I Need Ideas...How to make money from home?

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I am in a predicament. We have an abundance of debt and the rising costs of fuel and everything else have put us in a tight pinch. I know I could go to work full time but I really do not want to and don’t really have the means because we only have one vehicle. I work a few days a month but that is not enough to help. I have to work around my husband’s schedule since we only have one vehicle. I am a librarian, can do a little bit of web development (I maintain my church’s web page), and can research just about anything. I have recently helped my sister put together a professional portfolio, resume, and numerous cover letters. I also found jobs for her to apply for that fit her skills. My question is whether or not there are any job opportunities out there that would allow me to do this stuff from home to make a little extra money. I have done the research but don’t know if anybody would be willing to use these services or not. I have thought about setting up a web page to see if anybody would be interested. I have thought about setting up some kind of consulting business but am not sure where to begin. I also need to find the self confidence to start a venture like this. I guess I am just trying to get some ideas on how I could best use my skills to work from home so I don’t have to worry about child care and getting a second vehicle. I could use any advice, suggestions, feedback, or prayers.
 
The main thing we need to know is “Do you have children living at home?” and if so, “How old are they?” “How deeply are you in debt?”

If you do not have children at home the solution is easy. Those who have businesses at home usually have a small nest egg to fall back on. This is true about starting any business. Assuming your debt is a problem your best bet is to work as many hours as you can at the library until most of your debt is gone and you have a small nest egg. Then cut back a little on the library work and start whatever business you like. Most business start up fail within a year and lose money. But there are enough that make money that people keep trying. But I would advise that you not do it unless you can afford to lose money.

Real Estate is still the surest way to make money and while its possible to do it without money it is rather risky.

If you have children at home the preparation will take a little longer because you probably would not want to work outside the home full time.

You are in my prayers.

CDL
 
One idea would be to buy and sell items. For example, you could buy antiques/furniture then clean/refinish them and resell them. If you have very little money, you could buy and sell one item at a time.
 
I recently met up with a friend who told me his wife was actually selling on Ebay and making a decent income. There are actually books out there on how to make money on Ebay, check out your local bookstore on Library.
 
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GregoryPalamas:
The main thing we need to know is “Do you have children living at home?” and if so, “How old are they?” “How deeply are you in debt?”
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I have an 18 month old and a 4 year old. We are on the verge of bankruptcy. There is no way I could work enough hours at the library to offset the cost of childcare, getting a car (gas, insurance, maintenance), plus have enough left to put towards bills and/or making a nest egg. I really don’t have the money to invest in a business. We are barely scraping by now. I want to know if there is anything I can do with my skill set that won’t require me to invest a lot of money. Ebay sounds great but I don’t own anything that I can sell on e-bay right now. My husband and I have taken inventory of what we can sell but that probably won’t be enough at this point.
 
I used to buy religious goods on e-bay. One day one of the sellers accidently included the catalog where they bought their products. The markup was unbelievable! I now buy from the source. When I go to e-bay and look around I have the knowledge of how much things really cost. If I had the drive I might do the selling.
 
Consider getting approval and do some child care in your home. There are so many working parents who would relish having somewhere safe and secure to bring their children.
 
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mastda:
I recently met up with a friend who told me his wife was actually selling on Ebay and making a decent income. There are actually books out there on how to make money on Ebay, check out your local bookstore on Library.
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I’m a stay-at-home mom who sells on ebay to supplement my husband’s income.

But if you’re going to sell there, you really need to have some items that are difficult to find elsewhere, like out-of-print books. We have records, CDs, tapes, videos, and DVDs that my husband has picked up for next to nothing at thrift stores and garage sales. We then mark them up about 2-3 times what we paid for them. Occasionally something we bought for a quarter has sold for $100 or more, but that is the rare exception.

Ebay can help get you out of debt, but I wouldn’t count on it as a primary source of income unless you happen to have a lot of rare, one-of-a-kind items you want to get rid of.

If you need to know more about selling on ebay, feel free to PM me.
 
Kay Cee:
I’m a stay-at-home mom who sells on ebay to supplement my husband’s income.

But if you’re going to sell there, you really need to have some items that are difficult to find elsewhere, like out-of-print books. We have records, CDs, tapes, videos, and DVDs that my husband has picked up for next to nothing at thrift stores and garage sales. We then mark them up about 2-3 times what we paid for them. Occasionally something we bought for a quarter has sold for $100 or more, but that is the rare exception.

Ebay can help get you out of debt, but I wouldn’t count on it as a primary source of income unless you happen to have a lot of rare, one-of-a-kind items you want to get rid of.

