Tips for Making Money Online as a Mom in Tampa

Being a mom is hard enough, but making money on top of that? It can feel impossible. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make money online — and you don’t even have to leave your living room to do it! Keep reading for some great tips on how to make money online as a mom in Tampa.

How moms can bring in an income online

There are a number of ways to earn money online that you can do from the comfort of your own home. One great way for moms to make money online is to start a blog. You can write about anything that interests you, from parenting and relationship advice to fashion and beauty tips. Best of all, you can do it all on your own schedule. Once you build up a following, you can even start earning advertising revenue.

Another option is to sell products or services online. If you're crafty, you can sell handmade goods on sites like Etsy. Or, if you have a knack for writing, you can offer your services as a freelance writer or editor. There are endless possibilities when it comes to making money online as a mom.

Get a business plan together

This may seem like a no-brainer, but so many people try to start an online business without any sort of plan whatsoever. Don’t be one of those people! Having a business plan will help you stay organized and focused as you get your business off the ground. Here’s what you need to include in your business plan to put yourself on the path to entrepreneurial success.

Create a website for your business

In today’s day and age, nearly every business needs a website — and that includes businesses run by stay-at-home moms! A website helps you reach a wider audience and can give your business a more professional appearance. Plus, setting up a website is easier (and usually cheaper) than you think. Check out this helpful tutorial on how to build your website quickly.

Set up an invoicing system

Unless you want to spend all day chasing down payments, you’re going to need some sort of system for invoicing your clients or customers. There are lots of great invoicing software options out there (many of which are free!), so take some time to research which one will work best for your business. Once you have it set up, sending invoices will be a breeze!

Use a DBA for your online business

A Florida DBA, or “doing business as,” designation lets you conduct business under a name other than your company’s legally-registered name, which can be useful if you want to brand your business differently than your LLC’s title. For example, if you wanted to register for the name Katie’s Cookies but it was taken, you can register under the name Katie Smith LLC and file a DBA for Katie’s Cookies.

Choose an LLC designation for your business

For any small business owner, forming an LLC (limited liability company) can be a smart and important financial decision. An LLC Florida designation offers the owner(s) protection from personal liability in regards to the decisions, debts, and activities of the company by clearly distinguishing between business assets and personal assets. This protection is essential for shielding an individual’s future earnings and all of their hard-earned assets. In addition, forming an LLC helps a business to appear more professional and established to potential investors or partners by clearly demonstrating that the company is a distinct, separate legal entity apart from any owners or other members. Furthermore, it simplifies taxes for both businesses and individuals, because income earned by the business is passed through to the individual’s tax return without additional business taxes imposed on profits of the company unless it is elected to be taxed as a C corporation. Finally, forming an LLC provides structure to everyday operations while allowing flexibility in terms of assigning ownership control if there are multiple owners.

Come up with a marketing strategy

Just because you have an online business doesn’t mean customers will come flooding in without any effort on your part! You need to actively market your business if you want it to be successful, and there are lots of different ways to do that — many of which are free or low-cost, such as search engine optimization on your website, social media marketing, and word-of-mouth marketing.

There are plenty of ways to make money online as a mom in Tampa — you just have to know where to look! With a little elbow grease, determination, and resources from your South Tampa Chamber of Commerce membership, you can have your own successful online business up and running in no time.