💻 How I Started to Make Money Online as a Stay-at-Home Mom

When I first started looking for ways to make money online as a stay-at-home mom, I wasn’t trying to build some huge online business.

Honestly, I just wanted to contribute again.

I had been a stay-at-home mom for years, and while I loved being home with my girls, there was still a part of me that missed having something that was mine.

Something I could build.

Something that challenged me.

And yes—something that could bring in some extra money for our family.

I had absolutely no idea at the time how much that one decision would eventually lead me into.

Why I Started Looking for Ways to Make Money From Home

Before becoming a mom, I worked as a store manager in retail pharmacy. I was used to working, managing people, solving problems and having a career of my own.

Then I became a stay-at-home mom in 2020.

A few years later, we had our second daughter, and staying home continued to make the most sense for our family.

But toward the end of 2024, my husband was unexpectedly laid off for several weeks.

We were okay, but it was one of those moments that makes you think a little differently about money.

I remember thinking:

I need to figure out a way to bring in money too—without giving up being home with my kids.

The problem?

I had no clue where to start.

There were people talking about affiliate marketing, digital products, social media, UGC, Amazon, content creation…

It felt like there were a million different ways to make money online, and everyone was telling you that their way was the way to do it.

I didn’t have a big social media following.

I wasn’t an influencer.

I didn’t have a business.

And I definitely didn’t know what a sales funnel was. 😂

But I decided to start learning anyway.

I bought courses, joined communities, watched tutorials, experimented with different platforms and slowly started figuring out which parts of digital marketing actually made sense for me.

And that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve learned:

You don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing before you start.

You just need somewhere to start.

The First Money I Made Online

My first consistent income online didn’t come from some huge viral moment.

It came from the Amazon Influencer Program.

I started creating product review videos for products I already owned and uploading them for Amazon’s onsite placement.

At first, the commissions weren’t huge.

But seeing those first commissions come in changed something for me.

Because suddenly this wasn’t just:

“Maybe I can make money online.”

It was:

“Wait…I actually made money online.”

Even a small amount proved to me that this could work.

And once I saw that, I wanted to learn more.

Then One Opportunity Led to Another

As I learned more about digital marketing, I started getting better at things like content creation, social media strategy, SEO, affiliate marketing and understanding what actually makes people click, read or buy.

Eventually, that led to an opportunity I never expected when I started:

social media management.

I began managing social media for a local landscaping company.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just experimenting with digital marketing for myself anymore.

Someone was paying me to use those skills for their business.

And that’s when I started realizing something important.

There wasn’t going to be one single thing that became my “online business.”

I was building a collection of skills—and those skills could create multiple ways to make money.

The Ways I’m Making—or Building Toward Making—Money Online

Today, my online income looks very different from what I originally imagined.

I’m currently building income through a combination of:

Amazon Influencer commissions from product-review content.

Social media management for a business.

Affiliate marketing through products, tools and resources I genuinely use or recommend.

Content creation across social media and other platforms.

And now…

this blog.

LindseyCarus.com is the newest piece of that puzzle.

I’m building it as a place where I can create useful content that lives longer than a social media post—while eventually earning income through affiliate recommendations, brand partnerships and other opportunities that come from growing the site.

I’m still building.

And that’s kind of the point.

What I Would Tell Another Stay-at-Home Mom Who Wants to Start

If you’re reading this because you want to make money online as a stay-at-home mom, the biggest thing I want you to know is:

You do not have to do everything.

That’s probably the mistake I made the most in the beginning.

I’d see someone making money with one strategy and think:

Maybe I should do that.

Then I’d see another person doing something completely different and think:

Wait…maybe I should do THAT.

Suddenly you’re trying to start a TikTok, grow Instagram, make digital products, become an affiliate, start Pinterest, create an email list, build a website and learn twelve other things at the same time.

It’s exhausting.

Instead, pick one place to start.

Learn it.

Try it.

Give yourself enough time to figure out whether you actually like it.

Then build from there.

You Don’t Need a Huge Following

This was one of my biggest misconceptions.

I thought making money online meant becoming an influencer with thousands and thousands of followers.

It doesn’t.

Some opportunities care about audience size.

Others don’t.

Some income comes from creating content.

Some comes from affiliate commissions.

Some comes from providing a service.

Some comes from skills you haven’t even realized you’re developing yet.

My social media management work didn’t happen because I had a massive following.

It happened because I had learned skills that a business needed.

That’s a completely different way of looking at making money online.

Start With the Path That Fits You

One reason digital marketing can feel so overwhelming is because there isn’t one correct path.

Someone who loves being on camera may enjoy content creation or UGC.

Someone who loves writing might enjoy blogging or Pinterest.

Someone who enjoys organization, strategy or working behind the scenes might love social media management.

Someone else may want to focus entirely on affiliate marketing.

That’s why I created my Digital Marketing Path Quiz—to help you narrow down which direction might actually fit you instead of trying everything at once.

And if you’re completely new to all of this, you can also start with my free Digital Marketing Starter Guide.

I’m Still Figuring It Out Too

I think this part is important.

I’m not writing this from the perspective of someone who started an online business and became a millionaire six months later.

That’s not my story.

I’m building this while raising my kids, managing a household, working with a client, creating content and figuring things out as I go.

Some things I’ve tried have worked.

Some haven’t.

Some I’ve loved.

Some I’ve realized weren’t for me.

But every one of those experiences has taught me something that helped me take the next step.

And when I look back at where I started—just trying to figure out whether it was even possible to make money online from home—I’m really glad I started before I felt ready.

If You’re Thinking About Starting…

Start small.

Pick one thing.

Learn a skill.

Create something.

Post the video.

Apply for the program.

Send the message.

Start the blog.

You don’t need to have your entire business figured out before you begin.

Sometimes the first step doesn’t show you the whole path.

It just shows you the next one.

And that’s exactly how mine started.