8 Lucrative Business Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms

More women in Singapore are now participating in the workforce. The 2017 Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for women stands at 60.4 per cent, in contrast to 54.3 per cent a decade ago in 2006. However, many career-oriented women are forced to abandon their aspirations of climbing the corporate ladder when they give birth. Despite that, today’s mothers remain just as passionate about their careers as they are about their kids. If you are a stay-at-home mom, you can find a flexible work opportunity that better fits into your new schedule and works around the needs of your family. Here are 8 interesting job opportunities that you can explore to build your career as a women entrepreneur.

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Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is an umbrella term used to describe services such as social media marketing, SEO auditing, content writing, etc. Developing, implementing and managing marketing campaigns calls for creative thinking and an understanding of target audiences. If you are a people person, with a knack for coming up with crisp, creative content that can grasp the attention of audiences, this is the job for you. If you are internet-savvy and possess basic computer skills, that’s an added benefit.

Driving audiences on social media by engaging them with continuous content and activity is an important part of the job. It definitely takes time and effort to maintain an online presence but it is also rewarding when one gauges the response of happy customers. Promoting products and services on social media is one of the best freelance jobs for stay-at-home moms since it offers the freedom to work from home. You can grow your own business through digital marketing or working freelance for other companies.

SEO / Web content writing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a major aspect of digital marketing that is all about increasing the number of visitors to a website by obtaining a higher ranking on search results on search engines.  This is mainly accomplished by writing remarkable content that benefits your target audience and is easily crawled by search engines. You need to do some web research to find out the trending keywords that are connected to your niche. There are a number of tools on Google to help you optimize your content, an example of which is Google Keyword Planner. The other important parts of SEO writing are good titles that use key phrases, photo captions, integrating keywords into the content, tags, links, metadescriptions and so on.

There are many courses on SEO writing available online which can be used as a guide to help you start. You can also develop the skillset on the job as you write more and find out what works and what doesn’t. There are a number of sites like Freelancer.com and Upwork that offers SEO writing posts.

Content writing is a skill that can be developed over time by constant reworking of your written text. There must be a harmonious balance between technical expression of domain knowledge and the articulation of that in a reader-friendly manner. If you have a flair for writing, you can go for blogs, guest posts, product reviews and even content on specific experiences that can effectively drive audiences to the site. All you need is a system and a few hours that you can dedicate to work.

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Virtual Assistant

Many entrepreneurs and traveling executives struggle to manage their numerous tasks in operations, human resources, marketing, etc. However, most cannot afford a dedicated personal assistant working from their office – in fact, most own remote offices. A virtual assistant (VA) is a person who provides support services to businesses from a remote location. This job is derived from the development of the Internet era, which enabled document sharing and made remote working a reality.

Virtual assistants receive and reply to emails and calls,  send reminder mails, set up client meetings, do web research, maintain accounts, book travel tickets, and respond to customers. Apart from these general tasks, some virtual assistants specialise in specific skill sets such as marketing, public relations, graphic design, website management, recruitments etc. Since this occupation does not demand on-site presence but only prompt responses, it is well suited for experienced professionals who are now stay-at-home moms.

Language interpretation and translation services

Singapore is one of the largest global hubs for trade and commerce and businesses here deal with foreign clients on a regular basis. It is crucial to interact with clients in their own language, so language translation and interpretation services are highly paid jobs in the services sector. Language interpretation is a highly skilled job, and as an interpreter, you must translate both ways on the spot, without the use of dictionaries. If you are bilingual and confident, as well as possess extraordinary listening abilities for simultaneous interpreting, this might be your calling.

On the other hand, language translation is fundamentally the art of paraphrasing—the translator needs to read text in one language, grasp the content, then paraphrase his/her understanding of the text by using tools of the target language. If you have the ability to speak or write in two or more languages, you could give this profession a try. Chinese, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Hindi are some of the global languages whose speakers are highly in demand for interpretation and translation services. All you need to know is another language, a system and a good mic and headset if you need to do live recording and listening. It is the perfect way to put your taste for languages into use, if you are looking to work from home.

