How not to lose yourself in the bustle of home? How to avoid becoming a service person? How not to become the main “miss stretchy sweatpants of the year”? Let's talk about how to turn maternity leave into an interesting and varied period of life.

1. On new routes

• Alternate stroller walks around the sandbox with forays into new places. Agree with your husband that at least once a week you will go to the forest, park, lake or even to a new city. It doesn’t matter to the baby where he walks in the stroller. And for you - new experiences that save you from emotional burnout.

2. Transporting the baby

• As for the stroller, it is not the only means of transportation. For active mothers, there is a better option - a sling. The stroller wasn't even close. Replenish the ranks of “slingomas” and easily conquer new routes.

3. An activity for the soul

• The schedule of a young mother is busy, but you can always squeeze a couple of things into it for yourself. And it is simply necessary to allocate time for an activity for the soul - a hobby. No hobby? When, if not today, should I start it. You can bake cupcakes, knit children's clothes, and write a personal blog. A hobby helps you relax, and often turns into a good source of income.

4. Two minutes for fitness

• Let's say you "don't have time for fitness at all." But 2-3 minutes of planking can be found in the schedule of any extremely busy person. The plank strengthens all the muscles of the body and in some ways can replace training.

5. Professional development

• Maternity leave is not a reason to bury your talents and professional skills. Online courses, webinars and trainings will help maintain professional tone. Podcasts can be downloaded to your phone and listened to while walking.

6. TOP list “I want”

• Maternity leave is the time when “I” turns into “we”, and everything from the category “only for yourself” is postponed until an indefinite future. And you make a TOP list of personal “wants”: “I want to read a book”, “I want to do yoga”, “I want to write an article for my blog”. As soon as you have a free minute - a child is playing or a grandmother is watching the baby - take the list in your hands, choose an activity to your liking and get started.

7. Quiet hour for two

• The life of a young mother and proper rest are incompatible concepts. But something can still be done about this. For example, give yourself a reboot in the form of a half-hour nap during the day. Don't rush into household chores as soon as your baby falls asleep. Popular wisdom: when a child sleeps, so does the mother. You can do business during your baby’s second nap.

8. Boiling is not necessary

• You need to understand the difference between clean and sterile. Sterile is a place where there are no bacteria or germs in principle. Does a person need sterile conditions? No. We come into this world to almost immediately begin to communicate with a huge number of microorganisms and thereby strengthen our immunity. It is enough to simply wash any children's dishes with warm running water, thoroughly rinsing off the detergents.

9. Use time wisely

• If you are breastfeeding, don't waste so much time. Spend it usefully - listen to an audiobook or a foreign language lesson, train your intimate muscles (yes, we are talking about the famous Kegel exercise). After all, no one forbids turning on a good movie with minimal sound.

10. Don’t take on everything.

• And always remember that the child is not only yours, just like the housework. The husband and grandparents should take part in raising the offspring, and the list of household chores should be reviewed. For example, stop cleaning things sterilely and prepare three dishes for dinner.

Working on maternity leave: is it right?

Many mothers on maternity leave experience a lack of money. Therefore, they begin to think about part-time work. Of course, someone thinks this is wrong and will say that while on maternity leave a woman should take care of the child exclusively.

But what if the mother has free time and wants to realize herself as an individual, improve the financial situation of the family, while the child and father do not lack attention? There is only one way out - to open your own business.

Maternity leave is an amazing time when you can master or try yourself in different professions. Of course, it will be difficult to open any business with an infant. But when the child turns 1.5-2 years old, you can safely start looking for ideas.

But now we’ll tell you how to decide on the direction of your business.

19 ideas of what to do to make money while on maternity leave

Women are amazing in that they can do almost any job. But, despite such opportunities, we would advise building a business on what you know well or doing something that you really love.

Think about what you do best and what kind of work brings you the most satisfaction. Now move on to looking for business ideas for yourself.

Yoga classes for pregnant women

Relevance : modern women take care of their health and even during pregnancy do not refuse to play sports. But due to the fact that energetic movements are contraindicated in an interesting position, many ladies begin to practice yoga. Such activities only benefit the expectant mother’s body and prepare the body for the upcoming birth.

