Home business ideas for women (steady income on your terms)

Many career-oriented women have a strong work ethic and are highly motivated, but they also want the flexibility to make their schedule, be their boss, work remotely, have a side hustle alongside their job, or hey… even go jogging in the middle of the day. That’s why home business ideas for women are trending now.

But not everyone knows where to start, here’s a comprehensive and detailed guide to some of the best home business ideas for women open to hard-working and empowered women.

Disclaimer: Some of the jobs require specific skills or schooling. But to help guide your decision each business or work option will give directions about the preparations and knowledge required to do it.

Full time work home business for women

A home business idea for women should be flexible enough to allow you to take care of your home and children alongside creating income. This naturally means that most options involve working with your computer or working on the phone, but some creative homework ideas let you do things less techy too.

As a woman in high-tech, I personally know women who started a successful home business and are always happy to share how it freed up their time to be more at home with their families.

As a woman writing for women, my message is “don’t hesitate, just go for it!”. COVID19 has been a major catalyst for digital transformation across all industries, which created more opportunities for every one of us to work online than ever before. 

Before you start – do the basic research to see if your idea is practical

But whatever you choose to do, you’ll spend your time well if you verify that it’s possible to make enough money to support your family by doing it.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to do some form of market research before you set out to build your home business. This depends on your ambition and the level of investment involved in starting your home business.

The fact is, the benefits of market research can not be overstated. But I realize this can be a daunting concept for a woman just trying to make something of her own. So just keep in mind that the higher the investment the riskier it is for you and your family and the more you should spend time on market research.

1. Become a loan signing agent

Loan signing agents help real estate transactions go smoothly, ensuring that all parties get the right documents and that everything is completed, signed, and notarized correctly. It’s great for anyone who is organized and has a good eye for detail. 

This is a great business for ladies sitting at home, you can arrange your hours to suit yourself, but do expect to have to actually leave your home to attend loan signings. For example, Amanda runs her Notary Girl on the Go business from her home in LA but travels around the greater Los Angeles area.

Need to know:

• You’ll need to be a certified notary through your local county government website. It costs a few hundred dollars and takes a few weeks to be approved.
• Complete a loan signing agent course like one through LoanSigningSystem or the National Notary Association (NNA).
• You’ll need professional liability insurance, registration with the NNA, and supplies like a printer and scanner.
• Invest time learning all the different contract types to stand out from the crowd.
• Full time salaries can easily top $10,000 per month, but you choose how much you want to work.

Use Google’s keyword checker to see how many searches there are for words related to your topic. The search volume shows how much interest there is in the query, and the competition amount shows how many other blogs and websites are already addressing it. 

Another helpful function on Google’s Keyword checker is that you can set the location of the area you want to target. This will show you the interest in the query according to location. For example, if you want to target New York State, you would select New York State and the results will be based on what people search for in New York State.

Once you’ve built up a decent audience, there are several options for making money from your blog:

• Sell advertising space. Blogger Yaro Stark makes at least $1,000 each month from direct advertising sales.
• Create a “members-only” area and charge monthly or yearly subscriptions for your premium content.
• Join an affiliate marketing program that’s related to your blog, like Rakuten Marketing, Amazon affiliate, Commission Junction, and ClickBank. 
• Write an ebook and publish it through Amazon’s Kindle. Non-fiction books are the most popular, selling for up to $6.99, and you’ll keep 70% of the sale price.
• If you’re making a vlog (video blog), use YouTube AdSense to earn money from the ads shown alongside your videos. You’ll get around $0.01-$0.03 per ad view, which can come out to around $5 per 1,000 video views. 

Need to know:

• You need a hair stylist license, and in most states you have to be at least 18 years old and pass a licensing exam too. 
• Hair stylist courses cost between $5,000 and $20,000.
• The more services you can offer, like hair coloring, hair extensions, perms, etc. the better.

4. Home business for women as a software developer

If you’re a software developer, you already know your profession is in high demand, but a lot of companies prefer to hire freelancers rather than in-house employees, which might work to your advantage. Specialized freelance platforms like Toptal or Gigster can be a good way to find assignments when you’re just starting out, but higher-paying work comes through word of mouth or social media recommendations.

If you don’t want to start your own business, or you love your current job but need a bit more flexibility, consider asking your current employer if you can work from home. Thanks to COVID-19, many companies realize that employees can be just as productive when working remotely, so your chances of success right now are high, even if you compromise on a hybrid model.

Clearly, you need software development skills to utilize this option (there are even entry-level opportunities available) but in addition to that, you’ll need to be aware of a few things before you begin.

