How to Earn a Stable Income as a Work at Home Mom

Working from home sounds like the perfect mix of career and parenting to most moms but it can be tricky to keep your income stable, especially if you are working as a freelancer. With these 5 tricks, you’ll be able to keep your income stable and build up a great career from home.

I have been working from home for over ten years now and while it’s definitely been challenging at times I definitely don’t regret it. I’ve been able to be present and available through most of the major milestones my kids have had and I’ve learned skills that I never would have mastered if I had stayed in my old job.

Diversify

This is the what I tell every mom who is hoping to replace a steady income with a work at home option. Working as a freelancer or on contract work can fluctuate all over the place. One month you may have more projects than you can handle and the next month . . . nothing. Having multiple revenue streams helps you to keep your income fairly stable and protect you in case one of your income streams dries up completely.

Let me put it another way: Having multiple revenue streams can keep you sane as a work at home mom.

This became extra clear to me a few years ago. As a blogger, most of my income comes through ads, affiliates, and working with brands. Amazon has always been one of my biggest affiliate earners. I could pretty much count on a pretty good sized check every month from Amazon no matter what I did. Then a new law passed and Amazon wasn’t allowed to work with affiliates in my state. Overnight my income from that disappeared. I was fortunate that I had other affiliates in place that I could use as a backup but losing that check every month hurt. Fortunately Amazon found a way to open up affiliates to my state again and I was able to start earning through them again but it took most of a year for that to happen.

Diversify. You won’t regret it.

Discipline Yourself

If you are used to punching a clock, making the switch to a home based job can take some adjusting. With no one telling you what do to it’s easy to get in the habit of knocking off early, starting late, or just not putting as much energy into your work.

As a freelancer, you are your own boss. So BE your boss.

Train yourself to put in the time and work hard whether you have a deadline looming over you or not. Consistently doing your best work will do more for keeping your income stable than anything else that you can do.

Working from home has become a lifestyle for me and I’ve learned to work even when life gets crazy. My work habits have become so routine for me that I barely slowed down even when my twins were born. I just worked them into my routine.

Multitasking at it’s best. #twins #wahm

A photo posted by Rachel (@busymommymedia) on Jul 9, 2014 at 4:38pm PDT

Get Hired as a Virtual Worker

If the stress of setting off on your own is too much, look into a virtual position. There are a growing number of companies who are hiring home based workers and that kind of gives you the best of both worlds. You’ll have a steady paycheck and a community of colleagues you can bounce ideas off of when you need to.

Think Long-term

When I was learning to drive, it didn’t take me long to discover that if I looked immediately in front of my car I would end up swerving all over the road. To get where I wanted to go I had to look further down the road. Only then could I keep the car heading in a straight line.

Working from home, especially if you are running your own business or freelance career, is a bit like this. If you look at only the tasks immediately in front of you it’s going to be tricky to maintain traction. You have to look at the bigger picture. Look further down the road at where you want to go and you’ll be better able to manage your work in the short term.

For me, this often means that I’m planning projects and contract work several months out. There are always things that pop up at the last minute but for the most part, I know where I’m headed with things.

Get Creative

There are always going to be times that are slower than others. Sometimes, as a work at home mom, that requires a bit of creativity. If a project you are working on doesn’t take off do you have a backup plan? Can you hustle and come up with a creative option to bring money in during the meantime? This goes beyond diversifying. This is more about how innovative you can be when you need to be.

Maybe it means selling things from around your house while you ramp up a business or cutting costs when work is slower or starting up a side business to tide you over. Whatever it is, just be aware that keeping your income stable while working from home can sometimes require a bit more creativity than your typical 9-5 job.

Do you work at home? How do you keep your income stable?

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