Top 17 Business Ideas for Ladies Sitting at Home

Last Updated on October 29, 2023

Working from home is ideal for many women that like staying close to their children or are looking for ways to earn an extra income on the side.

Finding a well-paying job working for someone else might seem challenging, but starting a business could be the perfect solution to working from home and generating income.

If you would like to be self-employed but aren’t sure what type of business you would like to start, keep in mind that the number of business ideas for women sitting at home are plenty.

Just go through the list of 17 business ideas for women looking to be their own boss and find out if you could be one of them.

1. Blogging

Blogging is one of the most suitable business ideas for women sitting at home. The great thing about it is that you work for flexible hours according to your preference.

You just need to build a website or hire a freelancer to build it for you and write articles about things you are passionate about.

To make money from blogging, you should consider using one of the monetization methods below:

• Advertising: Placing ads on your blog and getting paid whenever someone clicks on them.
• Selling products and services: creating physical or digital products to sell to your audience.
• Affiliate Marketing: Promoting other people’s products and services and being paid a commission whenever someone signs up or buys through your link.
• Sponsored Content: Working with companies and brands to create sponsored posts promoting their products or services.

If you’re ready to put in the necessary work, you can end up with a wildly successful blog that consistently earns you money.

All you need to do is keep posting high-quality content to your blog and being patient since building a successful blog requires both.

2. Starting a YouTube Channel

YouTube is in many ways similar to starting a blog. With the platform, you will be making videos rather than writing blog posts.

If you are passionate about a certain topic, have valuable content about it to share, and aren’t camera-shy, you can build an online following on YouTube and monetize your audience.

Unlike what many people assume, making money from YouTube isn’t just about posting a video and waiting for the checks to come rolling in.

It requires a lot of hard work and dedication to establish a successful YouTube channel.

Once you have a sizeable audience, there are various ways to start earning on the platform, many of which revolve around creating high-quality video content:

• Joining the YouTube Partner Program where you are paid whenever a viewer clicks on the ads shown on your video or watches it in full.
• Getting Featured on YouTube Premium, which is a paid membership service that allows people to watch videos without ads.
• Offering Channel Memberships where fans pay a certain fixed amount each month for a membership package that includes perks you define.
• Brand Sponsorships, which is all about getting paid to promote a company’s products, which is commonly referred to as influencer marketing.
• Affiliate Marketing, which as previously stated is promoting a company’s products or services and receiving a commission whenever someone signs up or buys through your link.

3. Drop-Shipping

Drop-shipping is a wonderful business opportunity for women sitting at home.

The great thing about it is that you don’t need to spend your own money on inventory, which means that it doesn’t require a significant financial investment when starting out.

To get started with drop-shipping, simply register for an account with an online drop-shipping platform that offers some amazing features such as Shopify, identify the products you are interested in selling, upload them to your storefront, and wait for the orders to come in.

The idea behind drop-shipping is that once the customer has placed the order, the products are shipped from the manufacturer to the customer.

This takes away the financial risk and cost of having a warehouse full of inventory you might not sell and the hassle of making deliveries.

Your role is basically limited to advertising and marketing your business to find the customers and make the sales.

Once the sale has been made, the manufacturer takes over. Your only cost is the expense of acquiring customers.

4. Starting an Amazon FBA Business

Learning how to sell on Amazon using the Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) can be a highly profitable way to start a business from home. It is not only simple but also cost-effective. Best of all, you can be up and running within a very short period of time.

The benefits of an Amazon FBA business are that you don’t need to build and maintain a website, store the inventory, handle the shipping, or even do any marketing. Amazon takes care of all these hassles while you enjoy the money. The company will pick up, pack, and ship your products and even handle customer service and returns so that you can focus on growing your business.

To get started with Amazon FBA just purchase heavily discounted products in bulk, box them, and send them to Amazon to be sold at regular prices.

Once a sale is made, Amazon will deposit the money into your Amazon seller account.

Best of all you can manage the inventory via an online user interface and can direct Amazon to return the inventory at any time if you aren’t satisfied.

5. Teaching Online

If you have in-demand knowledge or skills and a talent for teaching, you not only can share it in forums to get your name out there, but also can turn it into online courses.

Today, there’s an audience for virtually any desirable skill, whether it is advanced marketing, English as a second language, or everyday home maintenance tasks.

It is up to you to choose the class size and length. If you prefer one-on-one coaching or teaching small groups, consider mentorship, tutoring, or masterminds.