Need to know:

• Build in time for marketing, like polishing up your LInkedIn profile, updating your portfolio of sample projects, and improving your business website. 
• If you’re running your own software developing business, prepare for dry spells and budget accordingly, knowing the freelancer world is often feast or famine. 
• Sometimes you need another person to bounce ideas off, so join freelance developer groups on Facebook, GitHub, or Reddit to stop you feeling too lonely.

5. Leverage your god given abilities 

Start that home business for ladies you always wanted, and offer your talents on fiver, if you know how to sing, you can sell your voice, know how to write, sell your writing if you know how to design, sell your creations. The list goes on and on. Fiverr makes working remotely possible for people who want to be financially independent. Fiverr is an affordable marketplace where small and medium-sized businesses go to produce marketing material per project.

Need to know:

• Post your standard services on Fiverr using the gig builder
• Buyer can select a standard packages or request a custom one
• You’ll have a set deadline, if you don’t deliver Fiverr will not proceed to the payment process
• Fiverr is a great platform that offers work for both beginners and advanced.

There are multiple freelance platforms that offer several services, so if Fiverr doesn’t work for you, you can use this guide to compare the different freelance websites on the market.

Part-time work from home ideas for women

Most full-time jobs can also be done part-time, but here are some that are particularly well suited to part-time work. Here are the top part-time home-based business for women.

1. Teach English as a foreign language

English is the global business language, so there are loads of people who want to learn it or improve their command of the language. It’s best if you’re qualified as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, but if you’re patient, friendly, and speak clearly, you should give it a try. 

Need to know:

• You’ll often be working in the evenings or late at night, because of the time difference between where you are and where your clients are. 
• You’ll need a high speed, reliable internet connection and a good quality microphone.
• You’ll need to be able to commit at least 20 hours per week.
• Check out sites like VIPKID, VerbalPlanet, Learn4Good, GoFluent.com, and Chegg to find jobs paying around $25/hour. 
• Visit ISUS iSpeakUSpeak.com or TESOL for an ESL qualification.

2. Become a baby planner

Baby planning is a rapidly-expanding career niche that involves helping parents prepare for birth and adjust to parenthood. Many baby planners help prospective parents sift through all the different advice and equipment out there to find what works for their lifestyles. 

If you’re already a doula, lactation consultant, or sleep coach, baby planning can be a great way to expand your business. But it’s also suitable for entrepreneurs without that background, who are organized, sympathetic, and nonjudgemental. 

Molly Pross runs BumpBestie, offering everything from help setting up baby registry lists to advice about choosing a nursing bra.

Need to know

• Baby planners charge around $85/hour in the LA area.
• There are now baby planner courses, like the International Parenting and Maternity Institute and BabyPlannerInc, but there’s no universal certification.

3. Transcribe audio and video recordings

If you want to home business ideas for women that don’t involve going anywhere and are totally flexible, consider working as a transcriptionist. There are a lot of businesses that need audio and/or video recordings transcribed into text, especially since so many meetings moved to Zoom.

Need to know:

• The faster you work, the more you’ll earn, but average pay is between $8 and $20 per hour.
• You can find assignments through hiring companies like SpeakWrite,  TranscribeMe, Fast Chart, Transcribe Anywhere, Quicktate, Tigerfish, and Crowdsurf, or start your own business to make more money.
• You need to be a fast, accurate typist and have a good understanding of the English language. A transcription course like Transcription Foundations can help, but it’s not necessary.

4. Become a mediator

Working as a mediator means helping two or more parties to resolve their conflicts without going to court. It’s a rewarding career if you’re interested in law, but don’t want to work as a lawyer, or want a less demanding profession. 

For example, Rachel Gupta turned 10 years as an in-house counsel into a profitable mediation business.

You don’t need a law degree, but you do need an undergraduate degree. Mediators tend to specialize in a specific industry, like sports, finance, real estate, etc. It’s a good option for someone who has a lot of industry knowledge and wants a change of path.

Need to know:

• Some states require mediators to complete a certification program.
• Most mediators train for a year or so with an experienced mediator to learn the ropes.
• Mediators charge $80-100 per hour, but that varies depending on experience and location.
• The National Conflict Resolution Center, the National Association of Certified Mediators, and the Mediation Training Institute all offer training courses.

1. Dropshipping

Dropshipping involves an online store where customers order products, which you source from suppliers and arrange to be delivered directly to the customer. It’s easy to run from home because you aren’t managing a warehouse or inventory. 

Although it’s easy to get started as a drop shipper, profit margins are low and the market is very competitive. You need to pay attention to a lot of aspects, like responding to reviews, carrying out market research, and constantly tweaking your social media profiles and ads, if you want to succeed.

Need to know:

• You need to be web-savvy and know how to use analytics and data to find the best products.
• Keep pushing your business forward with marketing.
• Excellence in customer service sets the best businesses apart.

2. Become a life coach

Life coaches are highly in demand nowadays, for anyone from high-flying executives who feel that they are missing something in their lives, to people struggling to move ahead in relationships. 

The market is unregulated, so there’s a low bar to entry, but it’s harder to convince people to trust you. Taking a respected training course, having plenty of positive testimonials on your website, and/or writing blog posts about your experiences and insights can all help establish our authority. 

For example, Natalie Bacon uses a blog and a podcast to share her expertise, plus she completed a training course with the Life Coach School. 

Need to know:

• Many life coaches specialize in fields like helping people with relationships, or work issues, or making significant life decisions.
• Life coaches can work in person, over the phone, or using video conferencing.
• Trust is key to a successful life coach business.

3. Sell your crafts

If you love doing crafts to relax and wind down, why not make money from it? You can set up shop at craft fairs, or sell your wares online through marketplaces like Etsy, Folksy, or Art Fire. 

It’s tough to make a serious income if you’re just using those platforms, though. If you want to expand your crafts business, build your own website using Wix, Shopify, or another easy website builder. For example, Tracey Lipman sells a range of bags and aprons through her website, at craft fairs, and through Instagram.

Need to know:

• Success means understanding marketing terms like SEO, mastering analytics, and actively managing your social media presence. 
• Word of mouth is the best marketing, so deliver excellent customer support.

4. Sell your expert knowledge

Did you know that as well as selling products, you can also sell your expertise? 

You could open a business as a consultant, but if you’d prefer to just make some money on the side, you can go through an online company that pays for your advice. Accountants, financial analysts, and project managers are just some of the domains in demand. For example, Chegg India pays freelance subject matter experts to answer student questions, with the top members earning over $1,000 per month. 

Need to know:

• You can also try JustAnswer and PrestoExperts.
• You’ll usually need to prove your expertise by sharing your qualifications before you can sign up.

Work-from-home ideas that don’t require any work qualification

1. Flip antiques

Selling unwanted items cluttering up your home is a great way to earn some money, but when you’ve run out of your unwanted stuff, you can build a business by hunting down valuable items and flipping them online. 

Melissa and Rob Seaman work part-time finding items in flea markets, yard sales, and thrift stores, and then reselling them for a significant profit, making $130,000 in one year. Melissa says you can realistically make $500-$2,000/month as a part-time “flipper.”

Look out for items like vintage clothing in a yard store bundle; collectors’ edition CDs or records in a thrift store; or discontinued books. Old furniture often just needs a little cleaning and a few dollars for new paint, and then you can sell it for a lot more than you paid for it. 

Need to know:

• The best way to learn is to plunge in. You can begin with just $100, then reinvest the profit for more sales.
• eBay is the best place to resell items, but you should also use specialist platforms when relevant, like Bookscouter for books, F.Y.E. and Eagle Saver for music, and ThredUp and Poshmark for clothing.

2. Become a virtual assistant

Virtual assistants carry out a range of tasks so their clients can get a bit more time in their day. As a virtual assistant, you could be asked to:

• Make phone calls
• Carry out internet research
• Schedule appointments
• Manage invoices and receipts
• Reply to emails
• Plan events

Emphasize your main skillsets to get more jobs. For example, Emma Read’s virtual assistant business website highlights her talents in email marketing and social media marketing.

Many virtual assistants work for clients in different time zones, so their main working hours are in the evening when their children are asleep.

Need to know:

• As a virtual assistant, you can work through a freelance platform, through a VA agency, or start your own virtual assistant business.
• VAs can price by the hour, by the project, or offer a package deal each week or month.

3. Sell your photography

There’s always demand for high-quality stock images and plenty of platforms competing for good photos. As you gain confidence, you can start marketing yourself as a portrait photographer or wedding photographer. 

Need to know:

• You really need a good quality camera, but there are plenty of options for under $600.
• Look for more opportunities to earn money, like photographing properties for real estate agents or menu items for caterers.
• Adobe Stock only pays $0.20-$3.33 per image, but you could get around $80 per image on Clashot, or up to $100 Getty Images. You’ll earn just $5 per photo on Foap, but you can sell each one more than once.

Home business ideas for women to lead the path to a better lifestyle

Let’s face it, life is messy and it doesn’t always fit neatly into the demands of our presentee culture, so the option to have home business ideas for women can be a lifesaver. These 15 work-from-home business ideas for women cover a full range of preferences and interests, so you can create the work-life balance you need.