and the right company. They aren’t all created equally, so read all the fine print. Then, tell others about your experience.

This is really hard to do if you aren’t actually using them. If you don’t use the products, don’t try to convince other people they should! And honestly, don’t try to convince anyone. You won’t grow your business that way.

Share your experiences, but don’t be pushy.

Resources to Get Started with Network Marketing

A Blogger’s Guide to Network Marketing Written by my friend Carrie, who absolutely LOVES the company she’s with (which isn’t the same one I’m with. ) There are some absolute nuggets in there you can apply even if you aren’t a blogger!

How to Find Time for Your Business

Now that you have five viable options to make money online, it’s time to tackle the time problem. How do you find time to work a business as a busy mom?

Well, you make it priority.

Which means you might have to give up some other activities you enjoy.

I’ve watched WAY less TV since I started my business. I’ve also stayed home more.

If you’re gone all the time, it’s much harder to grow your business.

Then, you start looking at your days to see where you have a bit of margin.

What’s Margin?

You likely aren’t busy every single minute of the day. You probably have small chunks of time you can be flexible with. Those bits of time are your margin.

And once you’ve identified them, you can start working in them.

Small, consistent steps will pay off. It’s how I’ve run my business for two years. Other people might be sprinting while I’m slowly walking, but it’s working!

You can read more here (plus get a list of 100 baby steps to take for your business!)

Strategies for Working from Home with Kids

I dedicated 26 blog posts to working from home with kids during the summer of 2017. You can find the entire archive of those posts here.

Here are some other posts dedicated to finding time for your business.

How to Get Started with Family Writing Time

An Ages and Stages Guide to Working from Home with Kids

Streamline Your Life

When you’re trying to make money online, you’ve got to streamline. Otherwise you’ll get burnt out and always feel behind.

Here are some resources to help you streamline:

What’s Meal Planning Got to Do with Freelancing?

How to Balance Housework and Freelancing

Remember, you can’t do it all perfectly. You’ve got to decide what to let go of. This post will help:

What Are You Okay at Failing at?

If you need more help finding time to work, grab my course Balancing Diapers and Deadlines. You’ll find over 30 lessons to help you minimize your decisions, integrate your kids into your business, and get more done. It’s only $50, so grab your copy today!

Ready to Make Money Online?

I’ve presented five solid options for making money online, and given you strategies for finding time. Let 2021 be your year – the year you finally start making money online!

If you have any questions, please ask. I love helping other moms succeed!