Work From Home Jobs for Moms: No Degree Needed
Updated: Oct 28, 2023
Many women go through what feels like a literal change in identity when they become “mom”. Becoming a mother often is the catalyst that sparks new interests as you’re trying to figure out who you are and who you want to be for your child.
You’re no longer who you were pre-kids. In fact, the cells in your body actually change!
Don’t bother to read it unless you have an additional uninterrupted 15 minutes, but in her article, “The New Science of Motherhood,” in Smithsonian Magazine, Abigail Tucker shares current research on this phenomenon and some intriguing insights:
“More scholars, many of them young women, are taking the time to actually investigate, and they’re discovering that mothers are not so ordinary. In fact, we may be more intriguing and complex than anybody imagined. And that’s what makes Chaudhry’s heart work so eye-catching. If you peer closely enough, mothers often look very different from the rest of humankind.”
Her article walks you through research with lab rat mothers and virgins and actually shows the biological change in the body after childbirth (in this case, pup-birth, ha!).
“Though already expecting my second child at the time, I had always thought—or maybe willed myself to believe—that motherhood was an elective lifestyle rather than a biological predicament, one hat among many that I sometimes chose to wear, as opposed to my entire head and all its expensively educated contents. But Young was describing motherhood as an unseen and poorly understood cellular-level revolution that rebuilds the female brain.”
The science of becoming a mom is truly fascinating, and Tucker sums it up nicely: “The maternal instinct is both fixed and highly flexible, powerful and fragile, ancient and modern, universal and unique. In the course of becoming mothers, we do not “change our minds” about the world. Our minds are simply changed.”
TLDR; You are changed after you become a mom. At the physical, cellular level. And, most likely, your priorities have changed too.
And since women are typically more emotionally intelligent (Tucker writes a bit more about that in her article, too.) we’re really starting to make waves in the world. Huh. Who knew? WE DID.
If you’re feeling that, since becoming a mom, you have a new or different purpose, we fully support you in pursuing it. We both did when we became certified sleep consultants. No degree needed.
And now we’re helping other women do it too, with our sleep consultant certification course.
We’re not here to tell you what to pursue. We fully believe whatever it is, is something that you should be passionate about (sleep, mamas, babies?), something that allows for the flexibility of motherhood (build something that fits your lifestyle?), and helps you contribute to your family (of course you want to make money, right?).
Here’s the way we did it, and here’s the way our students and graduates do it: By becoming an evidence-based certified pediatric sleep consultant.
What is a certified sleep consultant?
A practitioner who has completed specific training and certification in the field of sleep consulting and uses evidence-based methods to help clients improve their sleep is known as an evidence-based certified sleep consultant.
When deciding how to work with a family, evidence-based practice refers to the utilization of the best available scientific evidence, cultural knowledge, and parent choices. Evidence-based practice in the context of sleep consulting is integrating the most recent findings in scientific research to create and execute practical sleep solutions for clients.
A thorough training course covering sleep physiology, sleep disorders, and sleep coaching strategies have been completed by evidence-based certified sleep consultants. A certification exam that verifies their knowledge and abilities to offer efficient sleep coaching services should also be a part of a quality sleep consultant certification program.
Additionally, evidence-based trained sleep specialists are dedicated to working with the most recent findings and industry-best procedures. They keep up with the most recent advancements in sleep science and apply this information to their coaching sessions. We’re always dumping the latest research in our Facebook group (or adding it to our course if it’s relevant enough) for our students and graduates to keep up, as we are always learning more about the science of sleep.
Clients can feel confident that they are receiving high-quality, research-based guidance and support to enhance their sleep and general well-being when they work with an evidence-based certified sleep consultant, like those from The Collective for Family Rest and Wellness.
How does a certified sleep consultant work?
There are so many ways to work as a certified sleep consultant!
The most common way, and especially since 2020 (IYKYK), is virtually, providing one-on-one services. By providing a stellar client experience, you can gain a fairly large referral base that continues to bring new clients in the door.
If you focus marketing in your local area, you may offer families the choice of working with you virtually or in-person. This can be a great way to assess the child’s sleep space and get to know the family on a more personal level.
But, working with families one-on-one, virtually or in person, is not the only way to work as a certified sleep consultant.
You can also offer
Group sleep coaching
Professional speaking gigs
Overnight sleep training services
Night nannying
Postpartum doula services
Online courses
An online membership
Digital products in a shop
Affiliate marketing
And - last but not least - you could work under another sleep consultant. With this option, you reap the benefits of getting paid without needing to run your own business and worry about all the things that go along with that.
…and if you do want to start your own business (most certified sleep consultants do), we have a whole module within our certification course that goes through the business side of things. We cover: legal aspects of your business, small business finances, choosing a name and logo, setting up your packages and pricing, buying a domain and Google Workspace, setting up your website, getting your first client, using social media marketing, copy and SEO strategies, Dubsado for sleep coaches, time management, affiliate and product marketing, and finally, contracts and other disclaimers.
Where does a certified sleep consultant work?
This. THIS. This is the thing!
You can work pretty much anywhere with a wifi connection.
You can work from home. You can work from your car. You can work during nap times and bedtimes on your couch. You can work from your child’s school library. You can work at a coffee shop.
“But I have kids at home…”
We know. Most of us do. Because your child will be a good sleeper, you may come to depend on those nap times and bedtimes for calls or consultations. The other stuff can be done if/when your child is busy playing.
