Being a stay-at-home mom leaves me little time to concentrate (except during naptime!) but lots of opportunity to mull over things. My thoughts on starting a business are really going three different directions at once, which may make my ramblings seem a little inconsistent from entry to entry.

First, there's the idea that it would be nice to have a little extra cash to spend on some of the fun things in life. Hence the idea of finding something fun to do during naptime that generates a little cash. A key requirement for this type of business is that it enhances our quality of life -- nothing too time consuming or stressful. It wouldn't have to be at all related to any future career plans.

The second direction is that maybe I should be doing a little something useful for my resume, so that I have an easier time of it when I do decide to return to the workforce. Perhaps I could take on a small project for one of my former employers. The upside is a little cash and not having that gaping hole in my resume, the downside is that it would require more time and I would be on the hook to deliver.

The third direction is that DH and I have often talked about going into business together. We're both getting fed up with being at the bottom of the engineering hierarchy, having to put up with long hours due to poor planning on the part of managers and VP's. In theory, once the kid(s) are in school, I could be the one to start a business while DH continues to work. Once it gained sufficient momentum, DH could quit his job and join me. But what business? And how do we gain some of the skills we lack like sales and marketing? It's still mostly a daydream at this point.

So today I decided to browse the want ads and gigs on Craig's list, just to see what's out there. Something really interesting popped up -- someone wants a ghost writer for their blog on career development. I got the impression that the poster had some ideas, and the ghost would flesh them out -- 30 posts upfront, then 3 posts per week, at $10-$15 per post. Could this be legit or is there some sort of "pay-for-blogging" scam that everyone but me knows about? I love to write and to edit, and I could see myself doing this during naptime. I emailed the poster a summary of my relevant experience (I was in charge of a lot of interviewing and hiring at my last job), so we'll see what happens.