Stay at home mums (or dads) we salute you! No, we really do. It is one of the hardest unpaid jobs that you will ever undertake and can be both isolating and emotionally draining on any given day.
It can also make some people, especially those that were used to working before their bundle of joy arrived, feel like they have lost their way and purpose in the world as they go from a high-flying career that paid bills, to cleaning up sick and poo all day.
We’re not for one minute suggesting that you’d change a thing – they are our little rays of sunshine that bring us absolute pride and joy every single day, but keeping your hand in the working environment can give you an added sense of purpose and can restore a little bit of the old you into the daily baby grind.
Depending on how old your children are, you may be looking to start a little bit of work from home and just get back into the normality of earning a little bit of cash and getting some self-worth as a worker back.
And the possibilities are endless to be fair. If you have a passion or a particular field of interest try and follow that path as making money through an avenue that you genuinely like will be easier and much more pleasant.
Selling off some of your baby’s clothes and starting up a bit of an online shop may be a good idea, or you could become a blogger that will help other mothers by hearing your experiences.
If you have a particular skill such as art and design, you could start by selling off some of your work, or if you want something that will fit in with your role as a mother, you could offer to do people’s ironing whilst you do yours, or, if you enjoy walks with your youngster, you could offer to do a bit of dog walking for people that are out at work. You are already out and about and enjoying the fresh air so why not get paid for taking a few fluffy friends along too? Your child will definitely love taking dogs for a walk.
On the flip side of the coin, if you previously held a job that was, for example, administration based and you did a lot of computer work, you could ask your employer if you could get back into the swing of things somewhat and do a little bit of work from home. Your employer probably wouldn’t have a problem with it and it would give you a bit of extra cash and get you back in the saddle.
There are some mothers who want to earn a bit of cash whilst they are at home, but there are others who just want to do things for the fun of it and to give them something to do. If you fit into this latter category then you might want to run toddler groups or something similar. This will get you socialising on a regular basis and will also keep you at least a little bit sane!
The possibilities are truly endless and there have been some fantastic and very successful business ventures that started off just in this way. Stay at home mums could be the new small business power!