I am very excited to welcome Ben and the team from Dollar Sprout to the blog today for 2 reasons. 1) They’re phenomenal to work with and 2) they know their stuff. So, when they asked to write about the best stay at home jobs, I thought you guys would love to hear what they have to say!
Take a look at the 10 best they’ve outlined below and let us know which ones you’ve tried or which you’re stoked to try in the comments section.
10 Legitimate Stay at Home Job Ideas for Parents in 2019
The best part of being a stay-at-home parent is the fact that you have the opportunity to spend more time with your kids and witness more of their developmental milestones first-hand. Still, taking care of your kids and managing the household can definitely seem like a full-time job in itself.
While being a stay-at-home parent is one of the most honorable jobs, it is unpaid. Allowing one parent to stay home may result in a tighter household budget since you’d technically be living on one income. Or, you may be wanting to stay home with your kids but aren’t sure how you’ll be able to afford it.
Luckily, there are many stay at home jobs you can consider to make extra money. These 10 legitimate work from home jobs are among some of the best options for stay-at-home parents.
1. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant or VA is basically an online assistant who performs a variety of tasks usually for businesses and entrepreneurs. The need for virtual assistants has grown over the years as more and more business owners find themselves needing a virtual secretary to help with tasks on a regular basis.
VAs can do everything from sorting and responding to emails, sending invoices, booking appointments and meetings, blog management, social media management, online research and more. Some companies like Zirtual, Virtual Office VA, and Fancy Hands hire virtual assistants but you can also start your own VA business.
To start a VA business, you’d need to narrow down which services you wish to offer and pitch your own clients to land work. This may sound challenging initially but you may have several people in your network who could benefit from hiring a VA.
Plus, you can set your own hours and choose your rates. According to Payscale, the average self-employed virtual assistant makes anywhere from $15 – $30 per hour.
2. Pinterest Virtual Assistant
A Pinterest virtual assistant focuses solely on Pinterest marketing tasks. Generally, a Pinterest VA will help clients set up a business Pinterest account, create graphics and boards, and schedule pins.
Pinterest is such a popular social platform functions just like a search engine. Businesses can use this site strategically to promote their content and get more clicks back to their website.
If you enjoy using Pinterest anyway, check out these skills you’ll need to become a Pinterest VA and consider making it a part-time work from home business. You can charge clients an hourly rate, but most Pinterest VAs offer full-service packages.
For example, you can charge clients anywhere from $300 to $500 to manage their business Pinterest account in just a few hours per month. This will give you enough freedom to scale your income up without having to add a ton of extra hours.
3. Data Entry
Finding online jobs from home is easy if you know how to type. Data entry jobs are always available and will often require you to type quickly and accurately. You can assess your typing abilities for free using a tool called Typing Test.
From there, you can see if you need to improve your typing skills or not before applying for a home-based data entry jobs. Data entry work usually involves taking information or content and inputting it into a virtual software system, spreadsheet, or another program.
Some companies that will hire remote data entry workers include Lionbridge SmartCrowd, Dion Data Solutions, and Data Plus+.
4. Freelance Writer
Do you like to write? Writing can be a fun hobby, but it’s also a great way to make money online. You can work from home as a freelance writer even if you don’t have a writing background or journalism experience. Just pick a topic that you have some experience in and utilize your research skills.
Anyone can develop strong writing skills so long as they practice regularly. The great thing about being a freelance writer is the fact that you can set your own rates and work when it’s convenient for you.
If you’d rather write articles at night when your kids are sleep or during the day when they’re taking a nap, you can create your own schedule so you can earn more money flexibly. Sites like Upwork and the Pro Blogger Job Board are great places to start looking for freelance writing jobs.
5. Editor/Proofreader
Editing is another ideal work at home job for moms or dads. If you’re always catching typos and grammatical errors when reading content on, you’d probably make a great editor.
You can edit blog posts, articles, e-books, and other documents online. Even if you don’t have editing or proofreading skills, you can still learn this skill.
Proofread Anywhere is an online course you can use to learn general proofreading and transcript proofreading skills. There’s also a free 76-minute online workshop you can attend to learn more about how to start a successful proofreading business and attract new clients.
6. Customer Service Representative
If you’re looking for legitimate work from home jobs that are hiring now, start with the customer service niche. Customer service is a popular home-based job because you can do all your work either online or via phone. If you like to talk and help others, this may be the perfect home-based job for you.
You’d provide customer support via phone or online chat by answering questions, troubleshooting issues, and possibly even making product suggestions based on the company you’re working for.
