Let’s face it. MLM isn’t for everyone. While I have A LOT of thoughts on that, I will sum up my opinion by stating that it works for some and not for others. Fair?
So where does that leave the rest of us who want to make a little extra (Target) spending cash?
Sure we all know you could run a daycare or do data entry job, but what about options beyond that.
I scoured the internet looking for “legit” work-from-home jobs for us Moms who are looking to work part-time AND mostly work-from-home.
It’s a tall order, I know, but here’s what I’ve found.
Online Tutoring
If you have a college degree or professional experience in certain subjects, why not teach? After comparing a few other tutoring options (Chegg, Varsity Tutors, Vipkid) and Varsity is the one that stands out the most based on their reviews.
When you look at the Glassdoor reviews for Chegg and narrow it down to people who have the title “Tutor” you’ll see a lot mixed reviews but the sense I get is that their system/process has a lot of fine tuning that needs to take place and due to the ratio of tutors:students you’re not earning a whole lot.
Vipkid has much better reviews overall on Glassdoor, however, the challenge with them is that many of their students are in Asia which means tutoring happens in the complete opposite timezone. For all of Moms who are sleep deprived, working at 2 AM just doesn’t sound appealing.
Based on their Glassdoor reviews, it seems like Varsity Tutors would likely be the best fit if you want to go this route.
Online Consultant
Have an eye for fashion? Stitch Fix has several online stylist positions posted to their website. I looked at their reviews and it seems also to have a lot of mixed reviews. Some common themes were lack of upward mobility, challenges in inventory, and issues with management. Even with all the flack, there were several reviewers who called it their “dream job” so what does it hurt to try?
What about if you were someone who had a knack for decor?
There are several online interior design companies that offer “E-Designer” positions from home as well. Among them include Decorilla which again, has mixed reviews, Some examples include:
There aren’t a plethora of jobs available at all these sites, but it was a way to get people thinking about the different type of virtual positions available.
Online Reservations
Do one Google search and you will find tons of jobs ranging from airline to cruise reservations with varying training commitments and pay.
Some of the popular hotel reservations include:
- Hilton
- Marriott
- Omni Hotels (actually based out of Nebraska!)
I looked at each of their career pages and it doesn’t look like there are a lot of openings for PT positions that are also work from home, but my guess is that they’re updated regularly.
Other options would be taking reservations or doing coordination for a cruise line such as Carnival. In addition to reservations, there are several other WFH positions that include Elite Virtual Specialist, Logistical Positions, and other “Agent” type roles.
Real Estate
Getting into real estate can prove to be a great career for Moms. There is a lot of flexibility, unlimited income potential, and endless networking opportunities (read: socializing with adults). I personally know several moms that have stepped into this role primarily because it allowed them to still be “mom” while bringing in that cash money.
So here’s the deal, there’s some schooling involved. You can take online classes at Vaned.com or Larabeeschool.com, but there are also a ton of in-person real estate schools including Randall School of Real Estate, Results Coaching, Metro Community College, or Master Real Estate Academy. I contacted several of my agent friends and they all agreed that Randall was the way to go.
Here’s what you can expect to invest before you can start selling homes:
- 8-10 Weeks of Pre-Licensing Classes
- State Exam/Background Check
- Once you pass the exam, there’s an additional $700 in state license, insurance, and membership for Area Board of Realtors.
- Continued Education- Every 2 years to renew your license you need to do 18 hours of continuing education. Some Real Estate companies pay for it otherwise max of $200.
- Every 2 years renew your license about for $150
- Every year you have to renew insurance dues, area board dues, etc.
So in short, it’ll be about $1,000-$1,200 to become a realtor and then the ongoing costs are about $800/year to maintain licensing, fees, insurance, etc.
But there’s money to be made right now with several homes selling 5% above asking price, within the same day, and with multiple offers. According to Zillow, the average sale price of a home in Omaha is $162,800. Depending on which brokerage firm you select, you it can range between 5-7% in real estate fees that will be split between seller’s agent, buyer’s agent, and real estate company.
For simplicity sake, let’s say it’s 6% and you’re the listing agent which means you keep 3.6% and the buyer’s agent gets 2.4%. Of that 3.6% ($5,535.20) you only keep 70% and the rest goes towards the brokerage firm so your gross income on selling that home is $3,874.64.
You get out what you put into it and you can determine your own hours, schedule, and consequently, income. Most of the work (and even schooling) can be done mostly from home or wherever you happen to be which makes it a great option for a SAHM.
Paul Vojchehoske, Director of the Randall School of Real Estate, summed it up best when he said, “If you can talk to people, you can do well.”
Web Development/Graphic Design
I’m biased with this one. For those who don’t know, I used to own and run a web design company for 7 years before retiring from that role. Loved what I did because it was challenging and rewarding…the money was pretty good, too.
The great thing now is that there are so many programs that offer ways for Moms to learn to code from KhanAcademy.org, Lynda.com (which is free through the library), and CodeAcademy.com, but what really stood out to me is Mom Code from Midland University.
It’s a local university that created a program specific to Moms with classes twice a week for only 2 hours (so 4 hours a week). Unlike the other work-from-home options there is a tuition involved at a cost of $3,750, however, I can tell you first hand that you will make that money back. Here’s how:
- A new web developer can charge anywhere from $1,000-$3,000 for a simple brochure site. By the end of my 7 years, my minimum web project was $12k per site.
- The skills you learn are transferable to several other Part Time/Work-From-Home jobs such as tech support and website maintenance- which are both WFH roles.
- Plus, there’s the option of recurring income AFTER you build a website for support anywhere from $50-$200/month.
The opportunities really abound with this last option and obviously for me, it turned into blogging which is what I’m doing now. Web and technical skills are HIGHLY DESIRED because of the amount of technology companies already created and those to come.
Concluding Recommendations
There are a few things that I recommend to Moms looking to hop back into the workforce to increase your chances to landing jobs:
- Get a LinkedIn Profile– You can use mine as a reference, but it’s kind of goofy and probably may not work for most employers.
- Spruce Up Your Resume– Again, you can use mine as a reference.
If any of you Moms have personal experience doing any of these things, please comment below as I would love to hear your thoughts.
If I missed anything, let me know!
