We’ve been talking about MLMs lately, but I still stand by the belief that there are better ways to make money than joining an MLM (or in addition to joining an MLM).

Here’s my theory: it’s better to invest your time, money and efforts into promoting something you made than selling someone else’s products, especially if that someone else is taking a bigger cut of the profits from each sale.

When you’re selling for an MLM, you’re often making pennies on the dollar for your work, and the company takes the biggest cut of each sale. But, if you’re selling something you created, you’re taking 100% of the revenue. Even with major expenses - for example, if you have to print something and maintain inventory, you’re still often better off selling your own products than someone else’s products.

In an ideal situation though, you’ll probably have a diverse portfolio of multiple income streams: both from your own products and from affiliate marketing. That’s what my weekly newsletter is all about: I want to help women build a portfolio life by integrating work, family and life.

So, how can you make money from home, without working full-time or selling someone else’s stuff?

Sell an e-course

There are so many platforms that allow you to create and sell e-courses (the most commonly used ones are probably Teachable and Kajabi). All you need to do is come up with the content - whether it’s written or video, and then host through one of the sites. Maybe you think you don’t have anything to teach, but if you feel the drive to help others and help your family out financially, then

I know there is something you are good at that others would like to know. Start by listing out the things you’re good at and what others may ask you about often or compliment you on. Then think of the ideal person who could benefit from this knowledge - what are their pain points? What benefits would they get from learning what you know?

Write an e-book

If you’re not quite sure about going straight to creating an e-course, consider starting with an e-book. This is a good way to write up some of your knowledge and then maybe someday, you can work it into an e-course too. What is something you love talking about? What is something God has been teaching you lately? What do you wish you knew at a certain stage of your life? Sit down and write it out.

You can share your homeschooling systems or lesson plans; recipes you’ve created; write a devotional; put together a list of tips on how to keep your house clean, ec. You can format it in a Word document, create a cover in Canva, save it as PDF and start selling it as a digital download (Gumroad is a good platform for this, but you can also list e-books on Amazon!).

Make your own product

Calendars, planners, prayer journals, crochet baby hats, fancy bows for little girls, etc - there are so many options! Some of these products have more overhead than others, and you may have to maintain an inventory, but if you have a good idea for a product, go for it!

You can also set up a print on demand business model, where you design the product and a third party prints, fulfills and ships the order when it’s placed. It’s low cost to set up and you don’t have to manage inventory or shipping! This blog post is a great resource to start with.

Sell templates

If you haven’t browsed Etsy recently, go do that now. There are so many templates available for download - from plans on how to build a chicken coop to meal planning worksheets.

You may need to do some online learning to figure out what systems to use to design the templates, but if there is a system that works really well for you and your family, consider sharing it with others through downloadable templates.

Invest in real estate

This one requires more financial investment, as you’ll need to make a down payment and maybe do some remodeling, but real estate is one of the best long-term investments anyone can make. Maybe you can’t afford to do it now, but if your financial situation allows it, start saving towards this as a future goal.

Buy a business

If you feel like you don’t have a business idea of your own, you can buy someone else’s business. So many baby boomers are getting ready to retire, which means they’re looking to cash out of their businesses. You can buy a local brick and mortar store, or go online with drop shipping or e-commerce. This book is a great read if you’re interested in this kind of opportunity.

Tutor

This is a huge area of opportunity. You can do in-person tutoring (or offering some sort of other lessons like for piano or voice, if that is something you’re good at), or you can offer online tutoring. This YouTube video talks more about this opportunity.

Offer childcare

Childcare is a major need in the U.S. right now, so, if you love kids or have kids of your own, look into opening an in-home daycare or becoming a nanny.

Take up photography

Buy a used camera online, take some online classes to learn more about how to use a camera and take good photos, and then offer some free shoots to family and friends for practice. Photography is a great side hustle because it can offer you flexibility to schedule photo sessions, gives you a creative outlet, and people are always looking for photographers.

Work as a virtual assistant

This is another growing area that is especially popular for moms who want to work from home. From traditional administrative assistant type roles (booking appointments, responding to emails, etc.,) to more specialized services (podcast marketing, social media management, writing blog posts, etc), there is so much need for smart and organized assistants. This free training on working as a VA looks like a great overview if you need an introduction.

