Many years ago, making money from home was more of a pipe dream than a reality. There was no such thing as blogging, social media marketing, or ecommerce websites. If you wanted to work for yourself, your choices were limited to door to door sales or producing & selling your own things. Through advances in technology and the Internet boom, options to generate income from home are endless.
As a working mom, I have explored multiple work at home ventures. I needed to find a way to make money and still have the ability to spend as little time as possible away from my son. I have explored working in direct sales, blogging, taking surveys and now have entered into freelance writing. The best part about all of these opportunities are that they are legitimate employment and have great earning potential. Through trial and error I have found which of these work at home opportunities are for me, others might find success or excitement in these ventures.
As a self-proclaimed "mom-preneur," I truly feel that the Internet has brought about income generating opportunities for stay at home, full time mothers. Although the Internet has brought about some negative items, in my opinion the positive benefits outweigh them. By simply writing and maintaining a blog, I am able to monetize it in several different fashions. A few of the ways I have been able to generate capital from my specific blog has been sponsored posts, ad placement, content marketing, and affiliate marketing. Although I am not one of them yet (hoping someday in the future) there are many people out there who make a 6 figure income from their blogs, writing about something that generates passion inside them and sharing those thoughts and ideas with others. To be able to do this while being a full time mother and spending time with my children is something that was not even a possibility in the recent past.
You do not need to be a self processed entrepreneur in order to work from home. There is also the ability to telecommute large companies that hire work from home employees. For example, Amazon hires people answering calls and helping customers with various requests from the comfort of your own home office. Many employment opportunities like this also include benefits, which when you have a family to take care of are a huge plus. Typically they ask that you don't have your children around you while you are working, because that may be a distraction.
The biggest downside to most work from home opportunities is that the income is often not guaranteed or stable. As a freelance writer, I am limited to the number of clients, rate I charge, and my own productivity. If I have an "off" week, then you will not see any money coming into your bank account. This is the reason most people have a hard time taking the leap from an office job to working from home (myself included). When you have responsibilities and bills to pay, it's hard to put all your eggs in one volatile basket. However, there are many work from home jobs with guaranteed hours, like customer service call centers.
From someone who has always felt a need to "be my own boss," I understand completely the difficulties you may face being employed by someone else. You can't set your own hours, and in most cases you are told what to do, and how to do it. Don't be afraid to explore your options like I have, and most people can find something that both they enjoy and generates income. The internet is an amazing place, and you may be surprised at what career choices you may find.