How to Start a Work at Home Mom Business

ARE YOU WONDERING HOW YOU CAN START A WORK AT HOME MOM BUSINESS WHILE TAKING CARE OF YOUR KIDS?

Trying to figure out how to start a work from home mom business can be so overwhelming, it almost makes you want to give up on the idea!

There are so many things to consider like:

What kind of business should you start? How do you find the time to work with kids at home?

And we haven’t even talked about if your business can actually make money or just be a waste of time and resources.

If all this makes you think twice about starting a work from home mom business, take a deep breath because there’s a step-by-step way of doing things without getting too overwhelmed.

While working from home with kids is quite challenging, it’s also the best option for moms who want to spend time at home raising their kids while contributing to their family’s finances.

So if you’re thinking of giving up on your dream to become a work from home mom, let me show you how you can go about things so you can launch your business in no time.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy anything using my links, I may receive a small commission.

STEPS TO STARTING A WORK AT HOME MOM BUSINESS

1. KNOW YOUR WHY FOR STARTING A BUSINESS

Why do you want to start a business?

Yes, I know that for some of you, your reason for wanting to start a business may be financial, and that’s a very strong reason for wanting to start a business.

But, I want you to go beyond that. Here’s what I mean:

What would happen if you don’t start your business or if your business fails?

Would it affect your life in a big way? Do you need to start a business to make extra money to support your family, pay of debt or make a down payment for a house?

Is working from home a necessity, something you want to try because you’re bored or some other reason?

The reason this is important is that unless you have a very strong why for starting your business, you may just give up when things get very hard.

Notice I said when and not if.

The truth is, there are days when you will feel like quitting because everything that can go wrong is going to go wrong.

Some days you’re going to be too tired to work because you stayed up the whole night nursing a sick kid or a colicky baby.

Unless, you have a strong why, you may find yourself not putting in enough effort to grow your business and you may end up not making any money.

Because here is the thing.

Working from home is hard and it requires consistency if you want to see growth.

An inconsistent work at home mom is going to struggle to grow her business.

So I want you to think deep and hard about why you want to start a business and whether you’re ready to make some sacrifices to succeed.

2. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS

Along the same lines as knowing your why, it’s important to also know your personal goals.

What are your short-term and long-term goals?

The reason this is important is because your goals or your family’s goals is going to determine what kind of work at home business you should start.

For example, if your goal is to travel the world (or move to another state) and to live or work from anywhere, then starting a home health business won’t align with your goals since you need to be present to run that sort of business.

You see where I’m going with this?

So before starting a business (or choosing a business idea), spend some time to think of your goals (both short and long term).

Also consider your financial goals for starting a business.

What I mean is, how much would you like to earn from your business? The amount of money you’d like to earn is also a factor when deciding what kind of business to start.

How much you want to earn will also affect how much time and resources you’re willing to invest in your business.

I hope all of this makes sense.

3. BRAINSTORM BUSINESS IDEAS

Now that you’ve determined your why and identified your goals, it’s time to research some business ideas.

There are lots of business ideas for moms and it can be a bit overwhelming to choose a business idea.

When choosing a business idea, consider your strengths and weaknesses, your target customers, market demand and the time and financial investment to start and grow the business.

Don’t start a business because everyone is doing it. Pick a business idea because you know you have what it takes to grow the business and make it profitable.

You also want to think about the legal requirements when brainstorming business ideas.

If you’re feeling a little stumped, check out these posts for a list of work at home business ideas for moms.

Home Business Ideas: 8 Ways to Start a Work From Home Business

76 Proven Home Based Business Ideas

4. CHOOSE THREE TO FIVE IDEAS THAT ALIGN WITH YOUR GOALS

After brainstorming some ideas, the next step is to narrow down your ideas.

One of the things that hold many women back from starting their business is because they have too many ideas and don’t know which one to pick.

In a way, it’s a good problem to have, but not if it stops you from making progress.

Think of it like this.

Not every idea is going to be profitable. You’re going to be more skilled at one thing more than others.

In a similar vein, some business ideas may require capital or funding that you don’t have.

Basically, some ideas are not going to be worth pursuing for one reason or the other.

