WAHM's what do you do? - Page 2

[sparklemom]

I charge $20/24hours and I could easily charge more.
We have three dogs of our own who are very used to pet clients coming and going. My dogs are social and I only pet sit other dogs who are also social. Dogs are social creatures by nature so most are quite happy to make new friends.
My clients very much appreciate the service I provide and I am happy to offer the dogs an alternative to boarding kennels which can be very stressful for them.
There's no such thing as competition really bc there's no way I could begin to take on all the dogs in our area. And it's great to have control of who and when I pet sit. So I can really cater it to what I want as well as what the client wants.

[yogamama]

I don't think of myself as a WAHM, but I guess if teaching occassional classes as a contractor counts, then count me in! Soon I will be teaching 4 yoga classes a week (outside of the house) and subbing for other instructors. My goal is to pay for groceries and mabye a few extras, but I will only be working about 5-8 hours a week, so I guess that is okay.

I was working 20 hours a week for a goverment agency and I'm on a leave of absence right now to see if this SAHM/ work a bit on the side thing will work out. I hope it does...

Kathleen

[famousmockngbrd]

It's so interesting to see what other people do! Brenda (PBK), I ordered some diapers from you a few weeks ago and I'm WAITING! :LOL Well, since you just had a baby I'll cut you some slack. ag

I catalog used books for sale online, for the bookstore I used to work at before I had Cole. I work about 20 hours a week.

[madison]

Once my baby comes this summer, I hope to be starting up a couple of things. I hope either to nanny or do a combo. As a former preschool teacher/Director, I love kids and would love to work with them again on a regular basis. The combo would be watching a couple kids after school, working as a post partum doula, doing some non-medical elder care and starting up my crafting business and doing crafts fairs. I LOVE crafts fairs. So, as long as I get to work with kids and families, and make soap and fun stuff (and make some money), I'll be happy! I will be poor but happy.

[daisysmom]

Ok, now I sell Avon, make and sell slings and clean houses and businesses

[LuckyMommaToo]

I was a copy editor in my former life, and I still pick up freelance jobs here and there. It's not reliable, but I can charge $25/hour! It's nice to pick up an extra hundred dollars now and then.
-Erin

[sparklemom]

I LOVE crafts fairs.

How do you get involved with craft fairs? How do you find ones to get involved with? Do you stay right in your area, or even travel a bit for one?

We're doing our first craft fair in a month. It's a little one with a local church. And it's less for the money, more for the experience for my daughters to get a chance to sell some of their crafts that they've made...like a glorified lemonade stand.

But anyhow, just wondering how you network for craft fairs and if you have any tips.

[freespiritmom]

I sell my hand crafted wire art (candle holders, flower holders, napkin rings, etc) and my hand crafted miniature dolls and wooden accessories. I love it! I started years ago wholesaling my wire art and then started selling exclusively online about 2 years ago. I don't even have an official website yet (still in the works) but I've done very well with an online gallery and word-of-mouth advertising. I've been so swamped with custom orders the past 10 weeks that I haven't even had time to focus on inventory for my future site.

I work less than 20 hours most weeks. Some days I don't craft at all ... other days I might craft 4 or 5 hours. I have 5 boys... 3 teenagers, a 7 and 4 year old along with a toddler. I homeschool the 7 and 4 year old. I do almost all my crafting late at night. This means that some days I'm running on only 5 or 6 hours of sleep but I can usually catch up by sleeping in a little later on the weekends. I also keep a bag filled with everything I need for crafting my miniature dolls. When we have a doctor, dentist, or orthodontist appointment I just grab the bag and craft in the waiting room. I do the same thing when Jack has his taekwondo class.

Working outside the home was just never an option for me once I became determined to stay at home with my children. When I just had 2 boys I cleaned houses and took them with me. It was actually very good money at the time and I picked my own hours and days to work. With 5 boys it would be much more difficult. I didn't actually plan to make money through my crafts. It just sort of happened. I saw some wire candle holders in a shop one day and decided to make my own for Christmas gifts for family and friends that year. When my friend, an antique/gift shop owner, saw them... she asked to buy them all. I left them with her and went home to make more. Then I started exploring different wire and beads and creating my own unique designs. Selling the dolls and doll accessories was by accident also. I posted a picture on a message board of some I had crafted for my son's birthday party and requests for custom orders started that day.

Wooden toys are really a hot item right now. I do very well selling miniature, wooden doll furniture, twig pavilions, horse stables etc. I think you could do very well with the right advertising and a well designed website...both of which I believe are key. I think I just got lucky by doing so well without a site. I'm anxious to get mine completed. Doing custom orders often requires a lot of communication between me and the customer. I look forward to just crafting what I want, when I want... and posting everything in my online store. It will be less stressful and also allow me more time to work on new designs that I just don't have time for now.

[freespiritmom]

lol I didn't mean to write a book

[Destinye]

I am a holistic vet and currently WAHM though occasionally see a client, hopefully will see more again when I move and DD is a little older! I love being a WAHM though for the most part, though can get frazzled!

[sparklemom]

freespiritmom, thanks for sharing! your post is so inspiring.

destinye, neat that you're an holistic vet. i'm such an animal lover. my senior poodle/terrier mix (shelter rescue) gets ear infections frequently. he has floppy ears, and they're also very hairy. any tips on how to prevent the infections? i don't want him to lose his hearing prematurely due to the infections. our vet wants to put him under and get all the hair out of there.
sorry this is off topic. pm if you would rather.

[Mallory]

Wow, This is an old thread! It is surprising to see a thread you started 3 years ago come back to life!

My life has changed so much since then! Divorce, being a single SAHM (and all the work at home jobs I could pick up- babysitting, delivering phone books,ect.), and married again.

Right now I am not doing any work other then parenting/homeschooling my first two and growing a third.

[justmama]

I"m an in-home childcare provider who is licensed through the Air Force since we live on a base and my hubby is active duty. I have two children from the same family 5 days a week with drop-in's every now and then.

Meg

[whimsy]

We do horse trailer living quarter conversions. (we put an Rv inside a horse trailer so you have a place to stay when you go places with your horses - or mules in our case)

wyatt's mom - DH took one of his mules to a massage therapist because her back bothered her. I was WAY jealous! (but you know how it is with animals - they come first)

I actually work in a home away from home. I have an office (I'm here now) with a whole nursery. the kiddos also have a HUGE play area, not to mention acres of land to play in.

my website isn't much right now (cuz I never find time to work on it)
www. diamond j conversions dot com (minus spaces)

[jamireles]

I do spa parties on the weekends when hubby watches the kids - maybe 2 hours each night. I like it because it gets me out of the house for a little while (but not for too long ). It keeps me from going too stir crazy . Plus, I enjoy the products, and we have a little extra "fun" money for the month.

[aprons_and_acorns]

I design preschool curriculum and teacher-made materials. I get paid by the hour by our local child care center and preschool. I can work as much as I want, which is generally around five hours per week. I like it, but it's hard to find time to work with a toddler around the house and a husband who is a full-time student and has a full-time job.

I also sit at the front desk of a very small hotel one day per week while the innkeeper runs errands. Hardly anything ever happens while I'm there, I just have to answer the phone and check people in. We usually get about two or three calls and one or two check-ins all day. Ds comes with me for that. It's not technically WAH, but it works for us.

[irinam]

I sell kids tights that import from Europe

But I work outside the home too, so i am not exlusively WAHMing