My name is Linda I am 44 yrs old, I am the owner of a online boutique called Monkey Bizness. I have been making sock monkey dolls for several years now. I started off donating them for charity and it grew into a business from there. I began June 1st 2007 on making cloth diapers to help families on a budget to be able to afford to use cloth diapers.

I  also make and sell unique low cost items for babies, children and woman. Many of my items are made from recycled items, which gives items a new life and keeps them out of the landfill. It has made a big difference in my life to do something I love. Doing so shows in your product, in your attitude and how you view life.

My hope  for the future  is to have my products catch on like wildfire, and I am hoping to one day get them placed in some brick and mortar stores.

http://hyenacart.com/Monkeybizness/
honey1@ameritech.net

*To see the previous Featured Work-At-Home Moms and Self-employed Women in this series click that image below! You may also want to subscribe here so you don’t miss the remaining features to come!

*I recently found a Facebook Link-Up. I’ve never participated in one for my Facebook page before. If you have a business fan page you may want to join on Fridays also at MamaBytes!

I mentioned in a previous post {click here} that I’ve tried numerous things to earn money from home. Well, I want to share a little or a lot of what I’ve learned with each one of those things. This is my “work-at-home journey”   For some of my mom-friends who want to stay at home too I hope this series will help you find something you can do to help you reach your goal. Maybe it will just get you brainstorming your possibilities

Before the kids came…

I went from working as a Rental Control Coordinator for a national car rental company and an insurance claims company to staying home and selling Pampered Chef. I was preparing to earn money from home before I actually had children.  I got pregnant with my firstborn about 6 months after I started PC. I stopped selling PC maybe 3 mos. or so after getting pregnant. I was so SICK (nauseated). I remember trying to do a show with food and feeling so bad, it was like torture. Nothing like morning-sickness to ruin a job in the food industry

Then, because I have a Bachelor’s Degree I was able to do substitute teaching locally. This paid well-enough and kept me busy but towards the third trimester I had to stop because my blood pressure was going up and soon I had preeclampsia and eventually had to have Brendan about 6 wks early. But subbing can be a good “filler” when you’re in between jobs. I did it years prior when I was in that exact predicament before marriage.

If you have a four-year degree (even if its not in teaching) and you think you’d like to be a substitute teacher you should check with your local board of education and don’t forget about other school jurisdictions that are within a close driving distance for you.  I’ve worked for two different school districts and found the city district seemed to have more work and I think was always hiring subs.

{Side note: From my experience, and I subbed just about anything and everything between preschool and high school, special ed and arts-related- it seems that the lower elementary grades worked me harder, I actually had to teach *gasp! hehe. Middle school was possibly the worst for me when it came to dealing with the kids at that age…and high school might have been the easiest.- Just something to think about!}

So after having to quit the subbing, we moved onto more entrepreneurial types of things… I’ll begin to share in part two!

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It was DELISH!

This brand also boasts to be healthier for you because of the Ganoderma Lucidum herb. I didn’t investigate those claims but I know I enjoyed my sample

Would you like to check into this brand of coffee and tea?  Click here to be taken to Lisa’s website, Healthy Drink and More!

I’m in the middle of a summer series promoting other work-at-home and self-employed women. Subscribe here so you don’t miss when those “features” are posted! Oh and there’s so much more going on here at Hall of Fame Moms. Another great reason to subscribe!

I am Marva Morris-Guyton a married mother of 3, an adult stepson, and two daughters.  I am currently an Independent Consultant for PartyLite which is a company that sells candles, candle accessories, spa items and most recently some gourmet food items. I decided to start my business because I needed a supplemental income and did not want to work retail hours to earn an additional $600-800 monthly.  PartyLite allowed me to make my own schedule!

Most recently I have appreciated PartyLite because I was laid off from my full time job and PartyLite has allowed me to keep providing for my family just by increasing the amount of shows I host.  This has meant that my kids can continue in dance classes and my husband did not need to get a second and third job.  I am currently working on building my business by sharing the opportunity with others who also need to earn extra income at their own pace.  PartyLite provides FREE trips which allows me to go places that I normally would not be able to fit in my budget.

I am currently actively recruiting for new consultants in ALL areas. The ABSOLUTE BEST thing about this opportunity is that it is FREE to start!! There are no minimums and no territories! Check out my website www.partylite.biz/growinglites I can also be reached on 609-426-1878 and you can follow me on Twitter under “GROWINGLITES”!  I am looking forward to many more GREAT things with PartyLite and would love the opportunity to share that with others.

You can view pictures at Marva’s website here!

Subscribe here to get Hall of Fame Mom’s updates by email or RSS!  To see the previous featured Work at home moms and self-employed women in this series click here.

Long story short, I had to quit my job as a substitute teacher due to some high-risk pregnancy complications setting in and I’ve been home ever since!  To see our finances on paper *shudder*, last time I did, I believe showed that our situation was next to “impossible”.  But God has made it possible. Its a financial struggle, but He keeps us floating along.

