It is commonly believed that running a business is not that practical of an idea for women, and there are several factors contributing to it. Over the course of years, women have proven themselves in all walks of life including the line of business.
Running a business, regardless of the size, demands time and attention and managing all that when your foremost priority is your child, is not easy but kudos to all those who are the queens of multitasking and can manage it all with perfection. Here are some more small business ideas for stay at home moms.
10 Small Business Ideas for stay-at-home Moms (Mothers)
1. Homemade
With this word “homemade”, we all get a similar picture in mind i.e. a warm woman, in her clean golden kitchen in a floral apron on, taking care of the bits of food she is cooking. Homemade food items are of course not sold at stores and for obvious reasons but are certainly loved by people. If you have some baking, grilling or simple cooking skills, you can make good cash by investing very little time and money. Cooking is something which will keep you happily busy and at the same time free enough to attend to your family.
You can start by offering free samples to your friends and family members and gauge the response to see where it can take you. If your friends like what you have to offer, they’re likely to refer you to their acquaintances and before you know it, you will have demands pouring in.
Sometimes, the customers offer their material, like home grown tomatoes or apples, for making jams/bread-spreads which reduces the cost of production for you. This also saves you trips to market. Just make sure to set good rates for the items you intend to cook and sell.
2. Handicrafts
Ever been startled by the price of the items which stood out among the rest at a shop? Remember the shopkeeper saying that “it’s handmade”? Handicrafts sell at high prices simply because people pay for the hard work that goes into crafting each masterpiece even if the cost of production is not much. It’s the quality of work, efforts you put into it and the very idea of product that decide its price. Plus, when you offer exclusive designs, you have every right to set a high price for your hard work.
The main reason for such high cost of handmade items is that there is no competition in the market for the ideas of an individual. If you have some, you can cash on them. For instance, handmade bags are either very cheap or very expensive. The cheaper ones require more labour and the expensive ones just require creativity. It’s your call.
3. Offer services online
Half of the working class is making money through IT industry and about 10% of the international retail sales are made through internet. The medium sure has room for more and that is why it’s growing at a maddening speed.
Here’s an interesting fact about online shoppers. They are prone to spend more money than your regular buyers. You can set up an eBay store and sell your handmade products and preserved food through it. Or your social media profile could become your store front. Just see how you can put internet to effective use for generating income because the prospects it represents are massive.
Invest in yourself to become recession-proof
A little investment in learning some skills can benefit you in the longer run. Spend a little time and money in learning and polishing your skills. Being a woman, your services would generate more income if you work yourself into the market that targets women. Some of the skill based stay at home jobs are recession-proof.
Beautician training, massage lessons, cooking courses, stitching, embroidery, painting, fashion designing or interior décor courses will offer you good prospects for setting and running a small business. Setting up a beauty salon in one or two rooms of your house can help you make a decent living. All you have to do is to figure out your forte, invest enough time learning it and setup your small business.
Author’s bio: Sasha Gibbs is a B2B wholesale trade and B2B marketing expert. She writes frequently on the topics related to Drop Shipping, distributors, wholesalers and trade suppliers.
Written by Ajaero Tony Martins