Graphic design / presentation design consultant

There is an explosion of visual communication in today’s world, where everything needs to be presented in a visually appealing manner whatever the medium. Graphic designers who create visually appealing designs are an essential part of media companies, ad agencies, web design firms, outdoor advertising, etc.

This is a skilled job where designers are expected to have a basic knowledge of various software tools used in desktop publishing, web design, printing, typography, logo creation, user interface design and others. Even if you didn’t start off in design or art school, as long as you have a keen eye for design, art, drawing or colours, you can begin late and acquire skills by either joining a design school or through online training. Most graphic designers work full-time for specialized design firms as part of a collaborative team, so if you work from home, you must be flexible to cater to urgent needs of clients, who might require your services after office hours or during the weekends.

Etsy Seller / Maker

Etsy.com is a peer-to-peer e-commerce website popular across the globe for the selling of handmade or vintage items, as well as unique factory-manufactured items. These items cover a wide range of consumer goods including clothing, jewellery, food, fine art, photography, cosmetics, toys and many more. Although the site has all kinds of sellers, the majority of them are women who sell home-made food, handicrafts and clothing. There is also a local team of Etsy sellers called Etsy Craftivist SG, especially for those who want to sell at the local market and learn about the e-commerce platform.

So if you are a creative person with a passion who wants to sell your handmade goods, Etsy is the place for you. Not only will it give you the extra income you need, it will also be a rewarding way to put your passion to use. All you need is to create a home-made product, take a photograph and post it on Etsy along with some technical details. Etsy takes 3.5% commission on the sales and ensures buyers only deal with genuine sellers. Many of Etsy’s sellers are homemakers who have never held any paid jobs before starting their Etsy stores. So if you are a homemaker with lots of creative ideas, consider becoming an Etsy Maker today!

Food Catering / Baking

Are you looking to make extra income by putting your cooking skills to use? Catering could be highly profitable if you begin by making homely food and sending out leaflets to neighbours announcing your specialties. Business events, birthdays, baptism parties, corporate functions and companies need people to cater for them. In addition, there are niche food areas such as vegetarian food, vegan food and kosher food which is where specialised cooks can come in to fill the gap.

Baking cookies and cupcakes at home is another emerging trend in Singapore. Food catering can be a lucrative business for stay-at-home moms who can run the operations from home. You can start part-time, working only weekends, then expand full-time as you get more clients. This is a serious business venture where the individual has to be adept in supply chain management and food quality assurance.

Wedding Planning

Weddings are one of the most exciting events that happen in every family. There are numerous tasks to cover in a wedding – inviting guests, ordering food, arranging flowers, designing the venue décor, getting proper lighting, coordinating photographers and the music band etc. If you can pull off parties and social events by planning everything down to the last detail, this could be your cup of tea. You could even establish an Events Organising Company if you are well-networked and highly resourceful.  Event planning can be a rewarding business that can be run from home, particularly by those with good communication skills, an eye for style, and a flair for organisation. Begin with small weddings and soon you can build your passion into a lucrative profession.

Voice over / Voice actors

There is a well-established market for animation movies, corporate films, documentaries, audiobooks and medical training videos across the globe. Visual media such as documentaries need a voice-over artiste to narrate the story that is being depicted visually, while animated cartoons need voice actors who enact the character.   If you have been complimented on your great voice and have a knack for conveying emotion through a mixture of voice, rate, pitch, volume, and intonation, check out this fun profession.

You can take online classes to improve your voice and get variations in your intonation. You need to get an understanding on natural pauses in conversation, breathing, holding the mic, intonation, etc. In order to capture a crystal clear recording, you might want to set up a home studio. Once you create a voice demo audio file, market it to various recording studios. And yes, there is a need to visit recording studios, so this is not a complete stay-at-home job!

We hope we have sparked your interest in a freelance career with this wide range of stay-at-home job opportunities for moms. Most of these jobs merely require uninterrupted broadband connection, power supply and passion, which are easy-wins for the majority of us. Go ahead and build your career as you watch your children grow at the same time!

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