Infant Sleep Consulting
The shortcut: Parents at 3 AM with a 9-month-old who hasn't slept past midnight in weeks aren't price shopping. They're booking the first qualified person who picks up. Charge for the package, not the hour.
Industry: Childcare & Education
Investment level: Micro — $300-$1,500
Time to launch: 4-6 months (a real cert program is the gate; see Section 4)
Best for: A parent or postpartum professional (doula, NICU nurse, lactation counselor) who has done the late nights and can talk to a sobbing mother at 11 PM without flinching. You're a fit if you can write a two-week sleep plan, hold a 30-minute video consult without lecturing, and tell a parent "this isn't a sleep problem, call your pediatrician" when it isn't. What you'll likely make: $400-$900 month 3, $1,500-$2,500 month 6, $3,000-$4,500 month 12. Math is in Section 4.
Market Opportunity
You probably know one mom who paid $400 for a "sleep coach" and another who thinks the whole thing is a scam. Both are right. The field is unregulated — the bar to entry is low and the bar to do real work is high. By the time a parent fills out your intake at 11 PM, they have already tried the podcast, the wearable monitor, and a $19 ebook. They are not shopping. They want someone who has seen this before.
That desperation doesn't mean the market is huge. It means it's concentrated. A typical engagement runs $300-$500 for a one-to-two week package. Six to ten paying families a month at full ramp is the realistic ceiling for a solo practice. The math works because there is no storefront, no commute, and almost no per-client cost beyond your time and a $20/month booking tool.
The trap: treating this like a blog with paid PDFs at the end. Ebooks at $19 a copy will not pay your phone bill. Packages at $400 will. The product is the relationship, not the document.
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