Hopefully, you can narrow down your ideas to between three and five.

5. RESEARCH THE IDEAS ON YOUR SHORT LIST AND CHOOSE ONE

So you have determined your why, identified your goals, brainstormed some business ideas and narrowed them down.

The next step is to choose your business idea.

Before making a final decision, think about the following:

Which idea are you most passionate about?
Is there a learning curve associated with the idea?
Do you need other people or professionals to help you execute the idea?
Do you have the resources to execute this idea?
Is it a money-making idea?
Can you launch the business within a short amount of time or do you need to learn a lot of stuff before you can become a work from home mom?

The reason why I asked about the learning curve is because while it’s possible to learn a skill before you can start a business, you have to factor in the extra cost and additional time it would take you to learn that skill.

That’s why it’s better (or at least what I recommend) that you use you existing skills, knowledge and experience to start a business.

Of course you have to keep learning new things to grow your business, but it’s easier to start a business with your existing skill (or be willing to invest lots of time and/or money into learning).

6. IDENTIFY YOUR CUSTOMERS

Now you’ve chosen your work at home mom business idea, it’s time to identify your customers.

Your customers are the people you want to help or serve with your business.

Identifying your customers also involve identifying the problem or problems you’re going to serve for them.

It’s very important that you have a specific group of people that you’re targeting because everyone can’t be your customer.

Depending on the type of business you want to start, identifying your customers may require some trial and error so don’t let that derail you.

But at the very least, you should have a general idea of the problem you want to solve and the people you want to serve.

7. MAKE A LIST OF WHAT YOU NEED TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS

You’ve arrived at the fun part!

What do you need to turn your dream into reality?

This is the part where you get to run loose and purchase every single thing you need for your business because you don’t do things in half measures.

Except not really!

When you’re starting out, don’t make the mistake of investing too much money all at once.

You actually need to exercise a lot of caution at this point because it’s easy to get carried away.

When starting out, the smart thing to do is to stick with the basics.

By basics, I mean the things you absolutely must have (aka your business essentials).

Everything else can follow later.

The best way to do this is to make a list of your essentials, then estimate the cost of purchasing those essential business items.

I recommend you do as much stuff as you can, but don’t skimp on resources that will actually help you start and grow your business.

You need to figure out what those things are depending on the kind of business you want to start.

8. MAKE A LIST OF YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

Are you planning to offer a service or sell some products (digital or physical)?

Make a list of the services you plan to offer or the products you plan to sell.

Of course this would probably change after your business takes off, but you can always tweak your products or services when you start receiving feedback.

Your products or services is what you plan to offer to your customers to help them solve their problem.

It’s also how you plan to make money in your business.

So that’s something for you to think about.

As a rule of thumb, it’s better to start with a few products or offer a few services when you’re just starting out.

This way, you won’t be too overwhelmed and you’ll find it easier to stay focused and motivated.

9. CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN

Before you freak out, I don’t mean a thirty-page document full of big words and empty phrases.

You definitely don’t need anything too elaborate.

All you need is maybe a one-page document with some basic information like:

The name of your business/website and social media address (if applicable)
Your mission statement (basically the reason your business exist, what you want to do)
Business bank account
Sources of funding
Ways to make money

And any other important information.

Don’t spend too much time on this because like everything else, you can always go back and tweak it.

Your business plan is just a guide or road map to help you stay on track.

10. CREATE A MARKETING PLAN

I had to mention this because this is something that’s often ignored and usually leads to a lot of diappoinment.

You need a marketing plan for your work at home mom business.

Do you know one of the biggest challenges mompreneurs face if finding and getting customers?

That’s why you need to think about this from the get-go so you can stay a step ahead.

Just like the business plan, all you need is a simple plan highlighting how you plan to reach your customers.

How are you going to announce your existence to them?

Because if no one knows that you exist, you aren’t going to have a business

I admit that marketing isn’t one of my favorite things to do, but it’s a necessary thing so I have to do it.

When creating your marketing plan, think about who your customers are, where they hang out and the best medium to reach them.

And don’t forget to create a marketing budget no matter how small it is.