FreelanceMom is all about being a Work at Home Mom. Our goal is to share success and inspiration with you. This community is for women who already are work at home Moms and women who want to become a work at home Mom.

There are so many ways that women can make a living while staying home with their children. The number one rule of thumb of course is -- Do what you LOVE! If you love what you do, not only will you be good at it, but your enthusiasm will be 'catchy' and you will undoubtably be successful.

Women are often surprised to find out how many supporters they have out there in the world. People truly resonate with the ideal of children having their Mothers home with them - and I have found that they often times are more than willing to compromise and work with you to make it possible. There have been a few key positions I have landed as a Virtual Assistant based on the fact that I AM a work at home Mom.

The most important message I want to give you is to look in your heart. What do you WANT to do? What are you GOOD at? OR - What do you know you COULD be good at if given the chance? That is where you will find your genuine niche and your genuine happiness.

If you have an educational background - don't be afraid to branch out on your own and use it. One close friend of mine makes well over $200,000 a year running a Public Relations business out of her home office. She is a confident, loving and courageous woman who dared to step forward and live her dream. Her husband has told me that you wouldn't be able to her to stop what she is doing, it IS what she adores. Meanwhile, both she and her daughter benefit from the closeness of her being a Work at Home Mom.

We can substitute Mom - but there is no replacement for Mom. You love your children more than anyone is capable of doing. Wouldn't it be terrific to be there for your children, and also run a successful business?

If you have computer skills, there are all sorts of 'jobs' you can do from home. More and more companies are launching websites these days -- many business are strictly web based and have no brick-and-mortar establishment. So who do they hire to work for them? Virtual Assistants (VA's)! We will be giving you a lot of information on pursuing becoming a VA in different articles on the site. But briefly, a VA executes the same types of functions that an administrative assistant executes - only from her home office.

Are you creative? Artistic? Do you have a flair for Marketing? Could you open a Home Day Care or a local Errand Business? Can you offer massage therapy? How about a Kennel?

What I am trying to touch on here is that there really is no end to what you can come up with to do from your home. You simply have to embrace your desires and your dreams - do some planning and implement! But be sure to come back often, and tell us all about your success!

For more Home Business Ideas, sign up for our Work at Home Mom Newsletter and visit our Work at Home Mom Freelance Gigs page.

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Work at Home ebooks

I recently found a site selling ebooks on specific home business ideas. They cover a broad range of topics from selling infant clothing, scrapbooking, and gift baskets to running your own errand business.

I have not personally read ANY of these ebooks, but it looks like there are some good informative ones there and want to provide it as a resource. You also will be supporting Work at Home Moms through your purchase of the ebooks so I feel good about recommending them for that reason as well.

If anyone buys or has bought any of these ebooks in the past and wants to submit a review of any of them, please email me.

The site is: MyMommyBiz.com - I look forward to hearing about your experiences with these books.

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How forum member and moderator 'rhondab' works from home helping local realtors!

rhondab

Many realtors like to have a "personal assistant" who will make their brochures for the homes they have listed (they can be created in a word processor and converted to pdf and then emailed to the realtor, or hard copies printed & mailed).

If you have (and are fairly good at it) a digital camera and can go and take photos of homes that realtors have listed, many times the realtors don't have (or take) the time to do the photos themselves.

Realtors like to send out mass mailings (postcards usually). Sometimes when they sell a house they will do a mass mailing to everyone on the street or in the subdivision saying "We just sold your neighbor's house at 123 Some Street and we wanted to let you know if you are considering selling your home or buying a new home that we are here to serve you!" (something like that). Offer to help with their mailing lists and mailings, etc.

Real estate offices usually have a weekly sales team meetings. A person could call the Broker or Office Manager and ask if they could make a small presentation (5-10 min. only) to the realtors at their sales meeting. Have plenty of brochures printed and business cards on hand and put one in every realtor's hand in that meeting. Or call the Office Manager and just see if you can put brochures in the realtors' mail boxes if you don't feel comfortable speaking to a group of people.

Find and go to local networking meetings.

www.digital-women.com is a good website and so is www.virtualbizgroup.com

Just contact local realtors and ask if they have considered using a "virtual assistant". Study up on the internet on what "virtual assistant" means. This, of course, requires skills/background in clerical/administrative work.

Some realtors pay someone to do their "running". If your kids are in school, during the day you could put up or take down realtors' yard signs, deliver papers for signing, take forms and have copies run, deliver paperwork to the realtor's office for processing, etc.

These are just some of the examples that can be done for realtors on a local level.

Make a nice flyer and put it up in different places like grocery stores, Wal-Mart, etc. on their bulletin board. Make it in some bright colors and something that will stand out from the rest (eye catching but not ugly or child like). (I hope that makes sense! )

Hope all this helps give some ideas.

Rhonda

Check out Rhonda's website: