Work At Home Businesses For Parents

When I became a mother I knew I wanted to stay and home to raise my kids but I also knew I needed a work at home business.  This article is for parents who find themselves in the same boat of wanting to work from home but not knowing exactly what they can do to make money from home.  Here, I have compiled a bunch of Work At Home Mom (WAHM) Success Stories and few WAMD success stories as well.  I hope you find some inspiration as you read the stories of Work At Home Businesses and connect with what may work for you!

Make Money From Home Success Stories- Work At Home Businesses

My Story-
When I had children, I decided I wanted to work from home.  First, I tried being an independent distributor for Young Living because I love the essential oil and natural health products but I just didn’t make as much money as I wanted to earn.  Then I started this blog.  My biggest bit of advice is that it takes time to grow and you have to really get out there and network to help grow your business. It takes a lot of time and effort but you can make it happen.

After the birth of my first daughter, I left a career in Corporate America to be a stay-at-home mom and was soon faced with the all-too-familiar challenge of finding a way to remain productive while staying at home to raise my family. At the same time, my husband and I had just purchased our first house and–like most homeowners—we were struggling to find reliable home improvement contractors. When we finally found a responsible contractor, I felt compelled to share his name with other homeowners, friends and family. From that humble start, I launched and grew Home Remedies® of NY, Inc. into a personal concierge service linking homeowners with pre-screened, reliable home improvement professionals.  After my first year in business, I realized that there was a universal need for the services offered by an HRN. I decided to document the HRN business so that others could duplicate my model and launch similar businesses in their communities. The Complete Guide To Owning and Operating A Successful Homeowner Referral Network© is a comprehensive manual detailing step-by-step procedures on how to launch and operate a successful Homeowner Referral Network anywhere in the country.  To date, I have helped more than 300 women launch successful HRN businesses nationwide and my business has grossed almost $4 million to date. My husband says that I’m the “best investment he’s ever made.”
Debra Cohen of  Homeowners Referral Network

I recently transitioned from a SAHM to a WAHM.  I had been a museum educator and classroom teacher prior to having my son in 2009.  I struggled with the idea of going back to work full-time.  The lackluster economy and expensive childcare costs led me to choose “mommyhood”.  However my passion for education and the arts helped me to develop my consulting business.
Shnieka L. Johnson of SJ Arts and Education Consulting

I’m a who-ha retouch artist and I can work from my home studio and have started to. I can see that it works. It does slow life down a bit while still giving the client what they need and the quality they deserve. The equipment (MAC Pro, two displays, high end scanner, storage and a fast internet connection) are easy to come by. I also possess the savvy to understand the work and do it. Most important, working from a home studio gives me a personal life that I just never could have otherwise and didn’t have.
Arnie Kirschner of Image Artist

I own a medical/surgical distributorship, I started this company when my daughter was 1 (she is 3 now) as a way to continue to stay home with my daughter. We sell and market for medical manufacturers and service providers. Now about to head into year 3 (and with the addition of a new baby girl), NTX Medical is comprised of myself and a team of 12 sales reps (many of which are also stay-at-home moms-and we are hiring more frequently to cover our growing territory). What started as a way to make a small amount of additional income has turned into a signifcant source of income.  If we continue on track, my husband will be joining us in the next 6 months and leaving his corporate job, and by the time my girls start kindergarten, we are preparing to have an office/warehouse space outside of the house and branching into a larger distribution and logistics operation.
Audrey McLaughlin of  NTX Medical Sales

I’m owner of Inkandescent Public Relations and publisher of Be Inkandescent Magazine, which I founded in 2008.  I have also been a freelance journalist since 1993 — and always have worked from home. Ditto for my husband, illustrator Michael Gibbs. While we have toyed with getting office space, the expense — and the fact that we’d have to juggle child care — kept us right in our house, where we each have carved out space for offices. Not only is working from home a practical solution to growing and maintaining a small business, it cuts down on costs when we have staff meetings (the kitchen table is the perfect meeting spot, and hot coffee and sammies are just a few feet away in the fridge). I’d advise anyone who is starting a small business to consider this option!
Hope Gibbs of Be Inkandescent Magazine

Freshmade NYC has been a dream of mine for a little over 2 years now, since the birth of my daughter. Ironically, the idea began with the sheer exhaustion I felt at the idea making a healthy meal for myself and my husband in between taking care of a newborn. Being in New York City, I thought I could just find somewhere that would have really fresh, healthy meals delivered daily, but couldn’t really find what I was looking for. I realized I couldn’t possibly be the only new mother who felt this way and realized “I can do this!”. I love to cook and have been in the food service industry for almost my entire life. I’ve spent countless hours reviewing recipes, reading blogs, and making endless test meals. What started as an idea to nourish my family has now evolved into a truly rewarding career. My daughter is now a toddler and loves helping me as I grocery shop and cook and is the best test-taster for all Freshmade NYC’s yummy creations. Food is my passion. Including my daughter in this passion and creating this catering company based on nutritious and delicious food for kids is deeply important to me.
Cara Buffalino-Silman of Freshmade NYC

After 15 years in publicity (10 of which at Turner Entertainment Networks), I started working from home. I have two boys, ages 3 and 6, 2 dogs and a very busy household! I’ve been busy from day one! Probably too busy, but these days that’s not something to complain about. I love what I do. I love that I can sit here in my pajamas if I want and work on my website. Or that I can head out to a TV set and cover media junkets in Atlanta on occasion, do radio tours with TV stars from my home, work with bloggers on kids programming such as Yo Gabba Gabba! and more!
Michelle Sisco of Macaroni Kid

A life-long passion of mine has been digging and collecting antique glass and bottles reclaimed from the beautiful wooded habitats and rural farmlands where I live. These old dump sites are simply what people did with their used and broken glass back then, and are now a treasure trove for collectors. I have always thrilled at finding a pretty treasure to put in my window and add to my collection. After I had children, I would take them and tell them about the old glass and the history behind the pieces.
One thing that has always bothered my is how as collectors we take away the pretty whole pieces but leave the broken behind for the environment and wildlife to deal with. One day while kicking over leaves and scanning for treasures, I looked up and saw a mother doe standing not too far from me. Laying near her side was her baby fawn. When they caught my scent they were up and away and I was stuck by the realization that this baby fawn was laying on the jagged remains of an antique bottle. Hoping she wasn’t hurt, it hit me hard that day what we as humans have done to these beautiful habitats and the creatures that depend on them for survival. I set out on a new mission with this glass, now reclaiming the broken remains. After a huge amount of creative energy, trial and error, and plain old hard work what has emerged is my unique line of jewelry handmade from this reclaimed antique glass. As a collector I prepare for every piece “The Story of the Glass” detailing what the glass was originally and the age of the piece. They are truly a unique way to preserve history while helping the future. Hopefully, my effort will help remove some of this hazard.   My creations are currently in about 50 stores around the country, numerous websites, and two print catalogs, and I do it all from my home!
Laura Bergman Reclaim Artist

I am a web designer. I started a web design business part-time out of my
home 18 years ago. When I got downsized from corporate America three years later, I expanded my home-office web design business to become a full-time business in my basement and have been running Blarneystone Internet Services ever since. Ten years ago I wrote a book for fellow web designers (How to Start a Home-Based Web Design Business) and it is now in its 4th edition.
Jim Smith of Blarneystone Internet Services

After my daughter was born, I took a hard look at returning to my work as a non-profit executive and my realization was that the long hours, travel and focus needed would not provide me the time to be a mother I wanted to be. Slowly, I transitioned the best of my skills towards grant writing – it combined my writing abilities with my experience in budgeting well, and it allows me to work from home on a contract basis for several organizations – keeping me in the field, but also providing a way to be present in my daughters life. The flexibility this choice affords me allows time for the park and the library, while still experiencing achievement in my field. I looked into other forms of business, but given the start-up costs of many and the sales aspect, the best advice I would give anyone starting a home-based business is to focus on what you already know and figure out a creative way to repackage it to maximize existing connections while minimizing the outlay of funds.
Ann Kendall of Anne Kendall Grant Writing

Im a 31 year old mom of 4 in Houston, Texas. As a former teacher, I loved the education field but craved more independence and time with my family. I started my own college consulting business, Brand College Consulting, which helps teenagers get into the college of their choice. The ability to work from home is very convenient and I love helping people!
Jolyn Brand of Brand College Consulting

I started my craft services company Sunday Night Dinner (we feed crews that work on television shows) as a way to support my photography(I am a photojournalist who has traveled the world shooting for magazines such as Travel & Leisure and Food & WIne) the year I got married  in 1997. A few years later, I had my daughter and as I was at play date with other mom’s who were all brainstorming ways to start businesses so that they would not have to go back to work. I realized how lucky I was to have this thriving, successful business and so I set out to GROW the business. Over the past 15 years, having my business helped us put away $90k in the college fund for my daughter, save for retirement, create a work life in which I could pick my daughter up from the bus everyday after school and be with her until bedtime (even if I had to stay up late doing work after she went to bed). Last year, when I had the opportunity to buy an art studio, I was approved for an SBA loan easily based on my credit and business history with the bank – and now I am running three businesses. I am so grateful that my skills as an entrepreneur helped make having a family and running my businesses part of my personal story. I am forever grateful!
Cyndi Finkle of Sunday Night Dinner

Starting a business that you can do from home allows you time with your loved ones, gives you control over the amount of time and hours you work, and fosters a tremendous pride in creating your own success.