By Stevens Stone
Many may assume it impossible, but you really can earn money while you homeschool, manage your kids, and do all the other list of chores with complete ease. If you’re one of the lucky people who doesn’t need to look for a job because a spouse does all of the providing, then that’s great! But not every mother has that benefit so she has to figure out a way to make money on her own while she also juggles a handful of other daily duties.
Many moms who fall under this category could be doing this because of various reasons: they are a single parent, they have high healthcare costs, they don’t want to be out of the workforce for too long, they need a break from home-life, or simply because they want to raise the standard of living of their family. I’m sure the latter is probably the most predominant reason.
Working while homeschooling can be more difficult when you have young children, but if you have teenagers much of their time will be spent studying independently anyway. I read a couple of forums where homeschoolers shared ways they successfully earned money in an effort to provide a better living to their family. In many cases, they don’t even have to leave home. Here’s what most of them agreed on!
1. Part-time Job
This may sound un-likely, but many moms do it! You can manage a day-job that requires you to work only a few days during the week (maybe only 3 days for a few hours). You’re not being a bad mom if you are trying to be the bread-winner of the family while giving them a home education at the same time. You’re being a responsible parent who has a really tough job (or let’s say jobs). Give yourself a break and leave the kids with a trustworthy, dependable individual such as a grandparent or let your older teen look after them.
2. Freelance Career
The freelance industry is currently hitting the web like a storm and you can be a part of it too! Believe it or not, you can make use of ANY skill you have and offer your services to someone who may live across the other end of the world. People are willing to hire anyone from anywhere with a certain skill be it writing articles, talking to customers, designing website or graphics, managing routine tasks, book keeping, and so much more! Do you have skill which you can offer to someone? Many clients simply require a native English speaker to write up or edit their pieces in proper English language. Discover your skill and offer a freelance service.
3. Online Business
Are you an amazing craftswoman? If you’re really good with art work or crafting things such as clothes, sweaters, jewelry, pottery, paintings or home décor, you could run a whole business by simply selling it online. Check out Etsy for ideas. If you think you’ve got an entrepreneur’s qualities, you can run an online business at no investment cost at all. It may require simply a blog or a social network page which, fortunately, don’t require any premium payments.
4. Tutoring or Teaching
Apart from teaching your own kids, you could tutor or teach the children of other parents as well. For a fee, of course. There may be other parents who are looking for homeschooling due to the same reasons as yours (poor quality of education in state schools, bullying, distance, etc). This will give you a great opportunity to attract the attention of neighbors who are also looking for a good education cultivated in a safe home environment. Not only will you be able to homeschool your own children, but also other children while earning money at the same time.
5. Cottage Business
Many homeschooling families run a home-based cottage business at which they all work together. This helps teens learn the ropes of entrepreneurship, and each family member can chip in with their own special talents. For example, one may be a great graphic artist, while another is a good writer. Consider how you might turn a hobby such as baking or gardening into a business where you have a product for sale like homemade brownies or fresh garden vegetables.
Earning money in one of these ways may be challenging at first, requiring immense patience, tolerance, and sacrifice. But once you and your kids are set into the routine, it will all make sense. At the end, we need to keep reminding ourselves that we can only choose to do what’s best for our family. And if earning a few greenbacks is what they need, we should be all set to do just that.
About the Author: Stevens Stone is a professional consultant having years of expertise in leadership, career development and entrepreneurship. When he’s not counseling, he’s doing part-time job at a writing firm, Assignment Writing Service.