Being a full-time parent means being busy all day, every day. There’s hardly enough time in the day to get all of your jobs done, have time to prepare a healthy meal, and spend quality time with your family. Of course, when your youngest heads off to school, you suddenly find yourself with an abundance of free time.

While this can be great at first, it can get very boring very quickly!

That’s why more parents than ever are launching their own business. Not only does running your own business mean that you get to plan your working day around your family commitments, but it can also be a much-needed financial boost as well.

If you’re thinking of starting a new business, but you’re not sure what your new business should be, here are some great ideas that might get you thinking in a whole new direction.

Child Care Services

Let’s face it; you’ve already proven that you’re great with kids! After all, yours have survived long enough to get to school age, so that’s a win already.

Chat to other parents and get a feel for if there’s any demand for daycare services based in your home.

Become a Blogger

It can take time to start making a blog profitable, but it’s a surprisingly common option for moms. The mommy blog is a much-loved staple of the online world, and with the right time, development, and contacts, you could be earning money from your online presence within no time.

Event Planner

If you’ve managed a busy household, then organizing a party is going to be simple in comparison. If you’re especially organized, then becoming an event planner is a great business idea that will let you work around your family time without becoming too taxing.

Make sure that you establish industry contacts, and you could be making money from your talent for organizing people.

Get Crafty

If you have a skill for sewing, knitting, or woodwork, then it’s never been easier to profit. Sites like eBay and Etsy are great for selling handmade products. Look at your costs, check for potential competitors, and identify the people that are most likely to buy what you’re selling.

Make sure that your time and costs aren’t going to be outweighed by your possible profits.

Proofreading

If you’re good with grammar and language, then becoming a proofreader can be very fun. You can tailor your proofreading services to the niches that you enjoy, or you could go all out and offer to proofread for businesses, authors, or students.

Gardening Experts

If you love nothing more than pottering around in your garden and making it look spectacular all year round, then you might make some real money by offering your services elsewhere.

Start small with your neighbors, but consider approaching realtors and businesses as well.

Personal Trainer

You’ll definitely need to be healthy, but becoming a personal trainer can be very rewarding. Make sure that you get recognized certification from OriGym and you’ll be well-equipped to start offering personalized training for every level of health.

It can be a great way of making money and keeping yourself fit and healthy too!

Web Designer

You’ll need to know your stuff, but becoming a website designer can be enormously profitable for the right people. If you have an eye for design and you know what SEO web development is, then you should start offering your skills to local businesses.

Build up a portfolio of clients, and you could get very big, very quickly.

T-Shirt Designer

Arty types can make a lot of cash online by selling unique t-shirt designs. Have a look at sites like RedBubble or CafePress. You don’t need to invest money on buying and printing on your own t-shirts. Instead, you simply upload your images, and they do the rest.

If you have a great idea for a t-shirt design, this can be an excellent passive income stream.

Resume Writer

This can be a slow business model to build up, but the better your resume writing skills, the easier it will be to find clients. The key here is to have a good website that showcases your skills and has glowing reviews from people you have designed resumes for in the past.

Offer some free resume dust-offs for people you know, and start building from there.

Skills and Trades

Being a stay at home parent usually means learning some basics of home improvement and repair. If you know your plumbing from your paint pots, then you can offer some trade skills and build up a client portfolio.

However, you’ll definitely need to get professional accreditation if you’re opting for businesses like plumber or electrician.

Music Tutor

There’s a reason why this is one of the most popular options for musical moms and dads. You can set your own lesson plans, set your own times, and teach the wonders of music to a wide range of people.

It’s not just all schoolchildren who want to learn the piano or guitar, and you might even find that you have to turn some students away because you’re overbooked.

Tailoring and Clothes Repair

Handy with a needle and thread? You could make a lot of people very happy (and a lot of money in the process) by advertising your services as a tailor. Offer to repair clothes, or even create entirely new outfits from blank material.

The better your craft skills, the more likely that this will be a good option to consider.

Author

You don’t need to be the next JK Rowling. Writing e-books about your areas of knowledge can be a great revenue stream, and whether you’re writing about homeschooling, meal-planning, or how to build a kite, the more books that you have available to buy, the better. E-books don’t cost any money on your part. It’s just a matter of getting them written!

Of course, these aren’t your only options. Consider what you’re great at or what you love doing. Turn your hobbies into a business, and you might end up wondering why you didn’t start years ago.