Gig work (Uber, Lyft, Instacart, etc)

Did you know that roughly 70% of Instacart’s gig workers are women, and half are mothers? If you have a car, you’re pretty much set to apply and start taking delivery gigs. This opportunity also offers flexibility to work with your family’s schedule.

Social media manager

Similar to being a virtual assistant, so many people are looking for people to help them manage and grow their social media accounts. I’d recommend taking some sort of social media course and becoming an expert in one channel. For example, you can invest in the Pinterest Lab e-course and then start finding clients for whom you can manage their Pinterest account. A good place to find leads is to join some Facebook groups where entrepreneurs are likely to hang out.

Remote part-time work

This website & the Mom Project have regular job postings for remote jobs, primarily focused for moms. Note, many of these roles are customer service based, which may be difficult for some moms without childcare, especially if you plan to work during naptime. I’ve seen women comment in Facebook groups often that having a job that requires you to take calls often (for example, as a customer service rep) is really difficult with a child and no childcare.

There are so many other opportunities other than MLM for women to make money from home. But, here is the key: It’s going to take hard work and it’s going to take time.

So many online teachers, influencers, and MLMs try to sell an overnight success - that for so many hundreds of dollars or only so many hours per week, you can make thousands of dollars from home and still have time for your family. But, the majority of the time, that is not true for the majority of people who want to or choose to opt into the offer.

“A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” -Proverbs 10:4

Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” A sluggard is a habitually lazy person - someone who is slow moving, and a “slack hand” describes someone who is characterized by a lack of work or activity; meanwhile a diligent person is characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort. Getting rich quickly with no work input is not sustainable, and most of the time, it is nearly impossible.

Whatever opportunity you pursue it will take work and it will take time. You may need to take classes or read books on the topic to get educated in an area before you start working. If you want to start your own business, you’ll need to figure out the financial and legal aspects (arguably, you’ll also need to figure this out if you’re selling through an MLM company as well).

You may need to invest some of your finances to launch a product or a website, but if you’re willing to put in the work, it is possible to use the strengths God has given you to build up income streams for your family if that is what you are called to do in this season.

In the time of Google, YouTube and e-courses, you can pretty much learn to do anything nowadays, and almost anyone - with enough effort and will - can start making money through an online business.

But the hold up is often with us: We want to take the easy way. We don’t have the time. We think we don’t know enough to start a business / write a book / teach a course / design a template / etc. We think no one will be interested or buy what we want to offer. Taxes / finances / legal stuff scares you and you don’t know where to start. The list of reasons and excuses can go on and on, and sometimes, to our own ears, they sound logical and fair.

In Matthew 25, Jesus shares a parable about talents where three people received money from an investor. One got five talents, another two, and another one talent (one talent from the New Testament today is worth around $4,000). The first two people doubled their investment, but the third person hid his money until the investor returned.

“But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” -Matthew 25:26-29

The third person lost what they had, not because they tried to do something with it and failed, but because they did nothing at all with what was entrusted to him. Because he was afraid, and he thought his fear was a good enough reason to not do anything with what he was given.

You’ve been entrusted with something by God: natural abilities, spiritual gifts, time, relationships, finances, etc., and you are responsible to steward well and multiply what you’ve been given.

This may lead to wealth in this world, and that is good as long as we work from a heart of abundance and do it all as for the Lord, viewing material possessions and wealth with an eternal perspective, by making sure that we don't:

Live in pursuit of getting rich (I Timothy 6:10, Proverbs 28:20).
Worry about money (Matthew 6:25-34).
Trust in wealth rather than God (Luke 12:16-21, Psalm 52:7).
Love money as our god, when no man can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
Use our money to oppress other people (James 2:6, Isaiah 3:15, Amos 2:6-7).

As Christians, we are called to aspire to live quietly, and to mind our own affairs, and to work with our hands (1 Thes. 4:11). The kind of work we do will change from season to season, shifting between paid and unpaid work (ministry, caregiving, raising children, volunteering, etc), but whatever we do, we must do it as for the Lord (Col. 3: 23), knowing that each of us will need to give account to God for how we lived out this one life we’ve been given (Rom. 14:12) and how we multiplied what was entrusted to us (Mat. 25:26-29).

How women can better excel in our work is a passion of mine. If you want to take your career to the next level, my Elevate Blueprint could be a good fit for you!