The wake of the internet, coupled with the explosion in commerce and industry, provided an avenue for individuals from all works of life to find their space in the emerging business world. Some settled for paid employment, and others took to entrepreneurship.
However, students face two challenges, the need to study, which in turn requires financing to run smoothly. The second challenge being the need to earn a living, which is the outcome of their educational pursuit.
For stay-at-home parents, their inability to work could be a function of being nursing, being out of employment, career switch, and more.
Whatever the case is with students and stay-at-home moms, with the shift in the way businesses run from the traditional to a technology-driven one, ample opportunities exist for even students and stay at home parents.
A market refers to the coming together of sellers and buyers, and the axiom was used to refer to the physical location for the exchange of goods and services. Today, e-commerce has redefined the way business occurs.
Now, it is a case of the market been at your fingertip, just a button away. E-commerce has reshaped the way people buy and sell to the extent that traditional businesses are gradually losing their share of the market to these smart entrepreneurs.
Individuals are making massive bigger sales online even without a physical store than some traditional companies waiting for clients to work in to patronize them. So let’s explore some of the opportunities available online for students and seat at home parents:
What can you sell as services and products from home?
1. Consulting service
There are many areas where a consultant is required; depending on your skills, you can provide professional help online and, on some occasions, in real-time to others and get paid for it.
For instance, if you are a financial expert, you can provide advice to people online on their debt profile and maybe mortgaging issues.
There is no gainsaying you are bound to make huge sums as there are millions of people in need of financial advice and service. Other instances include; website consulting, legal services, medical services, etc.
2. Sell your writing, editing, and proofreading skills
Do you have what it takes to do a lovely piece? Do you have the ability to spot an error or a good command of English? Well, this is just your opportunity to earn a living with your skills.
There is a countless number of writing jobs with companies and individuals seeking just the right person to get the job done. Pitch your skills, and the job is yours!
A career in freelancing could commence from the comfort of your home, school environment, anywhere. As long as you have a computer system and internet access you are ready to go.
A student can work during leisure hours after lectures to earn an extra income. Check these sites for freelancing jobs now: freelancer, Upwork, contently, textbroker, etc.
There are numerous ways to use your skills online as a freelancer, and they include; research/ academic writing, article writing, editing & proofreading, typing, data entry, transcription service, website design, graphic design, taking online surveys, etc.
3. Sell your handiwork, crafts, and skills
Now for those who know how to do various art and craft, there is a huge market out there online, and all you need do is have a target niche, search for the trends in that area and then make products for your market. Use Google Trends to know products are enjoying large patronage.
Areas you can venture into include: sewing/ dressmaking, weaving, and knitting, hair styling, soap making. Baby dresses, for instance, has high demand including that of the babydoll; you can try your hands on some of those.
There are people in your locality in need of an electrical or mechanical engineer, someone to take care of their lawn, a furniture maker, or someone to carry out carpentry and home-cleaning services, and more. All these are opportunities to spot online and reach out to those in need of these services.
4. Sell your opinion
Are you in doubt? Well, you have earned the right to an opinion, so why not profit from it? Now you can express your views on some topical issues or even give useful advice to people on real-life problems and get paid for your opinion. You can also take part in online surveys, product reviews, and mystery shops.
5. Sell your breast milk
Yeah! When I came across this, I was like, ‘what, are you for real!’ and I decided to inquire more and discovered it’s a booming business.
Breast milk or wet help is in line with the conventional mom’s provision of support for a baby with a need to be breastfed maybe because the mom is late or for some other reasons.
You can find out more to know how it works. Purchase a breast pump, that’s for nursing mothers or those lactating; get on Craigslist and every other online listing to seek clients. Once you get orders pump, freeze the breast milk, and deliver to the clients.
6. Build an online store presence
Running an online store is one crazy way to go as a home-based business owner. Once you can identify a niche, build your store, so easy as there are templates and tutorials on the site to guide you and grow your market. The tendency is for the business to expand beyond the home front.
There are so many things you can sell in an online store such as intellectual property (e-books, videos, etc.), home and health care products, electrical appliances, electronics, customized t-shirts, hair accessories, wares for both males and females, etc. Check these online stores: eBay, Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, etc. to sell your products and services.
Also, use Google Trends in knowing what products are trending in the market to help you decide what to sell.
7. Try out the photography hub
Do you have a passion for always going, ‘click’, ‘click’? Then you can now turn that passion into a money-spinner. There are companies and individuals in need of clear images of places, scenery, objects, just anything and they are willing to when any of your images are purchases online.
All you need is a camera with good lens resolutions and as you go about your regular activities and outings keep clicking to the bank!
8. Caregiver and babysitting job
Babysitting and caregiving services are tasks some students and mom would love doing. Some persons would require the service of a babysitter occasionally or on a regular basis and here you are, working already!
For the moms, well it could just be like a walk in the park since it is something you are used to already with your kids. Also, there are a lot of senior citizens in need of persons to provide home health care services and attend to their needs; cleaning, cooking, dress them up, bath, etc. and it’s something you can do in your locality.
9. Work as a virtual assistant/ call center agent
The job of a virtual assistant is like that of a remote administrative staff who works from a different location. You can also, function as a customer care agent for companies providing answers to customer inquiries.
Once employed by the corporation, you undergo familiarization training to have a better understanding of what the company does.
10. Become a blogger
Blogging seems to be the real deal. Almost everyone wants to have a blog on one topic or the other, covering different niches.
Monetize your blog using Google AdSense, affiliate marketing, creating your products and services such as e-books, video and audio files, and more. List of blogs to check: WordPress, Blogger, Wix, Weebly, etc. You can use Pinterest and Craftgawker to promote your blog.
To summarise
However, as much as you want to earn online, you must be careful and investigate very well not to get scammed by the too many fraudsters out there offering jobs online. Be wary of sites that require you to make payments before you can get jobs, except recommended by a reliable source.
