7 Things I’ve Done to Make Money from Home

You don’t need a fancy office or mad skills to make money from home. A little creativity and desire can make it happen!

7 things I've done to make money from home

Early in my married life, I was finishing up school to become a Registered Nurse. Even though we had young children, I pictured myself working full-time in my chosen career.

Well, you know what they say about plans (they don’t usually go as planned)!

Less than a year after I graduated from school, we were pregnant with our third child. At the same time I began to feel the tug on my heart to stay at home and homeschool these kiddos. Yeah, I don’t usually go half- way with my “bright” ideas!

But the reality was, and still is, that I need an income. I also enjoy making money, to tell the truth.

With all of the recent happenings in the world, suddenly everyone is working from home and homeschooling their kids! Maybe you’ve become unemployed completely and are in desperate need to make money from home.

Well after thirty plus years of working and making money from home, and nineteen years of simultaneous homeschooling of my children, I can help you out!

Today I’m going to talk about making money from home. I’ll cover homeschooling in another post. So let’s do this!

1. Clear out clutter, and sell it!

Now normally I would suggest a garage sale is a great way to get a cash infusion into the household. But with most states under stay-at-home orders right now, it’s not possible.

However, I’ve had great success selling all kinds of things on local sale websites. Look on Facebook for Marketplace and other garage sale types of groups. Craigslist is another great option.

You can leave the item outside your door and an envelope for the money, if you aren’t comfortable doing anything face to face.

Also, using Paypal or Vimeo for payment is a possibility. I only take cash, but I know a lot of people like to use the online payment instead.

Be sure to take very clear, well lit pictures of the item(s). Include close ups and full shots. Most sale sites allow around ten pictures. Fill them all in!

Also include any measurements for furniture, rugs, etc.

Grouping items such as books and clothing is a great sales tactic. Sell them as a lot.

I’ve literally made hundreds of dollars during the shut down, by just decluttering my house!

You might also like to check out my $5 chair makeover video. I sold these for $80. the day I posted them!

2. Sell Online

Just like selling on local sites, you can sell on worldwide sites such as Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, Poshmark, and others.

Keep in mind that there are shipping costs and fees to consider. Just familiarize yourself with whatever platform you choose. Make sure you price your items appropriately.

Again, you’ll need to have well lit, clear pictures with detailed descriptions and measurements.

If you’re a person that has a hobby, consider selling your product or service online.

My grown daughter loves to make jewelry and started an Etsy shop in the fall. Her sales have skyrocketed since everyone is home and shopping online.

She went from hobbyist to small business owner quickly!

3. Flea Market Booth

Once everything gets back open, stop into a few local Flea Markets and see what you think.

If you love thrifting for home decor like we do, (or whatever else), a booth might be a great sales outlet for you.

I’ve had a booth in many of my local flea markets and have always made a profit. It’s like having your own little store but not having to be there! Love that.

I give a few tips on flea market booths in this video, if you’re considering this side hustle.

4. Work as a Remote Employee

Over the past 15 years I’ve had several remote employment positions.

A couple of them were field positions, meaning that I worked out of my home office, but had to travel to other office locations for some of my work.

Most recently I worked completely from home with no travel required. I found pros and cons with both situations.

I won’t get into too much detail here. But if you’re thinking that this might be an option for you, begin to search online for remote, work from home, work from anywhere postions.

Keep in mind that there are a lot of scams out there. You should never have to pay or give any of your personal information (such as credit card numbers, or social security number) to apply for a job.

A good place to start would be a company website. Most of them have an employment section with legitimate remote positions to apply for.

5. House and Office Cleaning

If cleaning and organizing are your super power, then this can be very lucrative.

Back when I was in college, I had several regular clients that provided a steady stream of income, on a flexible schedule.

I personally know a mom and daughter team that have hired employees and expanded into large office buildings. They’re killing it!

6. Catering/Baking

Depending on your states laws, you may be able to have a food related business right out of your own kitchen.

Where I live, we have a Cottage Food Law that allows for baked goods such as cookies, breads, and jams to be sold from a home kitchen.

We’ve definitely made extra income this way and with the possible food shortages coming up, I’m considering starting something up again!

Besides, our youngest son who still lives with us, is in chef school. He’s very interested in any kind of business that has to do with cooking!

7. Direct Sales

Also called Multi Level Marketing (MLM).

Many consider it a “pyramid scheme” because of bad press, and would never consider it.

I won’t get into what a true pyramid scheme is here. But I can share that we have worked with a couple of MLMs for extra income.

We have successfully supplemented our income in a substantial way by working with one of these companies.

Especially when our children were young and I was homeschooling them. I needed the flexibility and the autonomy to run a business, on my terms.

The best advice I can give is to do your homework, and understand the compensation plan of whatever company you’re looking at. Also, how will you market the business or service?

I learned so much about sales and marketing with my former company. And no I didn’t have to keep asking for sales from my friends and family! I had well over a thousand repeat customers that I had never met before.

The only con that I experienced is that if you’re a natural introvert, like I am, it can be a bit more energy consuming.

But learning to overcome some of those (introvert) challenges has really helped me in all areas of my life. So I guess it’s not really a con after all!

Conclusion

If you’re wanting or needing to make an income from home, there is hope.

After decades of experience working from home, I know it can be done successfully.

I found that as soon as I realized it was a possibility, I became aware of so many ways to accomplish it!

Let me know in the comments if you have plans for a work from home income!

As always, thank you for reading and feel free to contact me anytime. Many blessings and good health to you and your loved ones!

Tanya

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