Expenses: The amount of expenses depends on the cost of renting the premises. If you live in Moscow, then the amount of starting capital can reach 500 thousand rubles. In small cities this amount is much less.

Conducting preparatory courses for childbirth

The essence of the idea : you recruit a group of pregnant women and conduct preparatory classes for childbirth in a rented office or on your own square meters. You, as a woman who has given birth, or a person with a medical education, will share valuable knowledge and give practical advice.

Relevance of the idea : Women of the current generation prepare very carefully for childbirth. For this purpose, every expectant mother enrolls in courses where she is told about all stages of the upcoming birth. Thanks to such activities, a woman is not afraid of the unknown and knows how to act in various situations.

Expenses : Large investments are not needed to implement this idea. Classes can be held at home or in a rented room. Estimated investment is about 200 thousand rubles, depending on the city where you live.

Lactation consultant

The essence of the idea : you organize courses where you teach expectant mothers the basics of breastfeeding. In addition, you offer clients to accompany them during the entire lactation period. For a fee, you can help get rid of milk stagnation in the mammary glands by pumping.

Relevance : Most mothers understand the importance of breastfeeding. But lactation does not always improve quickly and easily. Many women, due to simple mistakes, are forced to transfer their child to artificial formula. To prevent this from happening, expectant mothers try to learn as much information as possible about breastfeeding even before the baby arrives. That is why there is always a demand for such courses.

Expenses : such a business involves a minimum of costs if you own the premises where you will conduct classes. Otherwise, you will have to spend money on renting a room, purchasing chairs, tables and other furniture. The required capital investment is at least 100 thousand rubles.

Tutor

The essence of the idea : you, having certain knowledge that is in demand, offer your services as a teacher. For example, if you know English thoroughly, you will give private lessons to everyone. Classes can be conducted either at home or on clients’ premises. In addition, you can communicate with students via Skype.

Relevance: sometimes the knowledge offered at school and other educational institutions is not enough. Students either do not learn the material or want to study a particular subject in more depth. In this case, caring parents hire tutors for their children who can:

• Prepare students for upcoming entry into educational institutions;
• “Pull up” a child in a certain subject;
• Study the subject in more detail, etc.

Expenses : Tutoring does not require large investments. You will have to purchase the necessary textbooks and manuals. Skype training requires virtually no capital investment. Students will independently purchase the necessary literature for their studies.

Nanny

The essence of the idea : if you can cope with your own child and don’t mind looking after someone else’s, then you can provide nanny services. Invite parents who have nowhere to take their child to bring him to you. You will walk, develop, feed and look after your own and someone else’s baby. For this, his parents will pay you an agreed amount.

Relevance: Many mothers who are forced to leave maternity leave early are faced with the problem of lack of free places in kindergarten. Some parents are against preschools because of the large number of children in groups. That is why they happily agree to offers from other mothers to look after their child.

Expenses: This business does not involve any capital investments. The child you will be supervising may play with your child's toys. Parents must pay for the baby's meals separately. Don't forget to think about a sleeping place for your pupil.

Opening of a development room for children

The essence of the idea : you find information on the Internet about the development of children of different ages, study it, select interesting games, buy or make your own equipment for classes. After that, find 3-5 mothers who will use your services. It’s great if you have a pedagogical education. It will be quite easy for you, as a mother, to implement such an idea because you will simultaneously devote time to your child and the children of your clients.

Relevance : Modern children develop very quickly. Caring parents want their child to be the smartest and most developed. Therefore, they begin to take babies who are barely one year old to educational activities. The demand for such lessons is quite high, provided that experienced teachers teach children.

Expenses : the approximate costs of opening such a business are 300-400 thousand rubles. You will have to pay rent for the premises, make repairs there, purchase the necessary literature, equipment for classes and conduct an advertising campaign.

Consultant or online coaching

The essence of the idea : Having useful knowledge, offer paid consultations to other people. For example, you are an excellent lawyer and before maternity leave you worked in one of the law firms. You don't have time to go to work right now, but you can consult with clients over the phone, online, or in person.

Relevance : any knowledge is always in demand. If you are a good accountant, lawyer, doctor, etc., then it’s time to make money from your consultations. Your services will be in demand if you show your best side, and people will not regret the money spent.

