NOTE: With this article, Towel & Basin continues its celebration of Women’s History Month by serving and supporting, encouraging and empowering women who are making history today.
As you think about the many work-at-home opportunities, you could be overlooking one important thing –
the skills you already have that could be turned into a new work-at-home business.
It’s easy, and sometimes tempting, to sign up with a company or to begin selling a product. But there are many skills and work experience that each of us bring to the table that can help us to create our own successful at-home enterprises.
Before you settle on a work-at-home job, carefully examine your skill set to determine if you can build a solid at-home work opportunity out of your skills.
Though there is no harm in joining an already successful company, many moms are more interested in starting their own businesses. If that sounds like you, consider your skills first so you choose a work-at-home business well-suited for you.
Money and math
Have you ever worked as a cashier or bank teller? What skills did that require?
If you had to reconcile your cash drawer, you have some skills in mathematics and experience with bookkeeping. And attention to detail.
You also likely have some customer service skills. Many women work at home as bookkeepers, assistants to accountants, or customer service reps.
Office
If you have ever worked in an office, you might have a long list of beneficial qualities that would help in an at-home job. These include phone skills, customer service skills, software experience and perhaps even some marketing or public relations skills.
Office skills and experience (as well as any training you might also have) can be used in a variety of ways with at-home jobs. For example, many moms work at home as virtual assistants making good use of their customer service skills, software experience and office training.
Other moms with office skills can work at home for a local business. To save money, local businesses are more likely these days to hire people to work from home to handle calls, mail and basic clerical duties.
Technical
Those who have worked in graphic design and website design are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the work-at-home job market.
You can easily turn your graphic design and website design skills into an at-home business. Your services be a savings for a business compared to the expense of a full-time in-house designer. And if you provide the same – or better – quality, service, you would likely have a client for a long time.
Other technical skills that might be useful for at-home businesses include:
- Computer repair,
- Software application training and
- Other technical skills that you might have learned in a previous job, in college, or special training courses.
Entertainment and hospitality
Many moms have had success turning their entertainment skills into an at-home business. Your ability to put on a beautiful party can be turned into a business that puts on tea party birthdays for young girls.
If your entertainment and hospitality skills included cooking, you could:
- Start a catering business from home, or
- Become a personal chef.
And some moms start successful home businesses that are borne out of their theater or singing experience.
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The key to turning your skills and experience into a successful home business is to be honest about your skills – whether they be strong or weak.
Start today. Make a list of your strong skills and experiences.
From that list, brainstorm ideas for your at-home business. You might be surprised how much you bring to the work-at-home business table.
Resources
Skills Inventory
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay