Work at home mothers

[Ladyluck]

Hi all! :)

I am a mother of one 2 year old boy.
I quit my job a year ago to stay home full time to care for him until he starts school, but I am now looking to start a business at home to gain some extra income.

What sorts of business opportunities could I look for that don't require more than 5 hours per day of work?

Any help appreciated!

[Administrator]

You can try doing paid surveys from home, but this is not a steady job.

You can also start a website about something you are interested and display a paid advertising there. However creating a website and getting visitors to it might be a slow process if you don't have experience.

[Ladyluck]

Yes, Im not keen on paid surveys and things. I already do some of those, Im lucky to earn $10 per month from that.
It's certainly not a reliable income.

I dont know alot about creating websites, so that might be off the cards.

I would like to start some sort of Ebay business, but I would have to find a good niche to be successful there.

[trappercase]

I've heard of people that make a lot of money on ebay. Some people actually buy stuff at Walmart and resell it on ebay for a profit. Another trick is to actually buy stuff on ebay and resell it. One trick for this is to search for misspelled auctions that people that can spell will never see, so the bids will be low. Buy it and sell it again with the correct spelling. Just a thought.

[lookingforjob]

One trick for this is to search for misspelled auctions that people that can spell will never see, so the bids will be low. Buy it and sell it again with the correct spelling. Just a thought.

The misspelled auctions idea is a very good one, I admit. Some people cannot spell, others are in a hurry and misspell because of that, etc. The final result is that there are many, many misspelled auctions and you can use it to your advantage.

If you look at the misspelled domain business, you'll find out that people make millions of dollars, by simply placing a few ads on a misspelled domains.

I don't forget to spell check ;)

[April]

Usually sellers on ebay have their items in categories, and it doesn't matter if they are misspelled or not, as searchers will see all auctions within that category.

I can see what you are saying, however I dont think it's a very reliable business model! :)

[trappercase]

No, not a business model but a way to find some cheap inventory for ebay. I'm not sure about the category arguement though. If I am looking for a pair of Levis and the seller is selling Levys, the Levys will not show up in my search.

[lana]

Being a mother of a 2 year old myself I can't spare 5 hours a day to work. It is just impossible. 2 hours, well maybe. I’ve red in a magazine about running a home business for stay-at-home moms. You need to set a goal first, how much would you like to make for example. One of the women in that magazine wanted to make the same money she received as maternity benefits so she started musical classes for babies and toddlers and now she reached her goal and thinks of hiring people and starting more classes.
Just an idea…

[sleek]

I think it depends how well behaved your children are! :)

If they are quiet and are happy to amuse themself, you could definitely spend around 4 hours per day working.
If they are a little hyperactive though, you'll be lucky to get one hour of work in a day.

I would suggest sending them to daycare at least once a week so you can catch up on work.

[mousellaneous]

Have you by chance tried looking into joining some affiliate programs on the internet? It is really simple to set up and can literally make money for you while you sleep. Affiliate programs are easy to set up with little or no cost. Clickbank has a marketplace full of affiliate programs you can choose from. I have a website at [EDIT: NO SELF PROMOTION ALLOWED] that has the marketplace in case you want to view what it looks like. That being said, I am not here to sell anything, you will not pay anything to view my site, I'm just offering this to show you an example of what kind of affiliate programs are available. I hope this may help. Take care.

[mousellaneous]

I almost forgot, I saw there were a few mentions of misspelled listings on eBay. I'll tell you what I use, it's called Misspell Generator and is available at [EDIT: NO SELF PROMOTION ALLOWED] . I won't go into all the details here, just go to that link and read all about it there if you want.

I sell Disneyana on eBay and the first time I used it I won a 1936 Pluto pull-string puppet that was valued at over $200 and I paid only $15 for it! The seller spelled puppet "Pupet". This software IS a one-time purchase, but it paid for itself the first time I used it.

I also have to disagree with one of the earlier postings that mentioned the categories showing all the listings wether they are misspelled or not. That part is true! However, the majority of people on eBay search by keywords not categories, therefore the misspelled listings will not show up in a search unless you misspelled it wrong the same way to begin with. You wouldn't believe how many people spell "Computer" wrong. Or how about "Louis Vuitton", the current #5 search on eBay.

Best wishes to everyone!

[Ladyluck]

I had never thought of profiting off mispelled words on ebay.. interesting and very smart idea :D

Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions, you are all very helpful :)

[Mommyfirst]

Hi! I am in the process of building a site escpecially for Moms and retired individuals who are looking for options to work from home. My site is up and running and I am involved in a few companies myself. Although it is still under construction, perhaps there might be something of interest for you. Most of the companies I have researched myself and I personally know the contact people and that they are successful. I live just outside of Halifax and I am in the process of organizing a "Connections Day" here with representatives present to answer questions about their companies, being self-employed, tax questions and internet and one-to-one marketing. I think you can email me as i have opted to allow it in my profile...Thanks,
Leigh

[kpfingaz]

Affiliate marketing is a good way to work from home if you learn the process correctly. Many people struggle with it because they don't look at it as a real business which it is.

Large websites earn hundreds of thousands a month (myspace.com for example) and you can earn hundreds and even thousands if you set it up right.

[justkatni]

I found a site that might help.

I don't think that I am allowed to post it here, but you can email me and I would be happy to send it your way. :)

my email address is justkatni@yahoo.ca