I became convinced that God is on the side of the mom who wants to stay home with her kids.

Does that mean it works like magic? No. Does that mean every mom who wants this can just quit her job and stay home? No. Single moms,  wives of disabled husbands, and so on will have unique challenges.  But I believe that for mom’s who have a personal relationship with Christ and who desire to be home raising their kids instead of working an outside job that is keeping them from being there for their kids…that God can make it happen for you! He’s doing it for us and I know He is making a way for others.

Now, I’m not God to know what his exact plan for every individual is but I do know that He tells us what His will is in the bible. Its up to us to accept it and believe it and live it. And that requires a good bit of faith! Which the Bible tells us that “without faith, it is impossible to please God”  Hebrews 11:6.

God’s will is stated in scripture for you and I. However, His plan as to how His will will unfold for us as individuals will be different. Same will …different plans.

I do work. I work from home and have been working from home since my oldest (who is 6) was just a baby. I’ve done a number of things to earn a little extra income from home. Such as…

• Selling antiques, old stuff, and clothing on Ebay
  
• Selling the above at a flea market
  
• Selling clothing and misc to  consignment stores
  
• Selling maternity and child items through a twice a year local church sale
  
• Teaching myself how to earn money online by blogging and affiliate marketing
  
• My main source of extra income is doing part-time childcare for other working families.
  
• AND, my husband sells parking and bottled water/or pop during the Pro Football Hall of Fame festivities since we live so close. Which I also blog about. The festival starts in about two or three weeks so you might want to subscribe to my email updates if you’re interested in that.
  

I don’t make a living at what I do it but I do make enough to help with the finances. I have also seen my earnings increase over the years.  And after all, its my husbands God-given responsibility to provide for our family and he does a great job at it…even taking on a second job at times.

But, making the “stay-at-home” thing work goes even deeper than “what can I do to make money”.  I’ve found that part of making this work includes, for me, becoming savvy using coupons and rebate programs and taking advantage of freebies. Now I don’t take advantage of everything that I become aware of but I have learned how to use these to my advantage.

I plan to share some tips on how I went about earning money from the ways I listed above. I hope you will subscribe for my email or RSS updates so you don’t miss that post when it comes up. If you have any work-at-home questions for me please leave a comment and I’ll get back with you. Thanks for reading today!

Don’t forget, I also am featuring a WAHM (work-at-home mom) or Self-Employed Woman each week through the summer. I hope that what they are doing to help their families income might inspire some of you who are looking for opportunities as well

I chose to be a stay-at-home mom while my kids are young. That has meant finding ways to supplement our income. I do what I can.

I’ve sold antiques and used clothing on Ebay; and childrens and maternity items at twice-a-year kids sale locally. My husband and I have sold old books ,etc  at a flea market. We sell parking in front of our home during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival. Currently I do part-time childcare from my home as well as everything I have going on with my website.

Actually, my stay-at-home status has given me an opportunity to learn new skills (blogging, wordpress, writing articles,  marketing, etc) without paying to go to school. I’m in the school of “real-life” here

There’s not much glamor in it, but its my life.

What do you do to earn extra income from home? You don’t have to be a blogger or have a website to leave a comment. Anyone can leave one and your email address will not be shared nor will you be added to my newsletter.

Keep your eyes open…you just never know!

I’m a stay-at-home mom, homeschooler, student, and business owner.

I am able to work a flexible schedule, focus on my family and make some extra money. I love what I do & have also been able to build a lovely library for my own children.

Usborne Books & More carries over 1400 award-winning, beautifully illustrated, educational and fun books and activity kits for children ages infant to young adult. We provide book fairs, fundraisers, home shows, reading programs, direct sales, matching grants and income opportunities!

To Contact Alina:

eghinga@yahoo.com

www.ubah.com/A3094

I enjoy reading, writing, working out, decorating, music, art and spending time with my family.

On the side.

Alina’s husband is an artist and does high quality personal paintings. Be sure to check out the talent displayed at his website at :

http://portraitartist.com/ghinga

Its not too late- click here for details if you’d like to buy an ad spot in that column for my Holiday spotlight.

On to meet Holly of The Work At Home Woman.  So  tell us about yourself and your business, Holly.

I am a happily married, full-time stay a home mom to a beautiful little girl named Hadley. While she is napping and before she wakes up in the morning I work part-time from home as the founder of The Work at Home Woman, an online business resource and blog for women and moms who wish to work from home or become self-employed. To supplement that I also work part-time for a small publishing company as a social network liaison.

The Work at Home Woman’s mission is to help women and moms acquire the knowledge and skills to be able to successfully work from home or become self-employed, while providing support, inspiration and motivation.

To Contact Holly:

holly@theworkathomewoman.com

www.TheWorkAtHomeWoman.com

On Twitter:   www.twitter.com/Holly_Hanna

What do you and the family do for fun, Holly?

We love traveling, playing outdoors, swimming, boating, reading, cooking and spending time with family and friends.