This is also an employee job so you won’t have to worry about working as a contractor and having to pay more taxes and cover your own benefits. Companies like Amazon, U-Haul, American Express, Care.com, and Hilton are among the list of companies that tend to hire work from home customer service representatives.
You’d apply for the position and interview just like you would with any other job and you will likely receive training upon acceptance which may or may not be paid.
The only major downside is that most jobs require you to commit to a specific schedule or even be available during nights or weekends for a shift. Still, you can try to create your own flexibility and work around your kids’ schedules by selecting a part-time or seasonal position.
Weekend work may even be ideal for you if that means your partner is off work and can watch the kids and take care of the house for a few hours. Just be sure to take your availability into consideration and the schedule requirements before applying for a job.
Some other companies that hire remote customer service agents include Sykes, Sitel, and Alorica.
7. Graphic Designer
Graphic design allows you to work independently from home while utilizing your creative abilities. Work from home graphic designers earns a median income of $46,900 per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If you like to create logos, website designs or other marketing materials, you can offer these services to clients online. You’ll need basic Photoshop skills and lots of creativity but this can be a fun way for stay at home parents to make money.
Fiverr is a popular gig site that you can use to sell your services in the beginning allowing you to get more reviews and feedback on your work. Start by designing logos ot marketing material for businesses. You can offer add-on services for more money or even move on to advanced projects once you get more experience. You can also check out job boards like Upwork to find gigs or FlexJobs.
Sites like 99Designs, Design Crowd, and Dribbble all hire freelance graphic designers.
8. Travel Agent
If you love to travel, or always find yourself planning all the vacations, you may enjoy working from home as a travel agent. A travel agent or travel consultant helps clients plan, organize, and book their trips.
The work generally involves a bit of research and some organizational skills, but if you love helping people plan their vacations it may not even seem like work.
Travel agents are often certified and have access to deals and packages that can help their clients save money. When someone books a trip through you, you often get a commission from the hotel or company that you booked it through. This means, your clients don’t even have to pay you directly.
While you can work as an independent travel agent and market online to find clients, you can also apply to work for a company who will provide you with leads and prospects. Companies like Mission Travel and Norweigan Cruise Lines hire travel agents to help people book trips. You can check out this listfor more companies.
9. Virtual Stylist
Another fun way to stay at home with your kids and still earn an income is by working as a virtual stylist. Companies like Stitch Fix hire virtual stylists to pick out clothes for their customers.
Stitch Fix is a subscription-based site that offers styling services to both men and women. The site is geared toward people who are too busy to shop. When you sign up, you share some details about your style preferences then a personal stylist will handpick some pieces for you.
You can choose how often you wish to receive new styles by mail so you can choose which clothes you want to buy and what you want to send back. Stitch Fix pays part-time virtual stylists a starting rate of $15 per hour.
Other companies that may be hiring virtual stylists include Bombfell and Dia and Co. You can also check out more opportunities on Zip Recruiter.
Keep in mind, some direct sales companies may market their opportunity as a ‘stylist’ position. In this case, you’d also be responsible for selling the company’s items and hosting parties to generate buzz. Whereas, you’d just be picking out styles and wouldn’t have any responsibility to sell a product if you land a virtual stylist position with a company like Stitch Fix.
While there is nothing wrong with pursuing an opportunity as an independent direct sales consultant, you want to make sure you’re going into the experience intentionally.
10. Social Media Specialist
Most of us spend time on social media each day. You might as well make money using social media by becoming a social media manager.
It’s awesome that businesses will actually pay people to schedule and share content on their social media pages. This can be time-consuming work that entrepreneurs would rather pay someone else to do.
On the contrary, it’s often less strenuous work that you can do from home to earn an income. You can start by offering to compose social media posts and monitor Facebook and Twitter pages. You can also help out with social campaigns to promote new events, products, or services. To increase your income, you can learn how to run Facebook ads and offer this as a service.
If you’re not sure where to start, 99 Social, Mod Squad, and Media Bistro are all great sites that will pay you to do social media work.
Summary
Being a stay at home parent provides an amazing opportunity to spend more time around your kids. Should you choose to bring in an income, you can work online by taking advantage of some of these unique stay at home jobs.
Whether you’re looking for flexible contractor work or a remote W-2 job, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of no matter what your skills or experience is.
Just get clear on what type of work you’re interested in doing, what your availability it, and how much you’re looking to make.
Which work from home job would interest you most and why?
