Updated January 2024

An increasing number of moms are looking for a way to be at home with their children all the while earning income and staying on the job market. 

Sounds impossible? 

It doesn’t have to be. 

But you have to be willing to rethink your idea of a workweek. 

Being a working stay at home mom (or a WSAHM) will require you to find a job flexible enough that it can be completed around your kids schedules. 

Can SAHM’s Also Work?

When I became a WSAHM in 2016, I changed my career path and used my skills to find work that would accommodate my family’s needs. I hold a Bachelors in English Literature and always had a passion for writing. So when the opportunity presented itself, content writing was an obvious switch for me. 

Although I mostly work with the same marketing firms, I always opted to remain an independent contractor instead of a paid employee. I did this to have complete freedom over the amount of hours I work per month and the projects I accept. Being a project based contractor best suits my needs. It provides me with the flexibility I need in case the kids are home from school on holiday or because they are sick.

When the kids are home from school, I switch my schedule to early mornings (before my husband R starts his workday) and evenings (when R’s workday is done). On good days, I can have my work done early enough to still be part of the bedtime routine. On less productive days or busier weeks, I sometimes have to work later than I’d like to admit, but I accept it as a part of the life I chose to lead. Here’s more on a typical day in the life of a WSAHM.

I am living proof that being a project based worker is a great way to earn a living being a WSAHM. 

So, if you have skills that can translate into freelance or independent contractor work, go for it!

Many part-time jobs can easily be adapted to a WSAHM lifestyle. You just need to know what you want and be open to taking a leap of faith. 

Don’t know where to start?

To avoid having you end-up on a “get rich fast” site or a scammy “mommy jobs” site, I have come up with a list of jobs that real women I have met did as WSAHMs.  

6 Great Stay at Home Mom Jobs

1. Hairstylist

Average base salary $21.11 per hour as per Indeed.com

I know, it’s a little cliché as a stay at home mom jobs, but this is a legitimate, super flexible job for WSAHMs! My sister’s neighbor had a private hair salon in her basement and welcomed her clients only on weekends when her hubby was home. My sister moved now, but I hear that her savvy neighbor is still in business today. She has increased her working hours now that her kids are all older.

MODIFY THIS IDEA TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

You can convert this idea to several other professions that can have a private practice including, estheticians, massage therapists, nutritionists, chiropractors, counselors and other types of therapists, personal coaches, etc. 

If you don’t mind welcoming your clients or patients at home, this is the way to go.

2. Virtual Language Instructor 

Average base salary $23.32 per hour as per Indeed.com

A fellow parishioner is not only a WSAHM, but she also homeschools her four children! Her solution: she teaches English as a second language. Her clients are mostly located overseas, so they appreciate her ridiculously-early morning schedule.

If teaching pronunciations at 5am is your thing, then this could be a great job for you!

MODIFY THIS IDEA TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

This idea could easily be converted to online tutoring, bookkeeping, proofreading or any other teaching or administrative work that can be done virtually and at odd hours, including becoming a virtual assistant, a virtual customer service rep or doing data entry. Little known fact: I actually started as a virtual data entry clerk before the marketing firm I was working for gave me a shot at writing my first article.

3. Freelance Copywriter

Average base salary $36.60 per hour as per Indeed.com

Like thousands of other moms, I work as a copy/content writer in order to live a WSAHM lifestyle. Now that my 3 girls are in elementary school and R also works from home (full time), I can get away with working 20 hours per week. When my kids were all preschoolers, and R worked at the office with a 2-hour+ commute per day, I would work about 5 to 10 hours per week and that was plenty.

If the written word is your thing, you can also look into translating, editing, proofreading, and you can write for the web or for print.

MODIFY THIS IDEA TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

Convert this idea to any profession that you can do as a freelancer or independent contractor. From web development  and graphic design, to data analysis or consulting, the sky’s the limit in what you can actually do!

4. Dance Instructor

Average base salary $24.56 per hour as per Indeed.com

My husband’s cousin’s wife worked as a dance instructor for many years while raising her kids. She worked a few evenings and on Saturdays.

MODIFY THIS IDEA TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

This idea can easily be modified to similar jobs, such as a personal trainer, fitness instructor, private music teacher, etc.

5. Photographer

Average base salary $18.75 per hour as per Indeed.com

I once met a mom who would work as a portrait photographer. She mostly worked with local schools. On the days that she was busy snapping student school year pictures, her retired mother would take care of her 3-year old son. She would complete all the rest of her responsibilities in the evening, after her little one went to sleep.

MODIFY THIS IDEA TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

This idea can easily be converted to any job that you can do mostly at home with occasional “on-site” work. Possible ideas are interior decorating, home staging, home inspection, any kind of event work, including events entertainment, catering or decorating. My other sister actually works in the event industry. She is in contact with several Balloon Artists across the USA and Canada. I am told that many are full-time moms as well.

6. Private Nurse

Average base salary $38.83 per hour as per Indeed.com

A mom I met at my daughter’s “Welcome to Kindergarten Day” is able to have a WSAHM lifestyle by working as a private nurse. Most of her work consists of training fellow private nurses and a majority of her training courses can be followed online. She decided to do the switch after her son was born. She tried it out and has never looked back!

MODIFY THIS IDEA TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

Any experienced and highly skilled professional can adapt this idea to fit her needs. As a matter of fact, I once met a mom at the library who worked as a part-time research scientist. Most of her work consisted in collecting and analyzing data, and her work could be done entirely from home. So, if you’ve got skills to pay the bills, don’t hesitate and try it out!

Golden Rules for Work from Home Moms

Whichever type of work you do, remember these WSAHM golden rules. 

1. Plan Ahead 

Especially if your line of work requires you to meet with clients, ensure that you have someone to look after your little ones while you’re busy doing your thing.

2. Stay Flexible 

Even the most carefully thought out plan can be thrown off by a little stomach flu.

3. Don’t Overdo It

I have been doing this for long enough to know that a working stay at home mom with young kids works ideally 10 to 15 hours per week. During busy periods, or when the kids are a little older, you can stretch it out to about 20 hours. 

Any more than that, and you will quickly find yourself staying up later than a college student on energy drinks. Pulling constant late hours is not sustainable for very long.

If you are offered more work than you can handle, remind yourself why you have chosen this lifestyle in the first place. 

4. Don’t Kid Yourself Into Believing That Kids Starting School Means You Can Work More Hours 

Why? 

Two reasons. 

First, young kids seem to get the sniffles over and over again during the winter months, and you don’t want to get a bad rep for constantly canceling important meetings or missing deadlines.

Second, remember that there are only 180 to 190 school days in a year. That means that, unless you enroll them in a private daycare, they will be home with you for the other half the year!

So, unless you are not human and your body does not require you to sleep, keeping your schedule to up to 20 hours a week is plenty, believe me.

Adopting a working stay at home mom lifestyle can truly allow you to check all the boxes. It gives you the opportunity to stay at home with your little ones, all the while staying on the job market and earning an income. 

Especially in today’s world, many types of jobs can accommodate the WSAHM formula. The secret is in knowing what you really want and taking that leap of faith!  

Are you a Working Stay at Home Mom or planning to be? Feel free to share what your job is and how you manage your time in the comments below. 

Talk soon, 

The Working Stay at Home Mom