Expenses : such a business involves virtually no costs. You have already invested everything you need into your knowledge. The only cost item may be an advertising campaign.

Freelancer

The essence of the idea : you decide what type of freelancing you want to do, register on one of the exchanges, take an order and complete it. We suggest paying attention to copywriting, rewriting, program writing and web design. Anyone can master the profession of a copywriter, and programming and web design require certain knowledge.

Relevance: millions of people work without leaving their homes. Their work is related to employment on the Internet. Many people write articles, fill websites with content, create online resources, etc. There are more and more freelancers every day. This profession is so in demand due to the fact that the number of new sites is growing every day, and it is freelancers who fill it, design it and promote it.

Expenses: Freelancing business does not involve large expenses. The only thing you need is a computer and internet access. Therefore, most likely, you will only pay for the provision of Internet services by your provider.

How to make money freelancing without experience in a certain profession

Creator of video courses

The essence of the idea : you come up with a topic for a video course, develop a lecture plan, shoot a video, and then sell your creation online. It is very important to choose the right course topic. Only in this case will people buy it.

Relevance : More and more people are choosing online courses due to their convenience. Personal meetings are also popular, but due to busy schedules people are not always able to attend them. Finding themselves in such a situation, those who want to learn something are ready to pay for video courses.

Expenses: To start such a business you will have to spend a little money on a video camera and an advertising campaign. Approximate capital investments are 200-300 thousand rubles.

Blogger creating your own website

Relevance : Despite the existence of a large number of different sites, new resources are created every day. This is due to the fact that user interest is growing daily. Even if the topic of your website or blog is banal, with the right approach to business, it can bring considerable income.

Expenses : Creating your own website on your own is quite difficult; it can take more than one month to understand programming. If you don’t want to wait, you will have to pay for the work of a programmer who will do everything for you. If you don’t want to design and fill your resource yourself, then you’ll have to hire a web designer and copywriter. If you do everything personally, then costs can be reduced to zero. If you resort to the help of professionals, you will have to spend about 100 thousand rubles.

Organizer of joint purchases

The essence of the idea : you find a wholesale site and invite everyone to cooperate and place a wholesale order, purchasing products at a reduced price. After people agree, each of them transfers the fee for their order + 10-20% organization fee (this is your salary). After that, you place an order on the wholesale website, pay, receive it by mail and send it to customers.

Relevance : due to the rapid rise in prices, every housewife is trying to save money. And purchases on wholesale sites can save up to 50% of the purchase price. Thanks to this, joint purchases are so loved by millions of women.

Expenses: such a business does not involve costs. You can create a group on a social network with which you will search for clients. If you decide to create an independent resource, you will have to spend money on creating it and filling it with information.

Handmade master or making money on homemade creativity

The essence of the idea : you do what you love, make souvenirs, jewelry, sew soft toys, make soap, make candles, etc., sell your creations and make a profit from it.

Relevance: Handmade goods are readily purchased by people of different incomes and social status. All thanks to the uniqueness of the manufactured products. Such gifts are never forgotten and have a stunning effect. Even if you sew soft toys, of which there are a lot in any store, your creations will be exclusive and unique, and this is very much appreciated by customers.

Expenses: The amount of expenses depends on what exactly you will produce. The more expensive the materials, tools and equipment, the greater the investment they will require. In addition, think about how you will advertise and sell your products. It is advisable that you have about 10-50 thousand rubles to purchase everything you need.

What to do to make money from handicrafts

Pet breeding

The essence of the idea : you decide what animals you will breed, purchase at least 2 animals (male and female), create comfortable living conditions for them, and after the offspring appear, sell them. You can breed cats, dogs, fish, parrots or other animals. The main thing is that you love them, and caring for them is not a burden to you.

Relevance : There are many more people who love pets than those who don’t like them. Children have a special love for our smaller friends, which is why parents fulfill all the whims of their children and buy hamsters, canaries or turtles. You can find clients for animals yourself, or you can take them to pet stores.

Expenses: When organizing such a business, you must have a capital of 100 thousand rubles. With this money you will purchase animals, food, and all the necessary equipment for their maintenance.

Cooking business

The essence of the idea : you decide on the direction of the business, purchase products and tools, prepare food, and then sell it. You can cook to order. The culinary business involves many directions, for example, you can bake cakes, pastries or prepare set meals. Confectioners most often work to order, and women who sell set meals look at the number of clients.

Relevance : a food business has a great chance of survival due to the simple physiological needs of a person for food. Talented confectioners who make delicacies not only tasty, but also beautiful, always have a lot of orders.

Many office workers are not satisfied with fast food, so they are more willing to buy lunches brought to them. Remember, the tastier the food is, the more customers you will have.

Expenses : The cost will depend on what kitchen equipment you have. For example, if you decide to bake cakes, but you don’t have the tools to implement the idea, then you’ll have to buy everything. We recommend purchasing products after customers place an order. In business, at lunches, purchase food based on the number of servings prepared.

Interviewer

The essence of the idea : You find an interviewer position, go through the interview, and get the job. In the course of your work, you should be interested in the opinions of people who bought a certain product or used some services. Having a large number of acquaintances, you don’t even have to leave home and leave your child. You just need to call your friends and ask them.

Relevance b: in any newspaper or website where employers are looking for employees, you can find an advertisement for an interviewer vacancy. This is because the management of large companies cares about the opinion of ordinary consumers about the products or services. Due to the large number of companies and brands, there are quite a lot of interviewer vacancies.

Expenses : such a business does not involve any capital investments. The only thing you will encounter is the need to go somewhere for the child's day if you decide to conduct surveys on the street, although such work can be done while walking with a stroller or interviewing mothers on the playground.

Chairman of THA (standard residential section)

The essence of the idea : you call a meeting of the residents of your building and offer yourself as chairman of the THA. If those present are not against your candidacy and vote for the appointment, then from the next day you will assume your position. This idea is interesting because your workplace can be located directly in your apartment. All organizational issues can be resolved without leaving home and maximum time can be devoted to the baby.

Relevance : More and more often you can encounter a situation where residents of multi-storey buildings refuse the services of housing offices and create a housing cooperative. This form of management has many advantages. If your house is not a typical residential section, then it’s time to tell its residents about this form of management and have time to take the place of the chairman.

Expenses: No expenses will be required from you personally. All services that residents will use will be paid for by them. You will be paid a salary for solving organizational issues.

Growing and selling flowers

The essence of the idea : you are engaged in breeding rare, exotic plants and flowers, and then selling them yourself or with the help of flower shops. The larger the tree, the more expensive it can be sold. If you grow it from a seed or a small plant, the profitability level will be quite high.

Relevance : in almost every room there are several pots with indoor plants. Due to the fact that plants help create coziness in a room and also purify the air, saturating it with oxygen, flowers in pots are eagerly purchased by both women and men (often just as a gift).

Expenses : this idea of ​​making money while on maternity leave will not require large investments if you approach its organization wisely. We suggest, for example, growing bananas or kiwis from seeds. In this case, the costs will be minimal. But keep in mind that you will have to wait for profit for more than one month, and sometimes even a year.

Sewing carnival costumes

The essence of the idea : you, having knowledge in the field of tailoring, accept orders for the manufacture of an individual suit, or sew it for subsequent sale. This business is seasonal, and such services are in demand during the holidays.

Relevance : during the New Year holidays, some people begin to look for ready-made carnival costumes, while others, looking at the poor quality of the products, order such an outfit to be sewn. The quality problem is especially acute when it comes to a costume for a child. Synthetic fabrics sometimes cause an allergic reaction. That is why specialists in this profession are in great demand.

Expenses: When opening a clothing tailoring business, you need to have a capital of about 10 thousand rubles. This money will be used to purchase materials, fittings and tools. The place of work will be your apartment or house. In this case, you will not have to hire a nanny for your child and pay rent for the premises where you will work.

The idea of ​​making money on art, photography

Relevance : Only a few people use the services of a photo studio, but professional photography is ordered for any celebration. Customers want to capture the brightest moments of their lives in photographs. Therefore, photographers have more and more clients every day.

Artists can paint paintings to order. The “Portrait from Photography” service is very popular. If you are confident in your abilities, then accept orders and create, especially since such activities can easily be combined with the work of a mother.

