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Hey Mama! Today I am giving you a little background on how I started three profitable businesses my first year as a SAHM. I want you to know that YOU can do this too. Turn your passion into paychecks!
My sweet boy was born in April of 2015. During this period, I was going to school full-time and adjusting to motherhood. I now was one busy mama. After finals ended things began to feel quiet. I had become used to the hustle. I loved my baby, but I needed something more. I felt the stir crazy sinking in.
BUSINESS ONE – Rental property
That summer my husband and I began one of our first businesses. When we were married in 2012 we bought our first home (a cute condo near the university we attended). As we wrapped up our college careers and began to grow our family we made the conscious decision to rent our little slice of heaven to a new couple.
Our renters moved in on August 1, 2015. In the weeks prior to their move-in date, there was much bustle as we moved out our belongings, made repairs, repainted and deep cleaned the unit for this new family. By the time they were in we were exhausted.
I remember thinking, āWow, we are never doing that again!ā However, seeing that first month’s rent come in was a nice incentive. Each month my cynicism was gradually worn down as I realized our upfront effort had lead to a nice passive income stream.
BUSINESS TWO – Social media management/Virtual Assisting
As the ease of that business sank in I began to feel the āitchā for developing a new business. I had been assisting a friend with marketing and social media for her new business a few hours a week (for free).
As her business grew I created a business plan and proposal for how I wanted to expand her company. After a bit of negotiating, we came to a fair rate for my compensation and I began officially consulting in September 2015.
I took on more hours and responsibilities. I was enthralled with implementing the new systems that would benefit the business. Each new follower and happy customer made my heart soar. I was able to be home with my sweet little baby but was still connected to the outside world. During nap time I had conversations with another “grown-up” (as a SAHM this is so valuable on its own!) and in the evenings I would respond to inquiries, coordinate collaborations and make strategic plans.
Related: 30+ Side Income Ideas
I quickly developed methods and a routine for my consulting business and our rental property required minimal effort. During this period the company where my husband was working was struggling due to some unforeseen downturns in their industry. Within a one-year period, they laid off 60% of their workforce! It seemed every other month we were terrified that one day he would come home without a job. With a new baby, this fear was real.
This motivated me to search for the perfect business plan that could supplement his income in the event he was laid off. I searched Pinterest like a pro and many nights I stayed up far too late pondering the perfect solution.
Related: Make Extra $ As A SAHM With These 10 Freelance Services
BUSINESS THREE – Amazon FBA
Anyone that knows me knows that I am a Deal Queen. Stretching a dollar is a passion of mine. When I came upon Amazon FBA I knew I had found a business that I could succeed at.
FBA stands for Fulfilled By Amazon. The short version of this business model is you find products at a discounted rate, ship them to Amazon and they sell them on their website for a markup. I began purchasing items to submit in October 2015. We hit it hard as we began collecting products that would be big sellers for the holidays.
I did the shopping (fun!) and Devin packaged and the items. My jobs was to scour deal sites, look for sales and maximize our profits by using cashback websites like Ebates. Soon one of the rooms in our home was piled high with items ready to be shipped. The financial investment for this business was something I had not experienced before. In my previous business I invested many hours of free labor, but to commit a large chunk of change caused me quite a bit of anxiety.
Fortunately, this business model proved to be quite lucrative! Our return on investment (ROI) was approximately 75%. (This means for every $1 invested we ended up with $1.75).
If you want to learn more about Amazon FBA check out this free three-part video series from The Selling Family. They make over $100,000 a year selling on Amazon FBA!
Now my little baby is more of a toddler. He recently turned one and I am now pursuing this blog as my new business adventure! My goal is to empower women by helping them monetize their passion, build their businesses and understand their finances.
I plan to monetize this blog by offering services, using affiliate marketing (via the strategies in Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing) and eventually creating courses as an in-depth resource to market and build your business!
8 thoughts on “How I Started 3 Businesses My First Year As A Stay At Home Mom”
Hey McKinzie,
That’s awesome you did all these businesses and succeeded! Before I did freelance writing I did ABA therapy. I helped children with autism and then I worked in the school system.
I love what I’m doing now and can’t wait to keep growing.
Hey Elna!
You are so awesome, I love both of your blogs! That is so amazing that you helped children with autism. I have a cousin that does ABA therapy as well. So happy to have gotten to know you better recently!
My husband and I were just talking about turning our home into rental property. We actually have 2 lots and we’re thinking of adding another dwelling as well. Where do yall live now? Are you using the rent money to help pay for another home?
Also I have been doing research, taking notes, and coming up with a business plan to start a social media consultant business! I can’t wait to kick it off. Anyway, good luck to you.
Dang Haley! You are one savvy business lady. We did not use the rent to cover the cost of another home. We’ve only rented it for about a year and we saved the additional income for expenses (like replacing the AC, water heater, etc.) I recommend a rental property though. After the renters were in it was almost completely passive + we built a lot of equity in the home.
Social media consulting can be an extremely fulfilling business! I say go for it! Let me know if you have any questions š Good luck with your businesses!
Wow I have never heard of Amazon FBA, I must say Iām a little mind blown haha.
One of my biggest goals is to stay at home with my toddlers and teenager and struggle to be patient with the process of making income with my blog.
I would reallt like to start making some extra income so I will definitely do some reasearch on virtual assistant and social media marketing maybe i can do that on the side and see where that takes me.
Thank you so much for the tips, they were really helpful š
Hey Jenyfer! That is an amazing goal ā¤ļø Staying home with my kiddos is what fueled me too! Virtual assisting is a great way to get money coming in relatively quickly. Keep building up your blog on the side though. Eventually, some aspects of it can become passive! Best of luck to you and your sweet family!
WoW. I wish I had this year’s ago. I do need to do something that will help me pay off this house early like Dave Ramsey says. Love your content.
Thanks so much for your sweet comment! Starting my own businesses at home has been one of the best things I’ve ever done! It has helped us grow our savings significantly. Good luck to you!