If you prefer larger groups, do bigger courses and training sessions. Whichever way you look at it, teaching online is a profitable home business idea since it requires low overhead.

You can use various online platforms to connect with potential students, including:

• StudyPool.com
• Chegg.com
• Tutor.com

You can also use various platforms for creating and selling online courses, which include:

• Teachable
• Skillshare
• Udemy

6. Selling Your Own Physical Products from Home

If you are a creative person, selling your own homemade products could be the ideal home business idea for you. With the speed and accessibility of the internet, it is now easier than ever to market and sell physical products from right inside your home.

The start-up costs associated with selling the products will depend on the tools and materials required to make them. While some products may require extremely low-priced materials, others may require a more significant financial investment to get started.

Creating and selling your own products from home also means that you can work at your own pace and volume. If you are unable to handle more orders at the moment, you can just place the items out of stock until you are caught up.

You only have to take on as many orders as you can handle.

7. Selling Digital Products Online

If you have mastered a certain subject or skill and don’t want to offer a service or teach online, you could package your experience and knowledge as a digital product that you can sell online from the comfort of your home.

Selling digital products online is a great home business idea since you don’t need to source or manage inventory or even ship products to customers.

Furthermore, once you create a digital product, it won’t cost you anything to replicate.

Digital products that you can create and sell include but aren’t limited to:

• eBooks
• Videos
• Logos
• Animations
• Illustrations
• Graphics
• Icons
• Fonts
• Photos
• Spreadsheets
• Written Templates (Resumes, Marketing Emails, Scripts, etc.)

8. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing refers to getting paid if someone signs up or purchases a product or service that you recommend.

It works best if you already have an audience to market products and services to such as a blog, website, or YouTube channel.

You can find numerous affiliate programs online that may be offering products and/or services your audience might be interested in.

As an affiliate marketer, the seller of the product will issue you with affiliate codes or links that you can share with your audience that lead to a sign-up page or a product or service sales page.

If a person purchases the product or service or signs up using your unique link or code, you will earn a commission for it at no cost to them.

9. Freelancing

Freelancing is a great business to start if you’re a woman sitting at home. The start-up costs are minimal and could be nil if you already have a computer.

You can find much success as a freelancer if you’re good at the service you offer.

With freelancing, you can make money at home in any field, including:

• Writing and Copywriting
• Data Entry
• Transcription
• Translation
• Graphic Design
• Creative Design
• Web Design and Development

Freelancing also offers a lot of flexibility since you can work on your own terms and even if your preferred location as long as you don’t fall behind on your tasks and meet the deadlines set by your clients.

10. Becoming a Virtual Assistant

Do you have strong administrative skills? Are you capable of handling all sorts of tasks efficiently? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you should become a virtual assistant.

A virtual assistant provides professional administrative, technical, or creative services to clients remotely.

You can offer your services to a wide range of clients, including entrepreneurs, small businesses, creative freelancers, and bloggers.

Some of the services that you might offer to your clients as a virtual assistant include but aren’t limited to:

• Administrative Support
• Accounting and Bookkeeping
• Data Entry
• Copywriting

To get started with your virtual assistant business, you will first have to register with an online outsourcing firm that offers virtual assistant services such as VickyVirtual, FancyHands, Time, Belay, etc.

Once you have registered you will be granted access to all the available projects and choose which ones to work on.

You will then have to submit your transcripts for review and once approved, you will be rated and paid. The ratings affect your levels and the pay, so always deliver high-quality work.

11. Social Media Management

If you have some experience working with social media platforms, you can create a home-based business that engages in various aspects of social media management for different organizations and businesses.

As a social media manager, you will be responsible for monitoring clients’ social media accounts, including Twitter feeds, Facebook pages, and blogs to engage with customers.

You will also be required to generate valuable social media content for your clients.

Some of your tasks as a social media manager include:

• Maintaining social inboxes.
• Interacting with users by answering questions and responding to comments.
• Designing social posts.
• Creating social media posts.
• Scheduling social media postings.

12. Photography

If you’re passionate about photography and good at taking pictures, this could be an excellent business idea for you.

Photography is now part of virtually everybody’s life with the advent of high-end mobile devices. Still, the demand for professional photography has never been greater.

You can make money as a photographer in the following ways:

• Wedding Photography
• Real Estate Photography
• Modeling Photography

You have almost limitless options to explore if you are a talented photographer. Best of all, you don’t even have to break the bank to get started – a simple digital camera is enough.

