From the time we’re very little, we’re all told the same thing, “You can be anything you want to be when you grow up!” So, we go to school for over 12 years—or more—with the hope of being a well-educated citizen of course, but also, with the aspiration of pinpointing and stepping into our dream career. That’s a lot of years! Eventually, or hopefully, if you’re lucky you finally find your passion and voila! You get to be anything you want to be, on and on until the end of time.
But what happens to your job when you decide you want to start a family? With parental leave in dire conditions in the U.S. and cost of living higher than ever, it can be difficult for new moms and dads to know where to turn with their career once a baby is on the way.
But what if…you didn’t have to give it all up? What if there wasn’t a grand sacrifice and you could have your dream career and also have kids? Well, I’m here to tell you, it’s totally possible!
Kiss the Cubicle Good-Bye
How about you work from home? No, really! Times, they are a-changin’, and what one had to do from a second-floor windowless cubicle, you can now do from Bora Bora, the Starbucks down the street, or your kitchen table. And, you can earn good money! You can be a stay-at-home parent and not miss a single beat of your kid’s life.
Keep Doing Your Dream Job
Technology is booming, and virtual offices are a real thing! You can be a virtual assistant, transcriber, do discovery for a law firm, research for a best-selling novel, plan a party, ghost write, and even do what you were doing before!
The career options are endless, and the reward is great for remote workers. People everywhere are making the shift from clocking in at a 9-to-5 office with a 3-hour commute, to a 6-second walk down the hall. Moms and dads: this is a game changer. If you think it’s possible you could continue to pursue your same career in a remote capacity, consider looking for your perfect gig on a service like remote.co.
If you are looking for a change of pace, below are just some of the options for work from home careers for stay-at-home moms and dads.
Become a Freelance Writer
Content creation and blog writing is such a huge aspect of any modern business. But what owner really has time for putting pen to paper when they are busy keeping the business afloat and being the face of the brand? Ghostwriters are in high demand for juicy blog posts. So, if you think you have a knack for writing, consider turning it into a job.
Put Those Marketing Skills to Use
Here’s another one. Businesses don’t often have the budget to hire a full-time marketing team, making you the perfect candidate to become their go-to expert for all things digital. Content marketing your middle name? Do you have experience with SEO or SEM? Social media strategy is what you did before kids?
People everywhere are looking for you. You keep them ahead of the digital game without breaking the budget.
Freakishly Fast Fingers? There’s a Gig for That
Calling all listening ears! If you are a particularly fast typist, you can make serious cash working as a transcriptionist through services like rev.com. Listen to audio files from creatives, business owners, and entrepreneurs and type up what you hear. It’s that simple!
Serve Your Colleagues as a Consultant
We all have those moments where we need some qualified advice on turning to the left, right, or giving it up altogether. So why not be that person? Are you skilled in an area? Become a consultant!
Be someone’s navigator, and help them make the decisions they need to propel their business to the next level. This is a fresh and exciting way to breathe new life into your previous career.
Run Numbers for a Living
This one’s a no-brainer. Are you skilled at accounting, bookkeeping, running numbers, and analyzing data? Then hop to it and become someone’s bookkeeper! Not everyone needs the assistance of a full-scale CPA. Some people just need someone to keep an eye on the books, run payroll, and send invoices at the end of the month. If you love the analytical, you could make a full career out of serving businesses as a freelance bookkeeper.
Work as a Virtual Assistant
Another task that eats up time for businesses? Scheduling appointments, booking flights, responding to tiny emails, and making spreadsheets. Become a virtual assistant to offer online administrative support to entrepreneurs who are strapped for time. Working as a virtual assistant can encompass a myriad of tasks that almost anyone with a knack for Google, Kayak, and Excel can do.
How to Kick-Off Your Work at Home Career
In the end, there’s no longer a struggle to pick a winner between career and family (that’s what I personally love most about the virtual work life). Your skills and knowledge are a hot commodity, and you can do it all while being a stay-at-home parent!
But most people don’t know how to start a freelance career from scratch. Where do you find clients? Do you need a website? How do you file taxes? Working with an agency can be the perfect stepping stone to building your stay-at-home career as a freelancer. Companies like Upwork, Belay, CloudPeeps, and, yes, your pals here at Don’t Panic specialize in connecting virtual workers with businesses who need their services.
Interested in joining our team of bad ass assistants? Learn more about becoming a Don’t Panic VA here. We connect contractors to businesses for content creation and management, podcast production, administrative support, and more.
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