If you're like many stay at home moms, you are thinking about starting your own home based business so that you can earn a little extra money to help with family expenses or maybe even to pay for a nice family vacation this year. You've probably scanned the usual options: the party plan companies, childcare and house cleaning; and realized that these options either don't keep you at home or end up invading your home in ways that you just don't get excited about.

Now it is time to take a good look at what the internet has to offer you.

There is a rich, helpful and idea filled community of work at home moms online who can help you with great ideas for working from home using the internet as your connection.

eBay Business

eBay auctions is always an attractive and flexible option for a stay at home mom. You can get started by cleaning out your closets and selling of the clothes that kids have outgrown. Then if you find you've enjoyed the process you can start looking for other products to offer.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing can be quite lucrative but it's highly competitive and there's no guarantee of income from month to month. Still, if you love writing and have a gift for it, it can be a nice side income.

Ghostwriting

Similar to freelancing, ghostwriting is writing for others and letting them claim it as their own. There is a large demand for ghostwriters online where content is king and not every website owner is a good writer.

Virtual Assistant

A VA provides a variety of administrative and technological tasks for others on an hourly or contract basis. The virtual assistant industry has been booming for several years and anyone with strong office skills and some smart business savvy can launch and grow a business.