The time is drawing near and I’ll soon be retiring from after working 30 years in a combination of public and private sector service.  My company is offering a Golden Handshake.  With the support of my husband, I’ve made the decision to get out now and secure my health and retirement benefits in their current form.  I’ve Tweeted that I recently drafted my formal resignation letter (which is still sitting on my hard drive at the office though!)  I’ll be working full-time from home and being my own boss.

Whether you’re a young mom off-ramping from corporate America to stay home and take care of the kids, or a Baby Boomer in the job market for a second career like myself, here’s the big question:  What should you do? I’ve been preparing for almost 2 years for this day which is why I got a head-start working at home online.  It takes time and soul-searching to see what kind of work best fits your lifestyle and what level of income you’d like to maintain.

Over the years of cooking for family and hosting both casual as well as elegant social gatherings, I’ve parlayed that interest into writing a new foodie Recipe Blog, Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes.

If you also share a passion for food, here are some tips and ideas to jump-start your online WAHM experience.

Give Cooking Classes

I’ve written in the past that home economics should still be taught to middle and high school students as a lot of people don’t even have basic cooking skills ~ college students, bachelors, wives, new moms, newly arrived immigrants.  Determine your target niche but first work out your classes on paper.  YouTube and Vlogging also allow you to offer digital cooking classes on the Internet.  Start a Recipe Blog!

Start a Catering Service

Carve out a niche for yourself by offering to organize and coordinate children’s birthdays for busy working moms.  If you’ve had volunteer experience with your local church, civil organization or PTA, use it and become an event planner for wine tastings, dessert or tea parties.

Sell Pampered Chef or Similar Products Through Home-Hosted Parties

If you find you’re always buying Pampered Chef products from your neighbor, co-worker or sister-in-law, why not become a marketing affiliate representative?  You’ll get to demonstrate cooking tools you already use and are familiar with.  Use your talents to whip up delicious foods, work the crowd and chat up friends while making money selling cook cooking tools.  The hardest part will be finding and scheduling people to host the parties, but you can perhaps convince them to host a “book party.”

Offer Kitchen Organizing Services

My daughter has been house hunting and I’m happy to see that home builders are bringing back old-fashion kitchen pantries.  Many historic homes in my town still have them.  Sell your organizing services to those who have messy cupboard syndrome and are unable to organize their own cabinets.  Young city dwellers cut corners and often live in apartments with galley-size kitchens and can definitely use organization optimization!  Sell them add-ons such as lazy susans, roll out draws, storage racks, etc.

Sell Your Own Jelly, Barbecue Sauce, Hot Chocolate Mix, etc. at Shows and Through Mail Order

One of the best things about visiting New England are the roadside stands set out to sell homemade crafts and cooking products such as ceramics, beach plum jellies, relishes, and pies.  You won’t make a fortune, but you’ll be surprised at how many folks actually appreciate the fine art of homemade and hand-crafted items like mom or grand-mom used to make.  Expand and diversify on your success and promote your items at local craft shows, forums and farmers markets.

Sell Cookware and Cookbooks from a Website

If your local civic organization has published a special collection of member recipes or cookbooks, feature by setting up an online website to market them, along with cookware and other cooking related products.

Sell Fruit Baskets, Wine and Chocolate Baskets, Cheese and Cracker Baskets, etc.

Personalized and corporate gift baskets are always a big hit, especially during the holiday season.  Identify a niche market such as corporations, realtor, housewarming, new moms and promote to your local Chamber of Commerce.

Developing and coming up with a marketing plan that interests you involves research and planning.  Remember, although it may interest you, in order to become profitable and generate an income, your idea must interest others as well.

Don’t give up, the best ideas may have started out by being written on a paper napkin at a kitchen table!

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