As a mom, you might find yourself stretching to find more time, money, energy and the motivation to complete your endless to-do list. The pandemic didn't make it any easier. The burden of work, parenting and caregiving has been a strain, resulting in millions of moms across the globe wanting to exit the traditional workforce.
But to assume that this stopped or can stop moms from aspiring to wear the entrepreneurship hat is wrong. Studies show that "mompreneurs" are on the rise. But what exactly is a mompreneur? It's a mom + entrepreneur, and it’s possible for you, as a mom, to start a profitable business that meets your life goals. Below are a vast array of businesses that would suit an aspiring mom entrepreneur.
15 Business Ideas For Moms
Whether you are a mom that's seeking a better work-life balance or one who always wanted to wear the boss hat, we want you to know that you can start a profitable business today.
What businesses can you start as a mom? Here are a few mompreneur business ideas that are conducive to many different stages in a mom’s life. If you wish to run a business from home, a café or online, we’re sure one of these can fit into your lifestyle as a women entrepreneur.
1. Become a Mom Influencer
Enjoy posting on Instagram and wonder if you can be a social media influencer? The one-word answer is yes. It starts with identifying what you’d like to post and areas you can share your knowledge on. The most popular mom influencers create content around the following:
- Kid activities
- Working from home
- Meals
- Fashion
- Post-pregnancy body positivity
As with all content, your success comes down to the authenticity and value that you’re adding. The startup costs, while low, depend on the type of influencer you desire to be — TikToker, blogger, Instagrammer, etc.
By the way, you don't need to have a million followers to start seeing the revenue. Micro-influencers (with 1000-10,000 followers) typically earn $100-$500 per post.
Kick off your journey by creating an influencer business plan and understanding your earning potential as a micro-influencer.
2. Grant Writer
Grant writers are in high demand by schools, nonprofit and community organizations. This line of work can be incredibly rewarding, and you can expect to earn anywhere between $35-$125/hour.
Getting a certification can go a long way in building trust and credibility for your business. Nonprofitready.org offers several free courses on grant writing; CandidLearning and the Grant Training Center have online and in-person courses, too (pricing starts as low as $25).
To begin, you can consider offering your grant writing services to local nonprofits and regional fundraising committees.
3. Fitness Instructor
The online fitness boom is here to stay! So, if fitness is your calling, you can turn this passion into a thriving business without even leaving your house.
Competition is fierce, so identify a niche (Pilates, Zumba, yoga or strength training) and get certified from:
- National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
- American Council on Exercise
- National Academy of Sports Medicine
These places offer accredited certifications that cost between $425 to $550.
We recommend having a target market so you aren’t lost in the world of trainers. If you wish to focus your business on busy moms like yourself, direct your marketing efforts towards online and local mom groups and offer either private training or group sessions via Zoom.
4. Proofreading Business
Have an eagle eye for spotting syntax, grammar and spelling errors on menus, brochures and social media posts? You’d do great as a proofreader!
While this business doesn’t require much startup investment, getting a few proofreading courses under your belt and familiarizing yourself with various style guides like AP and Chicago will help you land clients faster. You can also brush up your skills using McGraw-Hills’ Proofreading Handbook.
Freelance proofreaders earn on average $51,391/annually. You can secure jobs via ProofreadingPal, ProofreadingServices or BabbleType. If you want to work as a freelancer and find your own clients, you can charge anywhere from $31-$45/hour.
5. Subscription Box Service
Who doesn’t like receiving new gifts every month or so? That’s why subscription boxes are a popular and highly profitable business to start. What can you put in the boxes? That comes down to your skill set and budget. And the products don't necessarily have to be handmade either. Get wholesale items and curate them according to a theme.
There are an array of products and niches that you can opt from. According to Statista, U.S, consumers spent over $70 per food and meal box.
A key thing with subscription box services is that you’ll need ample space for storage. You’ll also need to find a good logistics partner to help you manage all the shipping.
6. Bookkeeper
Bookkeeping is one of the tasks that other small business owners frequently need help with. It's also a business that doesn't require a finance or accounts degree.
But, depending on your budget and goals, consider getting a bookkeeping certification. Two of the most well-known options for bookkeeping certification are:
Alternatively, you can get software certification from QuickBooks or FreshBooks or undergo a free course from Bookkeepers.com. Market your business by becoming an advisor with the local Small Business Development Center, signing up on freelance bookkeeping sites like Trulancer or Freelancer and attending bookkeeper Meetup groups.
We advise you to get liability insurance as a bookkeeper that'll protect you in case you make any mistakes on a client’s books.
7. Online or Mobile Notary
Another viable and well-paying mompreneur business idea is to become a notary. A notary is a person who serves as an impartial witness and performs notarial acts. Now that most people are working from home, you have two ways to run this business — perform notary acts online by witnessing signatures in a secured audio-visual notary session or become a mobile notary by traveling to a client's place to notarize documents.
As a part-time notary, potential earnings vary between $500-$1000/month. The process to become a notary varies as per state but typically involves filing an application, paying a fee and passing the state exam. The startup costs range between $1,200 to $3,800.
8. Online English Tutor
As a mom, you’re probably already wearing the teaching hat. Capitalize on this skill and start an online business as an English tutor.
Carve out a USP (unique selling point) by focusing on your purpose, style and audience. Do you want to help people in improving their spoken or written English? Or do you wish to build confidence in English for working professionals?
Once you have narrowed down your focus, you can build and sell your course via Teachable or Udemy. You can increase your revenue stream by offering one-on-one classes via platforms like Zoom and Skype or signing up on websites like VIPKid and Qkids.
9. Baking
Here’s the truth — you can start a home bakery without a pastry course certification, an expensive oven, state-of-the-art Kitchenaid or expert fondant skills. A profitable venture is possible with basic baking skills.
Get inspiration from shows like Unique Sweets or The Great British Bake Off. Keep a notebook handy to jot down new flavor combinations, techniques and baking styles you’d be most comfortable with. Next, identify the costs of your standard products.
Start making desserts for personal events and taking gorgeous pictures via your camera phone. Instagram is a popular choice for bakers as you can show off your style and creativity with pictures and videos. You can also tap into the growing food delivery market by partnering with delivery companies like Uber Eats or DoorDash.
Keep in mind that food services businesses typically require a health permit or local licenses. Incfile's free Business License Research Tool or your local chamber of commerce can help you identify the required licenses or permits.
10. Gift Basket Service
Starting a gift basket business is a fun way to become financially independent, use your creativity, and build deeper ties into your community.
Research your local competition and see what is not currently offered while playing to your strengths. Are you an all-natural mom or do you have a boho-chic vibe? Are you going to target corporates or families?
In addition to sourcing suppliers (like local craft or food distributors) that can provide wholesale rates, consider working with mompreneurs who make handmade items that can be included in your basket. The startup costs can vary as per your niche and the equipment required.
Marketing your business is key and you’d benefit from building a website that highlights various examples of your baskets. As a gift servicing business would be primarily local, visit local salons, stores, doctor’s offices and other small businesses to get clients rolling in.
11. Holiday/Event Decorator
People assume decorating is only for Christmas, but it isn’t. Think about it — there’s Valentine’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, New Year's and even birthdays. If you love spreading some decorative cheer and have an eye for design, this is a viable idea with minimal startup costs as the clients will pay for the majority of the decor. You’ll just need to invest in standard tools.
Identify a design style and make some updates in your own home so you can take before-and-after pictures. These pictures will be vital to securing your first client. You can then promote your business on Google My Business, Facebook and Instagram.
12. Personal Stylist
Celebrities aren’t the only ones who need styling advice. If you know how to identify “looks” for all people, you can be a personal stylist. With the majority of the fashion industry moving online, there's certainly an opportunity to be a virtual stylist.
Begin by styling your family members and friends and taking their pictures to build a portfolio that you can post on Instagram and Pinterest.
These are some suggestions for your income streams:
- You can charge a service/styling fee for curating 1-2 looks from the client's existing wardrobe.
- Charge a styling fee + deposit for making any new purchases.
Alternatively, you can sign up to work as a stylist for department stores like Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom, online styling sites like StitchFix or scour opportunities on FlexJobs.
13. Personal Travel Organizer
Who doesn’t love planning vacations and discovering hidden gems? We all love it but seldom have the time to do thorough research. Are planning, travel and solid research skills up your alley? Consider a personal travel organizer business. What’s best about this is you don’t need experience as a travel agent or much monetary investment to begin.
Here are two ways to find your footing:
- Reach out to existing travel companies and see if they'd be willing to give you a referral fee for each client sent over. Once you get a steady inflow of referrals, you can negotiate contracts and commission amounts for each client booking.
- Sign up with a host agency like Avoya Network or Travel Planners International. Under the umbrella of a host agency, you'll get access to marketing materials, ticketing dashboards and training. Typically, your earnings would be split with the host agency. Some host agencies might charge a startup fee and/or monthly fee.
Also, contact your local department of licensing to learn whether you will need travel-specific licenses or permits to run your business.
Your earnings can come in via commissions or a service/consultation fee. Average commission fees for each international flight booking range between $29-$90.
14. Offer Paint and Sip Classes
Have a flair for painting? Why not turn it into a business? People are always looking for something different for their events (this applies to online events, too), and you can use your painting skills to start virtual or in-person paint & sip classes.
The investment cost is mainly for the supplies (paint, paintbrushes, canvas and cleaning supplies) as you'd provide the equipment for all attendees. Research online art wholesalers to get the best prices on bulk orders.
This kind of business benefits from having a strong social media presence on Facebook and Instagram where customers can share their experience and tag you.
15. Mobile Hair and Makeup Artist
If hairstyling and doing makeup is your thing, starting a mobile hair and makeup services business is a fun way to do what you love while tapping into the rapid growth of the beauty and personal care industry.
One way to reduce the startup costs for a budding hair and makeup stylist is to rent a booth at existing salons in your area. In this setup, you'd pay a weekly or monthly fee ($200-$600) to an established salon and get to use their chair, sink and phone for your personal clients. You get to control your hours, rates and services.
Most states require licenses for running a hairstyling and makeup business. The common licenses that might apply are:
- Hairstyling license
- Cosmetology license(s)
- Sanitation
Check with your state's Board of Cosmetology or Secretary of State website for specifics.
The Face of Mompreneurs: A Snapshot
Curious to know these mompreneurs? Let's meet them and understand what drives them.
- 40 percent of women-owned businesses are run by moms.
- A study from Gusto and the National Association of Women Business Owners found that 40 percent of women entrepreneurs launched a business as a direct result of the pandemic.
- More women have launched small businesses than men in the last two years. Women are also more likely to be solopreneurs.
- The majority of women-owned businesses tend to be in retail or services. But, women-owned businesses are stretching across industries. Between 2014-2019, the growth rate of women-owned businesses accelerated in utilities, construction, information and arts/entertainment.
- In the U.S., Black and Latino women are 2x as likely to start a business. Why? Therese Dozier, founder of LUVSPUN, says: “We’ve lost faith in the system and in traditional employment a long time ago.”
Why Do Moms Choose Entrepreneurship?
The rise in entrepreneurship is being driven by a number of factors. Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s report on women and mom entrepreneurship yielded the following results.
- 57 percent of women leapt into entrepreneurship so they could be their own boss and have more control over their work schedule.
- 52 percent of moms started their own businesses to earn more money and attain a higher standard of living.
- 46 percent chose entrepreneurship for work-life balance.
- 44 percent launched a venture that gave them a creative outlet or chance to follow their passion.
The study also revealed an interesting finding. Each additional child impacts a mom’s likelihood of choosing self-employment. This statistic is backed by a Shopify survey that states that 22 percent of single moms with young children (under 5) are more prone to start a business because of the flexibility it offers.
The pandemic has been distinctly more difficult for women and especially moms. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau reports that as many as 45 percent of working moms left the job market as a result of school closures and additional caregiving responsibilities.
But the economic downturn and pressures of the pandemic have also presented entrepreneurship in a new light. It has highlighted the flexibility, control and ownership that entrepreneurship offers.
Just Do It: Become a Mompreneur Today
There you have it — our list of emerging business ideas that are suitable for your busy mom life. Starting a business is exciting and an increasing number of moms are picking this path because it offers flexibility, control over work hours and a chance to be the ultimate boss. You could become one of them.
However, if you’re serious about your business and its future, it’s best to explore which legal structure would work for your new venture. By opting for a legal entity, you're protecting the business you carefully built. Our Entity Comparison Guide can help you understand which structure will match your startup’s goals.
Swara Ahluwalia
Swara Ahluwalia is a freelance content writer with experience in the technical, B2B and SaaS domain. She also has curated content for various lifestyle brands. In her downtime, you will most likely find Swara training for her next marathon or spending time with her two daughters.