If you need to know more about selling on ebay, feel free to PM me.
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My husband also sells on Ebay. He resells GI Joe toys. He buys they as cheap as he can then resells them. They ones from the 1980s have sold for hundreds of dollars at times. It is not our primary source of income and a certain amount keeps getting reinvested in the “business”. I think for him it is more of a hobby, but I doubt we could make living off of it.
 
I think you could certainly pursue the Web design thing too. Approach real estate agents or other small businesses and offer to do their website. You might have to start volunteering your services at first, but once you get a “portfolio” of websites together, you can offer your services for a fee and show they your work. There are many books on this subject that I have seen on Barnes & Noble.com and other places.
 
A Home Equity Line of Credit might help if you are buying your own home.

If you can design websites for others that would be good as well.

Childcare in your home is good. When you have time then squeeze in library work.

Various streams of income seem to be the order of our day.

If all else fails you may have to move into cheeper digs for the time being.

CDL
 
Take the children to the library on a good day and look at the all materials for entrepeneurs from home. On a bad day, do a web search of two. Just be very careful you aren’t hooking into something that is going to take more money.

There’s Q-Biz if you have that Avon/ Tupperware/ Amway type spirit. It’s all on a web site, and a lot less pushy than any of those things I’ve mentioned. Best of all, you don’t have to have an inventory in your garage or spare bedroom or closet.

You can take in other people’s children.

If you like animals, you can actually baby-sit pets, set up a grooming service, do pet walks. Just make sure if you’re grooming, or you’re watching more than one pet, they’ve all had their shots.

The morning paper needs to be delivered. It will involve a car and getting up very early in the morning, but from what I’ve seen, it does not pay badly, and you can be home before Hubby has to go to work.

How about a chore or errand service?

These are just a few ideas. Use your imagination and see what you can think on your own.👍
 
What about after-school tutoring or creating an after-school reading enrichment program.
 
Something a friend of my mother’s did when her husband left her and she had three young boys to raise, was to take in typing. She would use her computer and type everything from college papers to transcribing tapes or documents from various professionals. I think she worked for an actual service company that supplied her with the materials/clients that needed typing done. However, she did this all at night after the kids were in bed and was a full-time teacher during the day while they were at school.

This was all at least ten or so years ago so I don’t know if there is still the need for typists but I would think so.

Just an idea! If you know how to use a computer, you probably know how to type well, too. And there wouldn’t be an investment, either.

typeit.vmcm.net/

Here’s a website that supposedly employees stay-at-home moms…I just did one google search and tons of stuff came up, so look around…you could also do professional proof-reading, as you ARE a librarian…
 
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Princess_Abby:
Something a friend of my mother’s did when her husband left her and she had three young boys to raise, was to take in typing. She would use her computer and type everything from college papers to transcribing tapes or documents from various professionals. I think she worked for an actual service company that supplied her with the materials/clients that needed typing done. However, she did this all at night after the kids were in bed and was a full-time teacher during the day while they were at school.

This was all at least ten or so years ago so I don’t know if there is still the need for typists but I would think so.

Just an idea! If you know how to use a computer, you probably know how to type well, too. And there wouldn’t be an investment, either.
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I knew someone a long time ago was a medical transcriptionist. I don’t know what training, if any, is needed, though. But she made decent money from home.
 
DD created a crafters website when she was at home with babies called craftfair.com or something like it, sold crafts and craft supplies, did so well someone bought the site because the design was so good. Made a nice little nestegg. She and DH also installed home entertainment and sound systems in new construction for a while. Another daughter booted a temp secretarial job to full time tech writer, and convinced employer to allow her to do it at home after baby came, she goes in the office one morning a week. She also does grant writing and editing at home, but worked on these contacts before baby was born.
 
Another idea: sell baked goods such as cookies. I know of a very large pizza restaurant that started decades ago by someone selling pizza out of the back of their car/truck - I think it was a station wagon.

If the cookies are good people will buy them. Suppose you baked 30 cookies and made 10 bags of 3 cookies each. If you can sell those 10 bags (e.g. $1 ea.) then you know you can repeat the process and each time improve a little bit. You can also ship them.

Perhaps something along those lines.
 
Are you able to tutor? I charge $30/ hour if I go to them and $25/ hour if they come to me. —KCT
 
Investigate becoming a cleaning service - you can schedule this around your DH work schedule, cleaning offices and businesses is almost always done “after hours”. Check with Real Estate offices, they hire people to clean condo’s and rental properties…
 
just read where the woman who created the Baby Einstein videos did this at home for her own baby, and sold the series to Disney for millions.

SIL used to work through realtors to handle estate sales, that is clearing out the houses of those who died leaving homes to be sold. After the executor was done taking away the heirlooms and valuables, she had tag sales or auctions to sell the rest of the contents, taking a percentage. She made enough to put her kids through private schools, and at one time had some people working for her, who cleaned the homes once they were empty.
 
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