In 2015, my husband and I embarked on a journey that can typically lead to some of the most stress people endure. We handled it with grace and kept an open mind to anything that was about to be thrown our way since we knew worry wouldn’t help the situation. In December 2014, we made the executive decision to move back home to Southern California from San Francisco since we were due with our first child in a few months and all of our immediate family plus extended family lives in the Orange County area. Trust me.. making this decision meant making the decision of moving immediately or waiting until after the baby came… To me, that was a no brainer. Child is inside versus child is outside, meant I could control a lot more. So decision made, we’d move before March and it was Christmas…
With less than a 3 month countdown, we figured out a move plan, but now it was time to decide on my husbands career options. He could stay on the same path, but that meant working out of LA county, which meant moving to unfamiliar territory or taking on an incredibly long commute. Or, he could make a full on career move into a field he’s always considered. We thought, what the heck, why not add that to the table, right?
So now, that we had crazily decided to move, make a career change and have a baby all within a one month time-frame, I figured I could take on the world. People were in awe of how I wasn’t out of my mind crazy, but I knew I had to roll with the flow. If I stressed, I could cause issues to the child growing inside or head towards early labor which wouldn’t be helpful with our moving plans so I kept my cool. I truly think I had Hypnobabies to thank for my wonderful outlook on life in my third trimester. I’d highly recommend it and I’ll be using it again in my current pregnancy. [More on that later].
Alright, so move plans [check], career change started [check], have baby [ready] but what am I going to do? I had already been working at home and my company so graciously gave me the opportunity to keep my role and continue on from another city. I figured there was no choice since our family needed an income. Being a 1099 contractor meant for an unstable future so I started considering other options if things were to change. Fast forward a few months and that’s exactly what happened. I lost all of my hours, which meant all of my income. Thankfully at this point my husbands career was finally starting to take off but we were in the middle grounds, the in-between of cash flow so I knew I couldn’t give up on finding sources of income.
I have always be an entrepreneur at heart, I like working for myself, creating my own hours and goals, so I knew finding an office job wasn’t going to be the best option for me. Plus, having to pay for child care means it’s going to eat up most of the income I find anyway so I had to devise a plan to enable myself to at stay home. I love the idea of being a Stay-at-Home-Mom but that wasn’t feasible for us at the time. This meant, I needed to figure out how to become a Work-at-Home-Mom [or a WAHM].
There are many ways and I’m just going to share a few that truly worked for me at gaining an edge on the road to financial freedom.
- Network Marketing: This is down right the simplest way to earn extra cash, even replace an income by sharing something you are passionate about! My passion? Essential Oils! They have worked wonders for our family and I’d love to get samples into your hands (email essentiallyamomblog@gmail.com). There are also companies in the skincare industry, protein shakes and workout sector, energy drinks, vitamins, etc!
- It sums up to the simple thought of, “Hey [insert friend/family member] have you tried that Kombucha from Farm & Culture at the OC Mart Mix? It’s literally delicious!!” [Friend/family member] goes to buy some and your given a thanks for the heads up… but in the network marketing industry, you’re actually paid for that!
- Do note – going this route won’t be the easiest, most rewarding up front, but there’s much potential if you chose a route that your passionate about and have the energy to apply yourself heavily in the beginning.
- Blogging: Yes, there can be an income to blogging, however it does not happen overnight! These precious things take time, but if you like to write [and you have to like to write] just apply yourself heavily in the beginning and you can reap benefits and cash flow later.
- To really be successful in the blogging world, reach out to and follow fellow bloggers that have already paved the way. There are tons of ‘self-help’ bloggers that are happy to share their successes and how to get started! After all, blogging was originally intended to share thoughts and ideas right?
- Secret Shopping: Yes, this is real! I know some people have heard of this while others may think it’s like a secret unicorn they can never find… but I tell you it’s real! Just be aware of scams.
- The key to secret shopping is to apply to many different companies. That will open up several more opportunities for you to complete in your area, rather than depending on one company that has access to only a few local business in your surrounding area. My favorite secret shop sites are as follows
- User Testing & Feedback Sites: Now there are tons of sites that you can give your feedback and either earn points or cash. This will not make up a bulk of your income but it will truly help.
- My favorite is http://www.usertesting.com. For this, you must be able to record yourself speaking and your computer screen, so peace & quiet is a must.. but I schedule this is at nap time and weekends when someone’s around to help. Another note – You’ll want to keep that site open in a tab on your computer so you can hear when new tests are available since they can tend to disappear quickly.
Now I have been truly blessed that I am able to stay home but I also have myself to thank. If you are thinking about taking that road, I wish you encourage meant in knowing that you can make an income and work at home – it is possible!
If you are looking to pave the way so you can stay at home or create a second income for you family and wonder how I do it, I’d love to chat! The network marketing company I work for has big goals to not only give an option for work but to really create financial freedom in peoples lives. Do you need to pay off some loans? Get rid of debt? Buy a house? Save up for a dream vacation? Pay for extracurricular activities or private school? Don’t just sit on the sideline.. there is a way to supplement those costs in your life and I’d love to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be.
I’m currently working to buy myself a new car… one that will actually fit my family and I feel so empowered that my job is allowing me to tell my husband he doesn’t need to stress about how it’s going to be paid for. I love saying the words, “I’ve got this honey” – where in your life would you like to take hold of those passions?
-Essentially a Mom
essentiallyamomblog@gmail.com
Essentially a Mom 