Maternity Leave: How to Make Money While You Bond with Your Baby
It’s no secret that the option for paid maternity leave in the United States is slim-to-none. Many businesses do not offer this benefit and require employees to use their own sick and vacation time to cover their leave. In addition, the length of time an expecting mother can go out on maternity leave is only for a few short weeks, leaving her feeling unprepared to leave her newborn baby so soon.
Maternity leave is a topic that needs to be addressed at a higher level in order to support the mother and baby bond and encourage a healthy family dynamic. However, for the moment, mothers are seeking other ways to make money on maternity leave to help alleviate financial burdens without adding the extra cost of daycare.
If you are someone who is looking for paid maternity leave options, Center for Pediatric Sleep Management (CPSM) has the right solution for you. Continue reading to learn more about how you can stay home with your baby longer while taking care of your financial obligations. When you are blocked by a system that is unsupportive, it’s time to take matters into your own hands.
What is Maternity Leave?
Maternity leave is a period of absence from work that is directly related to giving birth to a new baby. This leave is meant to help families bond, help mothers heal from birth, and adjust to a new life. While maternity leave is meant to save your position while you are absent, it doesn’t come with the benefit of paid time off.
Mothers are expected to pay for their own maternity leave either by saving money or using banked sick and vacation time. In addition, there is a limit to how much time a mother can take maternity leave without compromising her job and health benefits.
How to Make Money on Maternity Leave
There are many reasons a mother would want or need to make money on maternity leave. The number one way you can turn your leave into a paid opportunity is by becoming a certified pediatric sleep consultant.
What is a sleep consultant?
A sleep consultant is a professional who has become certified and knowledgeable in the sleep consulting industry for children. As a sleep consultant, you get to help families who are struggling with sleep deprivation and create healthy sleep habits with children aged infant up to school age.
As someone who is on maternity leave or thinking ahead to your absence, you might wonder if you have to have an infant who is sleeping through the night in order to qualify as a sleep consultant. The answer is that you do not have to have a perfectly sleep-trained child of your own in order to be successful in this role.
How long does it take to become a sleep consultant?
With Center for Pediatric Sleep Management (CPSM), you have the power to control how long it takes to become a consultant. If you are looking ahead before giving birth, you can take our course before your baby arrives so that you can begin making money as soon as you are ready to go on maternity leave.
However, if you already have your sweet baby in your life now, you can still complete the CPSM course on your own time. Our certification course is designed to be completed in just a few short weeks based on your availability.
How much do sleep consultants make?
According to ZipRecruiter, the national average annual salary in the United States for a sleep consultant is $63,036. Some incomes reported are as high as $82,000 annually while others report incomes as low as $11,000. Your income will vary widely depending on the rates you charge and how many clients you are willing to accept at any given time.
Some graduates from the certification program with CPSM earn $1,500 to $4,000 per month working part-time or $5,000 to $10,000 per month working full-time. This equals $18,000 to $48,000 annually part-time or $60,000 to $120,000 annually full-time. These salaries are definitely something to get excited about.
How many hours do sleep consultants work?
The beauty of considering becoming a sleep consultant to make money on maternity leave is that you get to create your own schedule. If you only want to work five hours per week, you can do that. If you want to work 20 hours per week, that is your choice. Sleep consultants work when it is best for their schedule and commitments. What’s more, is that you can complete all of your tasks in the comfort of your own home by providing virtual consultant services.
How to Become a Sleep Consultant
Become a sleep consultant and make money on maternity leave. This will be the best time to bond with your baby without having to worry about being away from them.
1. Get Certified through CPSM
The sleep consultant certification program offered by Center for Pediatric Sleep Management is the top choice to get certified. CPSM offers the only comprehensive program available that includes learning about healthy sleep habits as well as how to build your business from day one.
Once you enroll in the course, you will have lifetime access to all materials including any changes or updates that are made in the future. In addition, you receive immediate access to the course materials and the CPSM support community. Finally, CPSM is the most affordable sleep consulting course with multiple payment plan options.
2. Practice Your New Skill
Find friends and family who are willing to support your new business and practice your new skill with them. You can also incorporate what you have learned into your own family if you need to sleep train your own children. Essentially, you can act as your own client and follow your own plan of action.
In addition to using friends and family, consider reaching out to co-workers or others in your community who would be great candidates for practice.
3. Find Paying Clients
Once you have gained experience with a couple of practice families, it’s time to find paying clients. Post your services on social media to let others know what you offer now. Hand out business cards to people in your community whom you might be able to serve. Take the time to join productive mom groups online or in person and offer to be their sleep consultant.
4. Build Connections
Many consultants receive client referrals from other businesses. Building a sleep consultant career while on maternity leave means building connections with other businesses. Reach out to your own pediatrician’s office to inquire if you can leave some business cards or brochures for other families to notice your business.
You can also inquire with pediatric dental offices, baby clothing boutiques, and bookstores. All of these places are hot spots that families frequent. The more you can build connections and expose your business, the more earning potential you will have.
5. Collect Testimonials
Testimonials are a great way to build trust within your business. They help show that you have experience and that other families have found value in your services. Collect testimonials from the practice families you served in addition to asking for testimonials from each client you will serve in the future.
Post your testimonials on your website, social media pages, business pages, and even print some on your brochures. The more you can promote your business success, the more likely other families will come to you for help.
Become Financially Secure During Maternity Leave
Don’t let the reality of an unpaid maternity leave keep you from enjoying more bonding time with your new baby. You don’t have to rely on a job that requires you to give up precious time. Create your own opportunity for a paid maternity leave by becoming a sleep consultant.
Make your own schedule, set your own rates, and work from home with your baby. This is the best option to make money on maternity leave. You get to control the time you have with your baby while becoming financially secure with this new business.
If you are interested in exploring how you can have a stress-free maternity leave without worrying about finances, then it’s time to become a sleep consultant. Come join our free Facebook group to learn more.
Inside the group, you will get access to a community and training opportunities that will show you exactly how Center for Pediatric Sleep Management can help you achieve your financial goals. In addition, you will gain access to a library of guest experts who join live on our podcast and share how they have become sleep consultants even while raising their own children.