Family caregivers must make a living and are craving flexible and remote jobs.
Being an at-home family caregiver is an act of selfless love and dedication. After all, you likely considered many factors before making this decision, or maybe you felt there were no other options. While none of my care recipients lived in our home, I still felt the strain of my full-time job with everything else that was going on in our family. I wanted to quit my job to simplify life, but that wasn’t an option without some other income source.
Working family caregivers can relate to the struggle of holding a traditional full-time job due to fixed working hours. With the rising monthly bills and expenses and wanting to earn money for future use simultaneously, it is necessary for family caregivers to be able to make a living. At-home family caregivers have an extra layer of pressure because they are on the front lines of providing on-demand care.
Understanding the power of flexibility
Many at-home family caregivers’ lives center around the care responsibilities, and everything else has to orbit around those. During my mom’s last few months, my sister, a full-time family caregiver, needed to be available to help with mom’s high level of care needs. These on-demand care needs made it impossible for my sister to have a traditional full-time job. She is a professional oil painter, and even having this flexible income source was a challenge since getting her hands creatively dirty isn’t something she could easily squeeze into a caregiving day.
And nevertheless, we persist.
Fortunately, work-from-home jobs have become popular alternatives for those who want more flexibility in their daily schedules. While still not an easy feat, it allows an at-home family caregiver more control over when the work can be done and how it will get done.
What are the possible flexible job opportunities for caregivers?
Before I became a family caregiver, I also had interests and hobbies outside my professional career. I enjoyed scrapbooking, reading, shopping, and traveling. What activities did you enjoy before becoming a family caregiver? Perhaps one of these could evolve into a flexible at-home job for you.
Below are some jobs that could be tailored to your skill set, interest, and available time. Let’s dive in:
1. Renting a space
When my grandma became a widow, she saw an opportunity upon realizing that the Penn State satellite campus was within walking distance from her home. Capitalizing on her strategic location, she rented out her basement every school year to college kids. She gave a bit of a break on the rent because she needed some help around the house.
My sister did something similar when she became my mom’s primary at-home caregiver at my parent’s summer lake house. She used the spectacular view and turned my dad’s stand-alone office into a rental. If you are looking for a northern Michigan getaway, consider booking The Acorn Cottage on Hubbard Lake.
2. Online Tutoring, Teaching, or Test Scoring
Do you know how to simplify complicated topics? There are several educational websites, such as VIPKid and Chegg. Another option is to help with test scoring either onsite or online. Several companies, including ETS, Pearson, and Write Score, offer this work.
3. E-commerce or Dropshipping
How about curating a store of products under a theme? My nephew recently started a dropship online company re-selling dog toys. Dropshipping is a method wherein a seller can post their products without keeping inventory. When a customer orders a particular product, the seller sends the order to the supplier, which then directly delivers the product to the customer.
Start small on online platforms like Shopify. You can also sell physical or digital goods on Etsy or through an e-commerce plugin on your website. I use the Woocommerce plugin on WordPress to sell my products and ship the physical products myself. Remember to use media mail at the USPS if you are sending books!
4. Online Coaching or Consulting
I am a Certified Caregiving Consultant and offer family caregivers an initial complimentary coaching session. After the introductory session, I charge for my coaching and consulting services. After being in technology for almost 20 years and an entrepreneur for over eight years, I help those starting their businesses through business coaching sessions. You can use your expertise, whether it’s in health, organization, business, lifestyle, or another niche, to guide and inspire others.
5. Affiliate Marketing
If you have a lot of social media or email followers, consider partnering with brands to promote products and earn a commission. Start with the brands you already use and recommend. Often, in the footer of these company websites, they link to their affiliate program. Share what you enjoy and love and earn a thank you commission at no additional cost to the purchaser. I call myself ‘an accidental influencer’ because I didn’t initially see this as an income opportunity when I started Happy Healthy Caregiver. Now, as one source of income, I earn a commission from some of the products I believe in and share on my promo/discount page and within the Happy Healthy Caregiver Amazon Store.
6. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are becoming the norm for today’s entrepreneurs since we need extra hands for specific tasks. Aside from joining virtual assistant agencies (e.g., Virtual Assist USA or Mom to Virtual Assistant), you can join freelance platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork, and targeted networking via Facebook, or LinkedIn is also a good alternative. Here are some of the niches that you can explore:
- Digital Marketing or Social Media Management: Managing Happy Healthy Caregiver’s social components takes lots of time! I have hired a family caregiver to help me with pieces of my social media and weekly newsletters. Maybe you follow accounts and receive newsletters from businesses that would benefit from hearing your pitch.
