When I had my baking company, Moon River Bakery, I did everything with my kids by my side. I would bake with them in the pack'n'play, I would run deliveries of wholesale orders for shops with them in the stroller, and when I had my pop-up shop I literally took orders from customers while breastfeeding a baby under a blanket. It was exhausting and naturally I burnt out a little. I took some time off to focus on going back to just parenting my kids, especially after the birth of my third baby, and chose to shutdown Moon River Bakery indefinitely.
This past year I started to get antsy again. While I totally love being home with the kids and I definitely do not take it for granted, I began to feel stagnant. I wanted to continue to evolve and start working towards something, so I took a chance and decided to start writing. It was always a dream of mine to publish a book, so I did it- I took a chance on myself and I took the steps and self published Cookies For Dinner. Aside from the personal accomplishment and gratification, for the first time in a little while I was bringing in a small amount of income. I realized that it was a puzzle piece that had been missing for a while and I wanted to continue. Making money was something I craved.
As stay at home parents, there aren't a large amount of options as far as "work from home" jobs that are legit. There are apps that you can pick up desk work on, but honestly in my opinion the pay rates are just so low and the jobs are really sporadic. There are also like 5,001 MLM companies thrust in your face like every single waking moment you dare to check your feed on Facebook and Instagram. Everyday I'm like, "No Susan, I really don't want to become a diamond member under your special tier so I can sit in on calls with a CEO and ask my entire family to buy this product..." ( Don't get me wrong, I know MLM's are great for some people- Just not my cup of tea...) So yeah, did I mention options working from home are limited?
That was when I decided to think out of the box. What if I could find a way to work from home, without being home- but bring the kids with me? I started to seek out different things I could do- Maybe they wouldn't be the most glamorous, but they allowed me the freedom to work around kid schedules and still take care of the house. I felt like I won the lottery; I suddenly was feeling a financial freedom, sense of accomplishment, and wasn't going crazy in the house with kids. It has also left me with time to work on some personal projects and allowed me to curate and shape my brand since my schedule is flexible and I set my own hours. I truly am my own boss and, despite how much I loved having my own company its been amazing, the best part of working for someone else's company is not having the overhead involved in running your own.
Eventually, I know I will move into a career. Something permanent that I will grow with. Life is certainly hectic and there are days I want to scream, but I know that my days of my kids being little are limited. It's not a journey for everyone, and its not possible for everyone, but its mine.
Here are my favorite ways I have been able to become a Stay at Home Mama Boss:
Wag!
Wag is an app based dog walking service. The sign up process is fairly painless, it involves paying a small fee for a background check and taking a few tests based off instructional videos. Once approved, you can set the radius you are willing to travel. You can pick up walks as they become available and whenever is convenient for you. This is probably my favorite way to make money in my spare time. I never realized the joy that was possible from being outside so much. I strap my daughter to my back in the carrier and we hit the pavement with furry friends, often times with my boys in tow as well. I have loved the exercise ( I actually just quit my gym- I am literally getting paid to walk, so I couldn't see paying to work out inside!) and I have always been an animal lover so its been such a great fit. My kids really get a kick out of getting to play with dogs too. I cannot recommend this app enough! If you like Wag!, you can also check out Rover. Rover is a pet sitting app, and while I haven't had as much success, I have gotten quite a few pet sitting jobs off of it.
DoorDash
I was skeptical at first with this app. I had unsuccessfully signed up with UberEats and Postmates before giving DoorDash a try. I really like the interface in the app and although it took a little learning, I finally have this app down to a science. A typical DoorDash shift involves selecting a zone to make deliveries in and waiting to get orders. The order will come through on the app and you can choose whether or not to accept it, I usually choose based on how far I have to travel. My biggest tip for using this app is to really think about how long the entire order will take because naturally you want to take as many as you can to make the most money for your time ( and gas!) spent. After you accept an order, you will head to the restaurant and pick it up, and deliver it. They supply you with a credit card they fund for the orders you have to pay with. Its super easy and I usually plan my times I am dashing midday between my dog walks or in the evening around dinner. My kids don't mind when we Dash and I try and turn it into family time. We talk a lot in the car while driving, I let them choose the tunes, and sometimes I let them watch a movie. The biggest con with this is the constant in and out of the car with kids.
Instacart
Out of the three of these apps, I am most new to Instacart. It was a little tricky to learn the app itself, and I didn't find that they gave a ton of instruction until you are physically on your first shopping trip. That was a little annoying and also they didn't send me the payment card that they fund until I requested one, which took a week to arrive, but other than that its pretty simple. Basically, after you are all signed up you can sign up for hours in towns that are close to you and have stores that are partnered with Instacart. You must be in the town when your shift starts, so I have had the best luck with making sure I only take shifts that are in my actual town. This allows me to hang at home with the kids until the order actually comes through. We then will head to our local store that is partnered with them and you can start shopping the order. Once you complete shopping, pay, and are in your car you can head to the customer for the drop off. It was a fairly easy process, although if you are like me and hate food shopping with your children, then this might not be for you.
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