Work at Home Jobs for Special Needs Moms
If you look at this blog’s Facebook page, you’ll see that under “Hours” it says that I am available Monday through Friday from 9-3. Many moms are in the same predicament. We already know that there is a wage gap between men and women, and for special needs moms, the gap widens. Usually when you hear “Work at Home Jobs for Moms” you think of selling something or making a significant financial investment in something with no guarantees of returns.
Me staying at home-it was a tough decision we had to make. My husband has more earning potential than I did (when we were both working outside the home). And Kevin has numerous appointments, illnesses, random days off from school and other weekday/workday activities that require my attendance.
As it turned out, I lost my teaching job as a result of the 2008 financial crisis and was able to collect unemployment while I learned other skills. We had recently received Kevin’s diagnoses and I started becoming an IEP Advocate. But, the pay is less and I was not hired right away either. I spent many months volunteering before I was hired.
It’s a question that we hear often in the group. “How do you do it?” and “I’m getting in trouble at work for being absent so much.”
Technology has evolved so much in just the past 10 years. It has opened up so many opportunities for tele-commuting and working from home.
Before you make the leap to switch jobs to work at home, you may want to talk with your boss or HR department to see if telecommuting is an option for you. The pandemic certainly changed the landscape of this.
Not all of these jobs take place all the time in your home, but for the most part, offer flexibility and the ability to work weekdays 9-3.
At Home Jobs for Moms
Virtual Assistant-You’ll hear lots of people telling to you “start a blog!” and tell you that you can make money blogging. You can, but chances are, those folks also have a blogging course of some kind to sell you. Or web hosting and other services that will be profitable to them if you sign up. Building a blog is a lot of work. But, many successful bloggers use Virtual Assistants. Virtual Assistants do everything from scheduling social media, making graphics and ‘pins’ for blogs, writing posts, editing, writing and answering email, replying to blog comments and so much more. Think about what you’re good at and my recommendation is to specialize in something. I know one Virtual Assistant who literally makes thousands each month because she taught herself to be an expert in running Facebook Ads for clients. There are Facebook groups for VAs or Virtual Assistants that you can join where site owners and VAs exchange jobs.
Customer Service-Big companies such as Amazon, American Express and Humana now offer Customer Service positions that are telecommuting jobs. Any of the big job posting sites will have multiple listings.
Non-Profit Work– I have many, many friends who work online for a non-profit. Fundraising, social media, copywriting, outreach, membership, and advocacy are just a few of the things they do. Small non-profits and NGOs work with very limited budgets. Many are happy to not have to have office space for all employees.
Special Education Advocate-Once you’re comfortable with your own child’s IEP, start volunteering to help friends and family. From there, you can take classes and attend conferences to become a Special Education Advocate. I do most of my consulting, research, and writing between 9-3 and after the kids go to bed. Occasionally I have an early morning or late afternoon meeting that requires a sitter, but most IEP meetings are held during the school day.
Online Teaching or Tutoring– I have a friend who is teaching for VIP Kid and putting all the money toward her student loans. It’s all online. Most of the companies require at least a bachelor’s degree. And online tutoring is huge right now! There are lots of companies that offer this.
Stuff other people don’t want to do-Or, I should say, have time for. People are busy! And some are willing to pay others for the chores they don’t want to do. Grocery shopping, taking cars to service centers, taking pets to the vet and other errands. You can pick your own customers and make your own hours. I see people in my town advertising their services in Community Facebook groups. And they always have people inquiring about their offers. This is also popular if you have a senior citizen community nearby as sometimes they no longer drive.
Thrifting– Yes, this is a thing. And thanks to Marie Kondo, you can be more successful than ever. I have this friend. She goes to the local Goodwill outlets, where they sell the merchandise by the pound. (You have to sift through it in large bins) Having 3 kids herself, she knows what moms are looking for. So when she finds something good, she buys it for pennies. Then, she takes it home, washes it and resells it at local consignment sales. With everyone joining the “decluttering trend” you can find some really good stuff now. Start in your own home first. Clean it out and sell your clutter for cash. You can also offer to clean out your parents’, friends’ or neighbors’ homes and give them a percentage of what you sell.
Cooking– Love to cook? Are you good at it? I have a friend and a few days a month, she rents a commercial kitchen. (most churches, fire companies, etc. have them) She makes healthy, locally sourced, home-cooked meals and sells them. She sells them on Facebook and everything sells out every week. People love home-cooked, healthy, locally-sourced meals!
Writing– Maybe it’s time to polish up those writing skills or that English degree you never used. There are all kinds of online writing gigs available thanks to the internet. Want to work for yourself? Find a niche and go with it. Some writers do only cover letters and resumes, or college applications.
Side Hustle Passion-I have a friend who makes hair bows and sells them online. Another makes custom designs with her Silhouette machine and sells them. I have a friend who is just starting to make decorated birthday cakes and sell them to close family and friends. What is your passion? How can you monetize it? It might have to be a side hustle as first, but you can make it work if it’s your passion.
Staying at Home
Making the decision to stay at home is a big one. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that it takes a lot of planning and cost-cutting. However, we have found that no longer having the stress of “who’s going to call out to stay with Kevin” is priceless. That being said, there are material things we do without. It doesn’t bother us but it was an adjustment.