Start an Online Business as a Stay At Home Mom

So you’re interested in how to start an online business as a stay at home mom?

You came to the right place. Over a decade ago, I was a stay at home mom googling “how to start an online business as a stay at home mom” while my toddlers watched Bob the Builder. I love my kids, but I really wanted a career too. I needed a way to financially contribute to the family without spending it all on daycare.

Why an online business works so well for stay at home moms

Enter… an online business. Back then, there really wasn’t a lot of information out there about what you could do. MLMs, blogging, Etsy shop, I wasn’t sure what other options where there at first so I gave all of those a try and didn’t get very far.

The reality now is that there are so many ways to turn your skills and experience into a business online with completely flexible hours, low start up costs, no need for full time daycare, and earning potential that is probably much better than you realize.

Step 1 – Get clear on your skills, strengths, and experience

The first step in how to start an online business as a stay at home mom is taking a look at all of your skills, talents, and strengths. Then list out your training, education, and experience in past jobs and even volunteer roles.

These lists will give you a solid jumping off point to figure out what value you have to offer that other people would be willing to pay for. Here’s a list of business ideas for moms to see where your skills, strengths, and experience fit. And here’s a custom GPT I built specifically to help moms figure out which business is the best fit for their skills and experience.

Step 2 – Choose a simple online offer you can start quickly & simply

When you have some contenders, now you want to focus in on what problems you can help people solve. What we are looking for is value you can offer (matches your skills and experience) + need they are willing and able to pay money to solve. The mom business idea generator custom GPT can help.

Here’s where I typically recommend moms start:

General services (virtual assistant)
Specialty services (building websites, graphic design, social media management, etc)
Consulting (marketing, HR, etc)
Coaching (health, life, business, relationships, etc)

These types of businesses are typically going to be priced higher than the other items listed here, meaning you won’t need to get as many clients to make really good money. And not needed as many clients means you won’t need to do as much marketing. Although you will still need some!

Step 3 – Package your offer

Once you’ve decided what you want to offer, it’s time to package it in a way that’s simple for both you and your future clients. This is where a lot of moms overcomplicate things – you DO NOT need a fancy website, a long sales page, or a 12-step funnel to get your first client.

What you do need is clarity: on what you’re offering, who it’s for, what result it helps them get, and how they can start working with you.

This can be as simple as:

A 1–3 sentence description of what you do
A clear result you help people create (why they want what you offer!)
A price
A way for them to pay you
A way to schedule with you

That’s it. That’s your offer.

And because you’re a stay at home mom building this business during nap time and the other pockets of time in your day, keeping things simple is not just what I recommend – it’s the only way this is going to work.

Later, you can add the polished website, the brand colors, the systems… but none of those are required to start making money now.

Step 4 – Set up the simple foundations (without overthinking it)

This step is where people assume you need a lot of tech, but you really don’t. You need the bare minimum to look legitimate and be able to get paid.

Here’s what I recommend starting with:

A professional email address (Google Workspace or Namecheap Email)
A way to accept payments (Wave, Stripe, PayPal, Square)
A way for people to schedule with you (like TidyCal)
A simple client agreement/contract + a way for people to sign it (like PandaDoc)
A place to meet with clients (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.)

You can truly build to $5k months and more with this set up alone.

And the best part? You can get all of it done in a weekend – or over two weeks of nap hours.

Step 5 – Start marketing with the simplest first step

Here’s the very first thing I want you to do when you’re ready to start getting clients:

Tell your existing network what you’re doing and ask for referrals.

That’s it.
Not posting every day.
Not learning Instagram strategy.
Not building a website.
Not figuring out SEO.
There’s plenty of time for all of this stuff later. But right now:

Just reaching out to people who already know and trust you… and letting them know what you’re offering.

I can’t tell you how many clients have filled their entire first client roster this way. Friends, past coworkers, family members, moms from school, neighbors, people from your volunteer circles – they all know people who need help.

Here’s the truth:

Most people want to support you when you’re starting something new.
They just need to know what you’re doing.

You’re not being salesy.
You’re not “bothering people.”
You’re simply sharing something you’re proud of and giving people the chance to help. (which by the way, they want to do)

It’s the highest impact marketing step you can take as a beginner… and hands down the fastest way to start signing clients.

Step 6 – Expect Messiness and Keep Going

Here’s something no one tells moms starting a business:

Messy is normal.
Slow is normal.
Feeling unsure is normal.
Trying things that don’t work is normal.

You’re learning a brand new skill set while keeping tiny humans alive.
What most people give full time hours to launching, you are building in the nooks and crannies of your day. It’s going to look different than you thought a business would.

But that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

Every successful mom in business has gone through this same imperfect middle (and honestly, we are still imperfect and successful anyway!). There’s nothing wrong with you if you don’t feel confident yet. Confidence is something that shows up after you take action, not before.

You don’t have to figure this out alone

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Ok… I can do this, but I would really love someone to take me through it all step by step,” you’re exactly who I built Mama to CEO for.

Mama to CEO is my business course for moms, and inside, you get the strategies, tools, and simple action steps you need to go from “I think I want to start a business…” to actually signing clients, making money, and feeling confident in what you’re doing.

Mama to CEO is designed specifically to help moms make money – which means all of the advice and strategy is tailored to someone with limited time to make it happen.

Click here to join.