- Freelance Writing, Blogging, or Editing: The internet is always hungry for content. This is your playground if you are passionate about words, from company blogs to magazines to marketing materials. Aside from organic writing, you can also use ChatGPT to make quick and sophisticated-sounding paragraphs.
- Bookkeeping: Small businesses look for virtual bookkeepers or accountants. If numbers are your strength, this might be your calling.
- Graphic Designing: Do you have mad skills related to a platform like Photoshop, Canva, Powerpoint, etc.? Check out some of those freelance links shared above to share your skills or bid on a project someone needs help with.
- Admin tasks, travel arrangements, scheduling, email handling: People are busy in meetings and with life. They need help with the behind-the-scenes details. Companies are constantly looking for individuals to help them manage their day-to-day lives remotely.
7. Pet sitter or dog walker
Maybe having a temporary pet around could infuse joy for you and your care recipient. Let your friends know you can watch their furry companions when they are out of town. I have two retired friends making steady income caring for pets. One friend keeps the pets in her home, and the other goes to other homes at intervals throughout the day. There are also sites like Rover where you can sign up to be a dog walker.
8. Transcription Services
For transcription, websites like Rev or TranscribeMe offer opportunities to convert audio to text, and they often pay per minute of audio transcribed.
9. Share your opinions
I work with two companies, Rare Patient Voice and M3 Global, that pay family caregivers and care recipients to share their thoughts and experiences. Another one that I heard about through a coaching client is L&E Opinions. You can join their database, and when they have a need that fits your situation, they’ll reach out with details on how you can participate. While it’s not something you can necessarily work at each day, it can bring in some extra income.
10. Get Compensated for the Caregiver Work You are Doing
Someday, I hope to write that all 50 states and beyond recognize the hidden work that family caregivers are doing and how your committed work is keeping your care recipients thriving and becoming less dependent on limited government resources. Some states recognize the plethora of care responsibilities you have and will compensate you for the care you are providing. To learn more about these options, visit this Family Caregiver Alliance resource and select your state.
Medicaid programs vary by state. If your care recipient receives Medicaid, their state may allow you to become a paid caregiver. Contact your state’s Medicaid office for more information.
Does your care recipient have a long-term insurance policy? If so, inquire if you can receive payment from this policy.
Is your care recipient a veteran? If so, inquire with the Veteran-Directed Home and Community-Based Services program to see if hiring a family member to help with daily living and activities can be a part of the veteran’s budget. Another option is to inquire about the Aid and Attendance Benefits program to see if these benefits can cover the costs of a caregiver.
Sometimes, you can create an employee-employer agreement to receive compensation for caring for a loved one or friend. They call this creating a personal services contract.
Taking this action will require securing professional help. Consult an elder law attorney or Medicaid specialist to analyze your circumstances to see if a contract is an option. A tax professional should also be consulted. Learn more about creating a personal services contract.
How to Make it Work: Tips for Balancing Care and Flexible Work
- Set Clear Boundaries: Time management is a family caregiver. Reflect on your preferred schedules (e.g., morning person or night owl) to know which best suits your style. You will also need to manage expectations with your care recipient by letting them know when you are working and how they contact you in case of an emergency.
- Invest in Good Technology: Fast internet is a must to work efficiently remotely. Use this speedtest.net to check your network speed. You may also want to invest in noise-canceling headphones or a headset with a built-in microphone. And, if you need to be on camera, definitely purchase a ring light.
- Continuous Learning: When I started Happy Healthy Caregiver, I didn’t know the first thing about creating my own business. Business and marketing podcasts were a huge help. Consider taking short online courses or watching YouTube videos to sharpen your skills and remain relevant.
- Self-care: Most importantly, invest in your health and happiness! Scheduling breaks and pursuing hobbies are essential to your overall well-being. We are humans – not robots.
Being a family caregiver doesn’t mean you have to put your income-generating needs on hold. You deserve to have health and happiness options, too. With the array of flexible at-home income opportunities, you can hopefully find that sweet spot where caregiving meets career.