Expenses: The amount of expenses depends on what exactly you will be doing. If you are going to paint pictures, you will need to purchase material and tools. Mom photographers must have a professional camera. Focus on the amount of 10-100 thousand rubles.

A little about the relevance of different business ideas

Many women, reading the business ideas we present, may doubt their relevance. In fact, different ideas can be successfully implemented in different localities. For example, in a small village with a minimal population, it is not rational to conduct courses for pregnant women, since they will not be in demand.

In big cities, on the contrary, such classes are in great demand and not all women who want to get there get there due to a limited number of places.

Conclusion

Modern women not only have time to look after the baby, cook food and keep the apartment clean. During maternity leave, they find time to create a thriving business and realize themselves as individuals.

Of course, this is a double burden, but business mothers consider themselves happy, self-sufficient and successful women. Try opening your own business! We are confident that you can do it!

Olga Litvinova

Vice President of Human Resources, mother of three children, psychologist.

Two small stripes can divide your life into very different “before” and “after”. What's beyond the horizon? What are all the women who were actively building a career and suddenly found out that they were soon going to become a mother so worried about?

1. Duration of maternity leave

As soon as your manager finds out that you are pregnant, one of the first questions you need to prepare for will be: “How long do you plan to be on maternity leave?” The question is very logical and understandable - if a key player is out of action, the employer needs to understand what to do. Keep in mind that a lot depends on your answer: whether your colleagues will be able to pick up this functionality for a while, whether they will be looking for someone on temporary maternity leave, or, frankly speaking, they won’t be waiting much for your return in principle.

2. Money

A very important point, especially for those women whose plays a significant role in the family budget. The few months before your maternity leave will fly by, so focus on planning your expenses.

Very few employers compensate for this period beyond what is required by law, so you need to prepare for a sharp decrease in income. This is neither good nor bad, just a fact. Feel free to increase everything you plan by 30% - usually unforeseen expenses appear, the existence of which is now difficult to even imagine.

Those who have deferred income, such as an annual bonus, have a slight advantage.

3. Health

Now is the time to do it, even if you didn’t always get around to it before. Carefully study what opportunities are available in the voluntary health insurance program offered by the employer. Often, for an additional fee, it can be expanded to include options for managing pregnancy and childbirth. Also inquire about children's insurance programs.

4. Completion of projects and handover

If you are not eager to go straight from the office to the hospital, it is better to start this process in advance. Who are your successors and on what issues? Write a plan for when key tasks will be completed and agree on it with your manager in advance. If long-term projects begin, think about who will duplicate you on them and will be able to complete them later.

5. Future mode of operation

Determine at what point you are ready to return to work and in what format. I had the experience of both a very quick exit from maternity leave and the opportunity to sit for almost two years - the difference is very noticeable. If the transition from one state to another is smoother, the adaptation process is easier. It is also possible to return to your duties on a part-time or part-time basis - please discuss this with your employer. If the specifics of the profession allow it, you can think about the option of remote work.

6. Benefits and benefits

Carefully study labor laws to understand what additional options you have. The simplest example of their application in practice is the reduction of the working day due to breaks to feed the child, which are required by law for working women with children under one and a half years old.

7. Your assistants

Talk to your loved ones about who can support you and on what issues. It is also better to look for a nanny in advance, so that you can gradually return to an active social life. By the way, according to the law, not only the mother, but also the father and even the grandmother have the right to take parental leave. You can change roles in the process. I personally know examples when dads of the most serious male professions went on maternity leave. Refuse stereotypes, do what suits you!

8. Gadgets

Such as a breast pump, sterilizer, steamer, electronic baby swing and many others have saved millions of hours for young mothers and freed up their hands to solve other important tasks. You don’t have to buy all of them; many can be borrowed from friends.

9. Rest

For the birth of a baby and especially during the first few sleepless nights, you will really need strength. Think about the best time to take previously unused vacation days. The most common situation is that on the eve of maternity leave, a woman takes another paid leave, taking advantage of this legal right.

10. New features

Evaluate what new opportunities open up for you during maternity leave, for which you previously had sorely lacked time. Go to an exhibition, or get additional education - it all depends on your interests and level of ambition. Often this magical break can be a great springboard for the next career leap or starting your own business.