Building a business
By building a business I refer to the fact that you will be inventing your own product line such as clothing, hair accessories, home décor, books, etc. There are pros and cons to this type of home business of course. The pros are that it's all your own! You come up with it; sell it; and you get the profit. The cons are that most of this is done on your own, and takes up a lot of time. You may have a little help from family members or friends, but your are the heart of this company, and it all falls back to you. You can imagine that this may take up a large amount of time, and seem like it may not be worth staying home, since you're working more hours now than you were outside of the home. This type of business requires a lot of patience in terms of immediate profits. You will have to be very patient for profits to come in, but it can pay off if your business starts to really take off.

Working for hire.
This type of work can take on many different forms. Here are some of the most known "work for hire" working from home businesses.
 Accounting or bookkeeping- this type of business can earn a significant amount of money (for working from home) but requires some knowledge in accounting and book keeping.
 Telephone answering services- this type of business opportunity does not usually require a college degree, or many business skills. As a hired person answering phone calls you will need to feel comfortable in speaking with people. The company you are hired by will usually have some sort of training in what you will be saying. Most answering services do require that you be able to work in a quiet environment for extended periods of time and for specific days.
 Business consulting- Again, you will need to have some expertise in the area of business consulting you will be doing and most who hire may offer some training.
 Writing- your high school English may come in handy with this type of work. Depending on what type of writing you are doing and who you are writing for.
 Web development- most will not do extensive training with you, so computer knowledge is a must.
 Data Entry, Medical Transcription/- this has become a popular business for those wishing to work from home. Don't be fooled though, you have to put in a lot of time and effort to get back and sort of return.
 Focus groups/ surveys- there are company's that offer money for participating in focus groups and surveys. Surveys do not usually pay a large amount, but if you did enough of them it may add up to the amount you are looking to make. Focus groups pay more money and by the hour, but are hard to come by.
 Online Tutors- most require a college degree; all require a high-speed internet connection. Most if not all require your PC must have the latest software and virus protection. Professionalism is an absolute must and a quiet work environment while tutoring. But this can pay well if you have what they are looking for, and meet the needs of those you are tutoring.
 Tech support- there are a number of businesses that offer services in tech support and want you to help them. Many of them will pay a large commission as you promote their technical support services.
These are obviously just a few that are out there. Be careful in your search of "work for hire" as there are many scammers looking for individuals just like you.

Sales
Now don't skip this section. Just because it says sales, doesn't mean you will have to go out and sell things door to door, or even make phone call sales, although there are many of these opportunities out there. Here are some different "sales" opportunities for stay at home moms:
 Beauty products- there are number of company's who are in need of beauty reps to help sell their products. I won't go into naming any, but most include skin creams, lotions, soaps, makeup and much more. Many of these company's offer huge incentives if you sell a certain amount of product each month. And most offer training to help you become a better consultant. After all, the more money you make, the more money they make.
 Clothing- clothing is very broad, so if this is something you're looking into, try and focus on a particular style, line or type. For example, there are many companies right now who are selling t-shirts.
 Candles- much like the beauty products, these businesses are in need of sales representatives to help get their products out there. They too will pay you a percentage of what you sell at a "party" as well as some great incentives to sell more.
 Kitchenware- also another business in need of sales representatives to help sell their products.

Of course these are just a few of ideas, and there are many more opportunities for home a home business for stay at home moms. The hard thing is trying to find something you really want to do, and that you think you'll be good at. Good luck in making it happen.