If you are a stay at home parent, you don't have to give up on earning an income to help support your family. High speed Internet connections and powerful mobile devices help millions of people find occasional work each year. Join the crowd and create a new stream of income to cover your bills while your spouse works outside the home.
There are many options that aren't very demanding or time consuming. Choosing an opportunity that doesn't require a fixed schedule will help you take time off when a sick child or family commitment requires all of your attention.
Sell Your Photos
Moms and dads equipped with a nice DSLR camera can take photos of flowers, landscapes and common objects around them and create a quick stock photo catalogue at well over a dozen websites. There's no fee at most of these sites and you can set your own price or work within a specific pricing structure. Practice your composition and consider investing in some inexpensive lights to improve your products. You may be able to sell one popular photo hundreds of times without any extra effort on your part.
Set Up Shop
Selling antiques or crafts on the Internet has been a legitimate source of income since the late 1990s, but high levels of competition make it harder to break into the business. Setting up your own retail business also requires quite a bit of paperwork and new management skills. If you don't have time to worry about inventory and return policies, consider offloading your unwanted CDs and DVDs to a bulk buyer. You can check prices and determine if you want to make a sale without having to attract buyers or deal with expensive sales fees.
Tutor Students
Graduate students trying to save money to raise a family should consider turning their studies into further education for others. A biology major can easily help middle and high school students learn new concepts and complete their homework. You can earn money with video transmission, phone conversations or online chats. Some websites require you to have teaching experience. Others allow anyone with demonstrated knowledge to set up their own virtual advice booth. You could also create premium video content if you are a personal trainer or yoga teacher that can create clear and fun workout videos with basic video equipment.
Telecommute
If you have older children that can mostly care for themselves, look for a part time position that doesn't require you to visit any offices in person. Many corporations are hiring consultants and assistants that handle all of their work virtually. Contracting with a client in another country can be tricky. Work through a reliable platform that handles the payment and billing work for you if you don't mind trading a small percentage of your income for reliable results. Freelancers often lose a large amount of their income to clients that drop a contract and disappear without paying for their work. Clients offering traditional employment contracts may work the best if you don't want to manage your own tax payments and other issues.
Victoria Holland loves sharing new ways to earn income while caring for children with her readers. She is always testing money making opportunities such as Music Magpie where you can sell your old things online.