We know some consultants who also only utilize email and Voxer or WhatsApp support with their clients so they can control how and when they respond.
This business can be what you need it to be.
And if you want it to fit around your life with your kids around, then do it!
There will be a season where you don’t have littles who need you and you can rearrange your packages and support options around what that looks like.
Your business can grow with your babies!
What backgrounds do certified sleep consultants have?
There are hundreds of sleep consultants out there and many different backgrounds. Sleep consulting is not a regulated field (all the reason for us to create a certified sleep consulting course that was evidence-based and all-encompassing of anything and everything our consultants need to be successful).
Really, anyone can do this job.
But, to do it well, you need the right education.
In our academy, we’ve got women across the globe who have backgrounds in
Occupational therapy
Math education
Special education
Travel
Nursing
ABA therapy
Early childhood education
General medicine
Paralegal
Public health family services
Respiratory therapy
Science education
Sales
IT
Postpartum doula work
Exercise physiology
Law
Insurance
Childcare
Such a wide variety of backgrounds!
So, no, you do not need a degree to do this specific line of work, but having professional experience certainly helps.
We do also believe it’s incredibly important, and beneficial, to be certified to have and run a successful sleep consulting business and to help families. You need to know what you’re talking about (these people are trusting you with their baby, after all!) and you need to know how to run a business.
And these are the big things we teach you in the online sleep consultant certification course from The Collective for Family Rest and Wellness.
The Flexibility of Running Your Own Business from Home
While there are plenty of jobs that allow you to work from home, many of them will expect you to be logged in and on-the-clock certain hours of the day.
Many will expect you to be present for meetings, whether that’s virtual or in-person once or twice a week.
You’ll have to answer to someone else. You have to exchange your time (usually day time) for their money.
As a certified sleep consultant who runs their own business, you can get your own work hours, customize your packages and offerings to work for your lifestyle, AND block off certain hours or your day that you’re not available for calls or meetings.
The flexibility and lifestyle this career can offer you really is the best of both worlds: Make money doing something you love while helping others on your own time and on your own terms!
Sounds pretty great, right?!
And, you don’t just need to take our word for it. Yes, we (Ashley Olson and Katelyn Thompson) have both been in this field for the past 5 years or so, so we can share our experiences, but here is what a few of our graduates have said since completing their sleep consultant certification course and starting their own sleep consulting businesses:
“I really enjoyed the research that was provided throughout this course. I was really happy with the option of completing this course at my own pace. I would have liked to see more direct feedback on assignments to give us more clarification of other answers/options other than what we suggested.
I thoroughly enjoy the facebook group as a lot of questions have come up now that we're in the field. I'm thankful I had an opportunity to complete my certification through The Collective for Family Rest and Wellness.
A huge advantage of this course was the expert trainings and the information on starting your own business. It gave me a framework to use when starting something so new and intimidating. I feel more prepared and I appreciate that additional information continues being added to the course so we can continue to learn and grow.
Learning about sleep training in a holistic manner, allows us to evaluate families based on their needs and create a solution that is specific to their unique circumstances. I was not looking for a basic approach to sleep training, I was looking for an option that would allow me to create interventions that align with families, their values and their specific needs.”
“Ashley and Katelyn outdid themselves with this course. Not only did they go over everything there is to know about sleep and the science behind it, they also retained experts in a variety of fields such as time management, bookkeeping, etc. The course covers all the basics of starting your own business as well as all the knowledge you gain about sleep. I appreciated the fact that it was a completely self-paced course that alleviated the pressure of needing to "do it all" as a busy mom and wife. Not to mention, the wonderful community of students and graduates all supporting each other along the way.”
“This course was so valuable to me. Not only did I get the evidence based information I was seeking, but I also got education and resources to help me with a range of approaches, for a wide range of different families and circumstances. This course was the all-encompassing, balanced education I was searching for when researching sleep consulting certifications.
Work from Home and Raise Your Babies
That’s the dream, isn’t it??
And we’re here telling you, that, YES, YOU CAN DO THIS!
Your child will benefit. Your family will benefit. Your household income will benefit.
Sleep consulting isn’t a career that you will just start full time automatically (although, you certainly can if you want and have the means to do that). It’s something you can ease into. Start it as a side-hustle. Nurture it. Watch it grow. Watch it grow into something big and beautiful, all while raising your children with the flexibility that working for yourself provides.
If your ultimate goal is to work from home, here is some motivation for you:
You can have greater flexibility in managing your schedule and day-to-day lives
You can have fewer interruptions from meetings and office chitchat (actually work when it’s time to work)
No commute (hello, gas money!)
There will be more time for selfcare, like meal prep, exercise, and relaxation
You’ll have a more comfortable work environment
An improved work-life balance
Reduced wardrobe expenses (you can work in your pajamas if you want!)
We think know it’s pretty great!
Looking for an Evidence-based Sleep Consultant Certification Course
We know that adding a certification like this to your resume isn’t the cheapest thing to do. Often when we invest in ourselves and in our businesses, we reap the benefits later. It’s for sure a delayed gratification kind-of-thing!
So we want you to do your research.
We want you to make the best choice for you and your family.
Here are a few more articles you can read to learn more about the sleep consulting industry and how to choose a sleep consultant certification program that shares your values as a woman, wife, mom, and future business owner:
We hope all of this information was helpful for you, and if you think our program might be a great fit for you, we’d love to chat with you! You can set up a call with us here.
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