The decision to homeschool usually means that one parent needs to stay at home to be with the children whilst the other goes to work. That is the ideal right? Well sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Finances can be tight, or being a single parent means that you are the sole provider. Your homeschooling dreams need not be over just because of finances.
Sometimes, and I have found this true for myself, you just need something that isn’t about the kids. I write this blog and earn money from it but it provides me with an outlet where I get to be me….granted I write about homeschooling my kids but you know what I mean.
Blogging
Blogging is a simple way to earn a bit of cash but you need to be prepared to put in the hard work at the start with very little pay off until months down the road. The best way to get started is to get yourself a domain name from Bluehost and set up your blog on WordPress. You can write about anything you like, but you need to be interested in it otherwise you will get bored fast!
You can earn money blogging via affiliate links, ads and selling your own product. Affiliate links are where you promote a product on your page and then if someone were to purchase it through your link you would get a portion of the sale price. Amazon has a great affiliate program because, well they sell everything! If you see links in my posts they are probably affiliate links, however you should only promote products that you genuinely like. Otherwise that is just a bit shady, people are spending their hard earned money and you want them to get a good product. Ad programs also pay you out an income based on how many visitors you have to your blog
I have found it to be a great way to find myself again after dedicating so much time to my kids. I am a better mother and wife for it too. It has also been good to be able to add to the family income.
Teaching English
If you ask in any forum of homeschooling parents or stay at home parents this is always the top response and the most common. There are many different companies that will take you on as a teacher and each have different requirements.
VipKid is the most notable company. To register as a teacher with them you need to have a bachelors degree and some teaching experience. Homeschooling your own children counts as experience. You will then have an interview and do a mock lesson which will determine your starting rate. They pay $14-18 per hour. Each lesson is 25 mins each. You will usually be teaching young children from China who are very well behaved and engaged in the lessons. As you gain more experience your hourly rate increases.
The benefit of this type of work is that you can set your own hours, and there is very little investment on your part. You simply need a good headphone and microphone and a reliable internet connection.
Multi-level Marketing
There are about a bazillion companies that are built on the multi-level marketing structure. I am sure you have heard of many of them. DoTerra, Young Living, Younique, Plexus, Mary Kay and Beach Body just to name a few. There are so many stay at home parents making a killing with these companies.
If you are already using these products then maybe taking a step into the business side is for you. If you truely believe in a product you are using and a prepared to step out and share it then the sky is the limit. These companies always have a high level of support that they offer and you will be well provided with training and someone to hold your hand as you take your first steps.
In Home Daycare
If you are already home with your kids what’s two or three more added to the chaos?! Your kids will probably enjoy having friends over every day. In home daycares are becoming more and more in demand these days so the chances are that someone will need you is high.
It is a lot of work to have extra children but if you think you can manage it then it will bring in a good steady income each month for your family. The bonuses are that you will likely be doing the same things with all the children so there will be no need to schedule time away from your own children to work.
Check out the laws where you live to ensure to comply. They will vary from place to place.
Virtual Assistant
Digital is where it is at. More and more jobs are going online now which is a huge tick for homeschool parents needing work. Virtual assistants answer emails, manage social media accounts and customer service work.
Fiverr is a great place to offer your services or Upwork. It can sometimes be a bit tricky to land that first job but as with most things, the more experience you gain the more opportunities will come.
Tutoring
Do you have a skill set that you can teach others? Piano lessons are always in high demand. Find out what the going rate is for your area and set your price a little lower to start with and you will have them flocking to you.
If you are skilled in an area of academics high school students studying for finals will always need help and parents a usually more than willing to hand over money for it. Even younger children needing a little extra tuition will benefit from you.
You could start your own classes. Some ideas are art classes, cooking classes, dance class, music class for babies the sky is really the limit here. If you charged $10 per class for 20 people once a week that is $200 right there! Hypno-birthing is super popular where I am right now. You can get trained for $600 and the average price of a weekend class is $500. There is a KILLING to be made here!
Sell Your Own Products
Creativity is not my strong point. I have no artistic skills whatsoever, but I love to buy things from other people who do! Start an Etsy store and sell your creations. I have several friends who do this so they can stay home with their babies. Not only do they sell them online but they also frequent markets which is a great way to promote yourself.
Fancy cakes are also a great way to make a bit of cash. Once you establish your reputation you will be turning people away in no time because you just wont be able to do it all! A friend recently paid $280 for a birthday cake for her son. Another friend makes cupcakes and sells them via Facebook. My daughter is an amazing baker so I think I should get her on to this. People are always asking her to make them cupcakes and she is only six!
Graphic Design
This is another brilliant option if you know how to do it. There is no need to be stuck in an office building, you can work from the comfort of your own home in your pj’s with a pile of snacks.
I would look into Fiverr and Upwork here also as a place to start. Fiverr is the place I always head to first when I need work like this done.
YouTube
I am currently looking into this one, not so much to make money but because I think it would be something fun to do and I would really love to have a record of our life on video. All I have now are little 20sec videos.
If you have a good knowledge about a subject or can be provide really valuable information to people YouTube could be the way to go. There are people making millions on YouTube. No doubt you have heard of Ryan’s Toy Review! That kid is a multi-millionaire at age six just from playing with toys.
If you want to get into YouTube I would highly recommend the course from Marc at Keep Your Daydream. (not an affiliate link I just really like what he does and find him to be incredibly knowledgeable and honest)
Work Remotely
Maybe you are in a really good job but also want to be home with your kids. Is there a way you can work remotely from home. One of my best friends is a lawyer and she was able to work remotely for a year while her sister in law had cancer and they needed to travel a lot.
Many employers don’t care where or how the work gets done so long as it is getting done. I think this type of work would be fantastic if you had older children who could work unsupervised for the majority of the time.
Employers are becoming more and more open to the idea of having their employees working remotely. You never know unless you ask right?