Start by creating a portfolio of your work and then market yourself to local businesses.

13. Starting an At-Home Daycare

If you have children of your own or just love children, then an at-home daycare can be a great business idea. The best thing about the business is that you get to set your own hours when you can offer care and do so from the comfort of your home.

Licenses and credentials may be required for this type of business, so ensure that you look into all the requirements in your state before getting started.

Parents will want to be sure that their children are with someone qualified and trustworthy.

It is also important to establish and maintain good relationships with the parents of the children under your care. You should have excellent communication skills and be prepared in case of an emergency. Children can be unpredictable at times, and you should be prepared in case something happens.

14. Becoming a Dog Sitter

Dog sitting has become a popular business in recent years. People love their pets and only want the best for them, even when they are away for a vacation or work. Being a dog sitter can be a great way to make some money at home.

Watching people’s dogs overnight can be a great business idea because many people have commitments at night and will require someone to watch their furry friends.

You can set up an area of your home for the dogs and provide them with the necessary care.

Dog sitting is such an amazing business because you will not only be staying in your home while doing it, but you also have the potential to earn a decent profit. If you love animals, this can be the perfect business for you.

15. Become an Airbnb Host

If you have rental houses in your home, why not list them on Airbnb and earn several hundred dollars each week? Becoming an Airbnb host is one of the best business ideas for women since it is something that you can do part-time but has long-term potential.

Becoming an Airbnb host isn’t difficult. All you have to do is list your house by uploading the property details. You will be required to provide pictures of the house, where it is located, the cost of each room, and the number of people each unit can accommodate.

After providing this information, the guests will do a search on the website and if they like your house/rooms, they will make a reservation and indicate how long they plan to stay.

They will then make the payment and come to stay as indicated.

16. Starting a Catering Business

Starting a catering business is a great way to work from home and earn some extra cash. To get started, you will have to invest in some equipment and supplies, but you can start small and grow your business slowly.

Here are some of the catering services you might want to consider:

• Full-Service Catering
• Drop-Off Catering
• Buffet Catering
• Picnic Baskets/Lunches
• Hors d’oeuvres Catering

17. Buying an Existing Ecommerce Business

If you prefer having a source of income that you can maintain while at home or on the go, then you should consider buying an established ecommerce business.

Prices vary significantly based on various factors, such as the total revenue generated, inventory, available assets (like a social media following or email list), profit potential, and more. Sellers may even onboard you and teach you how to properly run the store.

You can find various online marketplaces where you can buy or sell ecommerce stores such as Flippa and Exchange by Shopify among many others. You can browse the listings to find great businesses that match your needs, experience level, and budget.

How to Choose the Right Business Idea for Women Sitting at Home

All the 17 business ideas featured above are all equally good and have the potential to generate excellent returns, but if you are still not sure which one to choose, here are 5 steps that will potentially help:

I. Determine Your Interests and Skills

To start a business from home without spending too much upfront, you should find something you are passionate about.

It is also worth noting that your passion or interest needs to be scalable for it to be a viable business.

II. Find Out Whether There’s Demand for Your Idea

It is an important step since it will help you determine whether people are actively looking for the product or service you are offering.

If the answer is yes, it means that you have found something that people want, which makes it a good business idea.

III. Research the Market

You will also have to do a thorough research of the market where you wish to enter and see whether there are many competitors or not.

If you find that your business idea already has significant competition, you should consider a different option.

IV. Choose a Product or Service

It is perhaps the most important step since no matter how good your idea is, it can never be successful if you don’t offer something that people want or need.

Look at the products or services currently available in the market and see whether anyone is offering anything different from what’s currently there.

V. Start Small and Grow

You should ideally self-fund the business idea. You should only seek external funding when expanding.

To achieve this, you might have to break up your product or service into smaller pieces to fund the early stages and get some experience, traction, and balance.

Whatever business idea you decide to pursue, you should come up with a business plan to help you determine how to execute it.

A business plan will help you determine the viability of your business idea, giving you a better shot at success.

Final Thoughts

Women business owners are growing in numbers and this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

If you want to own and run a business from the comfort of your home, you can never run out of ideas to choose from.

A great place to start is the 17 business ideas featured here.

The best thing about most of those ideas is that they are either relatively low-cost or even completely free to start up.

When deciding which business opportunity to pursue, focus on your experience and skills, and then consider following your passions or interests.