Finance

Twenty-five years ago when I was raising children, I frequently felt torn between wanting to be at home with my kids and needing to contribute to the family income. It was a delicate dance that required my tracking whether I was actually making money or just paying the babysitter. At one point I realized that the full time job I had was only netting me $50 dollars more a month than I would have gotten by staying home and getting public assistance.

Today, it's a whole new ball game, a liberating one at that for "Stay-At-Home Moms." The Internet has given these SAHM's the ability to run in-home businesses while tending to the care of the little ones.

I began researching blogs a few months ago and was stunned by how many "Mom" sites exist. And each of these sites use creative ways to earn income, such as taking advertising or charging for reviews of products or services. The blogs offer advice on everything "mommy" from what are the best diapers to childhood nutrition to home decorating and hip style. Behind these blogs is a SAHM, many with graduate degrees in business or the arts, and these women are savvy entrepreneurs who are changing the rules of parenting and putting a stick in the eye of traditional "feminist" principles.

In addition to the blogs are in-home businesses doing direct and affiliate selling. One such SAHM business is an online store called Kir DeVries. The quirky name belies a boutique store that if it were real bricks and mortar would be quite popular with the mall browsers. Kir DeVries offers unique gifts, organic clothing and eco friendly products. It's SAHM is Kristen Becker, a thirty something gal with one fifteen year old son and two small sons under five.

"I wanted to be here for my boys," says Becker "but I still need to earn money. It's not easy raising three children on one income and my oldest son will be going to college in a couple of years. So I decided to start a store."

I visited her "shop" which is a room in her home. There she uses sophisticated online yahoo business programs and Google analytics to track her sales and see how her customers are finding her. While we are talking, one of the boys runs in with some space creature monster doll and waves it in my face. It made me laugh. Kristen is uber organized. Here are some shipping boxes, here's the tape, there's the tissue paper she wraps every purchase in, there's the boxes and boxes and boxes of product.

"I hand pick every product and I want to make sure I am selling quality merchandise, something I would buy for myself," says Becker. "Customer service is huge to me. I think if I can build a loyal customer base, my business will grow and grow."

She shows me the email. A stainless steel Earthlust waterbottle she sold to a woman across the country had a flaw, the ink on the outside of the bottle had somehow rubbed off. Kristen immediately contacted the manufacturer and was told that they were now using new ink. Then Kristen wrote back the customer and guaranteed replacement. The customer replied that Kristen had restored her confidence in online shopping.

Kir DeVries has just launched affiliate marketing through clix galore. It has five affiliate marketers signed up. Basically people go to the affiliates' website, look up a product and then are directed to the Kir DeVries site. Becker is paying between 5%-7% commissions for this. But with the explosion of how far her store could get "out there" I asked her what she will do when she has to hire staff, set up a call center and rent warehouse space. Won't that defeat her desire to be a SAHM?

"No, because if it is my business then I certainly can have my children at work with me," said Becker. "That's the beauty of this, I don't have to be at the mercy of some employer, I am the employer."