Obviously, with 2 little ones now and the prices of daycare, I am not going back to work anytime soon. Plus, I do not believe in letting other people raise my kids (no offense to those who do. I fortunately have the luxery of being able to stay home.
BUT...
My husband came home today saying the a fellow union his company employs members from is talking about striking. They have not decided yet whether or not they will. But if they do and they decide to picket outside my husbands company, obviously, he cannot cross because even though he is a different union, he is still union and cannot cross.
Being that we are in CA and ARE NOT a right to work protected state, he will have no choice but to find another job if they picket outside his work. Also, since he is the only source of income for the family, we will have nothing coming in. So... my question is... what can I do from home to supplement his income?
And please, no Avon, No Mary Kay, No pyramid schemes. None of that. Keep in mind, my background is in Administrative Assisting/customer service for 4 years I have worked for Realtor's, and insurance agents. I have also done sales very successfully, and have a degree in Interior Design.
Any advice would be appreciated?
Keep in mind, It would be very difficult for me to leave the house for more than an hour or so because my 2 week old is exclusively breastfed and will continue to be at least until 6 months of age. She does not get bottles or pacifiers under any circumstances. so basically, I do not leave the house very often without her so it needs to be something I can do from home
I think the idea for staging is brilliant!! So many homes go unsold because they are not positioned properly and are not appealing to buyers. If this takes off then you can eventually do it as a DBA (doing business as). You are going to be required to leave your home in order for you to give stage recommendations to sellers, but the short time is worth it if you do well. Good Luck.
An obvious choice to me, considering your real estate and interior design background would be staging homes for sale. Do you still have contacts in real estate? Maybe you could do "consults" for those homes that just aren't showing well and aren't getting offers?
You can look into the areas you have expertease in and see if there is something they will allow you to from home, I do two things I do Pre Paid Legal and I run a home daycare. J.
Take a child or two in for daycare. Even half day if there is a 1/2 day kindergarten in your area.
There are tons of Mom's that work but need summer help when school is out, etc.... put the word out to your friends.
DogSitting is another one. Where I live there is a place called "Pets Are Inn." When folks go out of town you keep their pet at your house because they don't want to put them in a kennel. They Charge $35/day!
In a pinch, you can babysit.
Just 1 child... or you will have to get 'licensed' etc.
Do it for a flat monthly or daily rate or per hour.
Also though, it has to be for someone that will be okay not claiming you on their taxes... since you are not licensed/don't have a 'business' license/tax ID number.
And with babysitting, you can still be home with your newborn.
I babysat/did childcare, with my 1st child.
Or, research "telecommuting" jobs in your area... or "freelancing." Or, if you still have connections in your field of your previous jobs... ask someone if they need assistance, that you can do from home... Admin help, scheduling, tracking of data etc. Are you computer literate?
Interior Design, will be client intensive... and you would have to leave the house for on site visits and client meetings. And it is 7 days a week. And the hours for these things can vary. I did Interior Design and have a degree in that too... and I hated it. Its intensive... drawing up blueprints, doing renovations, changing plans all the time, meetings on site per the clients schedules, driving a round a lot, getting building permits, etc. It is not baby friendly if you have an infant at home. Mind you, Interior Design is not the same as "interior decorating." Having a degree in Interior Design... is different from actually having had on the job experience and doing it.
I'm sorry that I do not have a specific answer for you, but I have heard of companies that "rent out" administrative assistants to small businesses/solo practitioners. The AA works exclusively from home, and does things like answer e-mails, maintain electronic filing, coordinate on-line orders, etc. I wish I could tell you the name of a company that does this, but if you do a bit of on-line research, you may be able to ferrit it out.
Best of luck.
