Homeschool World Forum

I am too! so far I've got an amazon business going, but I also have to work nights as a waitress and I would love to be able to stay home all the time again and still be able to pay the bills. It might be hard to avoid people pushing there wares though.

As a committed to staying home mom, I figure DH's role is to bring in income, and mine is to sharply limit outgo.

I have occasionally taught piano and tutored high school Spanish students, but that was more because it was fun for me than to earn money--although it was fun to have a little more for things like eating out on field trips with the kids instead of having to pack lunch before we could get out of the house in the morning.

I cut everyone's hair, teach them all their music lessons (except high school DD who is *way* past my level on flute now), and mostly only go to free places on field trips.

I require the kids to start babysitting when they're 12 and working a regular part-time job when they're 16.

DH does lots of moonlighting from home, temping, tutoring, etc.

I save every article of clothing the kids grow out of and pass them down, and we follow the old maxim very strictly: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

I'm teaching the kids to cook and bake from scratch and we do almost all our shopping at discount stores. I love dollar stores!

Ramona
Mom of 6 + 1 coming in the fall
Homeschooling 12+ years

My husband and I started two businesses of our own and I work with a friend on their business. The businesses we started were intentional, but working with my friend sorta fell into my lap.

I guess the best advice I can offer is think of something you love to do and think of a way to make money at it. That's one way to help make sure you're successful. I've not had good luck doing something I didn't like at home - there's always something else to do that's more enjoyable besides work if it's not something you love to do.

I work at home some preparing for my gigs but some of the work is also outside the home at various venues. I don't do it for the money, though that is nice, as much as, I do it because I love it.

I know a homechooling mother, who does pizza delivery at night, when her husband is home with the children. The tips are worthwhile typically, but there is more wear and tear on their car. She also does some bookkeeping at home for a few clients. She had another part time job for a time, but decided to go back to pizza delivery--it was as much money even with the extra upkeep on the car and less stressful.

I know another homeschooling family who makes ear candles for a local vendor on certain days of the week in addition to the father working evenings as a chef.

I know of another that makes the greatest soap.

Most people worry about getting a business up and running, but there can be a downside to having too sucessful of business also.

My husband is in a service industry and has a very demanding job with a two hour response time and having to be on call as part of his schedule. Because of the unpredictability of his job, he cannot work a second job and I cannot work outside of the home either. I did have a rather successful home business for many years, that began really taking off after my daughter was a year old and by the time she was three and was ready to read, I was having difficulty balancing homeschooling and the business. I ended up hiring someone else to clean my house and we ate out two to three times a week, not because we had the money to do so and it was pleasant, it was more because we found it to be necessary! Finally, the Lord just closed the door on that business and although it was not fun the way it went down, it really was the best thing for us at the time. Our expenses immediately decreased and I was able to give more attention to saving money than I had been. So, now we make less and only sacrificed a few "luxuries" that had become "necessities" only because of the business. (I did buy a great deal of used reference books, reading books, curricula, and other homeschool materials to use for years to come though.)

I am writing about my experience because with most home-based businesses, you really have to put time into making it work and the question is do you have the time to spare and what will the business cost you in the long run when you take that time. If you are doing something you LOVE to do and find it relaxing or at least not too demanding then it could work. It might even be better if it something with which your children could help.

Now that my daughter is a bit older and able to care for herself, I am thinking of doing pencil drawn portraits and maybe other mediums eventually for a bit of extra money. I will not make as much as before but it fits into the lifestyle I really want for my family and I will be doing something I really LOVE. That is if I ever stay off my computer and get my craft room/studio cleared out of all the packing materials and parts from the previous business.

I recently looked briefly into a job (in our area) but there are probably more like it nation-wide. It was for Hilton Hotels & Resorts and basically they train you to take incoming calls and help people make reservations. The training time is paid for and after training, they provide some of the things you need to perform the job and you provide some. (I think the employee provides computer monitor, headset, etc. - they provide computer, keyboard, mouse and more.) I can't remember all the details but it was advertised at a job fair in our hometown. Try entering "www.hrccjobs.com" on your browser or do some sort of search for "Hilton Reservations & Customer Care".

My SIL used to do the same type of thing for airlines, so if that kind of job would work for you, you might check them too. I don't know if you can do that from home or not, though.

Some computer companies hire "Home Agents" to answer calls and emails (obviously from home) and I've been told that Staples (office supply stores) hires people to be customer reps but you do it from home. I don't know the details on that one - you would have to check into it.

I've been trying to find something that works with our family too. If I find anything worthwhile, I'll be sure to let everybody know.

Market gardening could be an option for anyone with the space. It's an opportunity to combine botany and chemistry lessons with economics for the children. It's also more of a summer time activity, which is great for hsers that do less book work and more hands on when the weather is nice.

I think a scrap booking business would be great. When my sister saw mine she said she would love to be able to hire someone to turn her photos into a scrapbook. She is a busy working Mom.

I know this post is not a new one, but I am new..
I know that West is legitimate. I worked for them a few years ago, and from what I understand they continue to grow. The calls I took were from people ordering stuff from infomercials, but they also have other work too. (i know ToysRus and Pizza Hut) I no longer work for them because I have problems with my voice from time to time, so it was very difficult to schedule work.
I also do some freebie sites (surveys and such). Its not A LOT of money, but I bring in between 20 and 150 a month.

ALSO (as was posted above) NEVER pay to join a business, survey site, or any of that stuff