5 Work-from-home Online Business Ideas for Military Wives & Moms

Don’t you think one of the most common obstacles to actually working-from-home is finding a tangible idea to run with? Maybe you would like to turn a passion/hobby/skill into a career but aren’t sure where to start. Or, you already have a qualification that you can build on by getting a few more degrees but aren’t sure which direction to take. Or, maybe you’re just confused about what you can do from where you’re posted?

Here are 5 online work-from-home ideas that can help you start thinking:

1.     Blogging: If you're planning to step into freelance journalism, content writing or self-publishing, starting a blog can be that first step to showcase your writing to the world. Eventually, you can create a portfolio on your blog and use that to pitch for creative writing or freelance journalism projects.  I started my personal blog www.chandanabanerjee.com to jot down my early motherhood snippets and my take on situations happening around, but over the years it has grown into a place where I feature my freelance journalism portfolio as well as offer ongoing series to inspire fauji wives to create work-from-home brands.

2.   Counseling: If helping people is your forte, you can think of offering a counseling service via the phone or Skype. For this, you will have to get the appropriate education in the field, create a website and build a client base. With the increase in mental health issues and the need for good counselors, this is a field through which you can help other as well as earn a fee for doing what you like. Interestingly, if you’re a counselor or want to train as one, you can also offer your services to the people at your base.

3.   Freelance journalism and content writing: You can do either or a combination of both. For this, you need to have a passion and aptitude for writing crisp prose, diligence to find interesting stories to pitch (essential for journalism), and the persistence to keep going till your story idea finds a home and you an assignment. Do remember that you may get plenty of rejections before you sell an idea to a magazine or website and persistence as well as patience are key traits to have if you’re venturing into freelance journalism.

I started freelancing over 23 years ago, when I was a teenager, and grew my list of credits (the publications you sell your articles to) to include national as well as international magazines, websites and companies. It was exhilarating, frustrating and interesting, all at the same time, and today I’m happy to have built a body of work that I’m proud of.

4.   Photography: If you enjoy taking photos and are good at it, have you considered starting a photography business? If you are posted in a big town you can do family portrait shoots and when you get posted to back-of-beyond bases, you can turn your business virtual by selling your pictures to stock photo companies, or to entrepreneurs who are seeking out quality images to use in their websites and blogs. You can also sell your photos as prints.

5.    Create and sell a physical product: If you like making things, you can think of turning it into a business. Whether its handmade jewelry, décor items, art or skincare products, you can make and sell them via your Facebook page, and on Etsy and Amazon. Earlier this year, I started posting photographs of my quirky, original artwork on my social media pages, and before I knew it, I was getting online orders for my paintings and products. If you’d like to see my art page, do check out Jugnoo Story Art on Facebook, and @chandanamilspo on Instagram.

Do note that most military bases have rules about not selling directly from your service accommodation, while in some places you can do so if you give a certain percentage of your profit to the welfare organization. So, if you want to sell directly to your friends and neighbors at the base, do check how you can do so legally or sell your products via the thrift shop run by the Army/Air Force/Navy Wives Welfare Association.

There are plenty of work-from-home ideas you can cherry pick from, depending upon your talents, skill, and education.

If you’d like more ideas, download my FREE ebook ‘25 Portable Work-from-home Ideas for Military Wives ’ by subscribing to my blog www.ChandanaBanerjee.com here.

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