First-time motherhood is an especially creative time. Women experience the world in a new and wondrous way. As a result, many great business ideas are born. For example, Julie Aigner-Clark created Baby Einstein in 1997 after she discovered there were no age-appropriate products to share her love of art, classical music and poetry with her newborn daughter.

Pixie Lily began around the same time, after Leda McIntosh Jackson started dressing her newborn in heirloom clothes that had been passed down. She was amazed at the reaction they received. Moms loved them. The styles were simpler. The fabrics were better. The details, like crochet and embroidery, were more elegant.

She began handcrafting vintage-inspired clothes made with fine fabrics inside her Charleston, S.C. home. She sewed while her baby daughter, Suzanne, slept. "I did it at night and while she napped. Blissfully she would nap for three hours at a time."

She took baby steps to see whether her idea would fly. It did. Today, her layettes are in 500 stores around the country and her designs are must-haves among celebrities like Kate Spade, Holly Robinson-Peete and Jessica Seinfeld, who started her own non-profit organization, Baby Buggy, after the birth of her first child.

This is a wonderful time to experiment with ideas. But for the well being of you and your baby, consider ideas that give you flexibility - with your time and your energy. Don't spread yourself too thin. Focus on ideas that allow you to grow your business over time. Also, avoid taking on debt.

The sky is the limit in terms of potentially lucrative home-based business ideas. They include catering, party planning, and even travel consulting. You can generally ratchet up business ideas like these over time by writing articles, books and speaking publicly.

Here is a look at several business ideas, in a little more depth, that offer flexibility, decent pay scales, and growth potential:

• Are you superb at staying organized? Do you know all the tips for organizing homes, offices, cupboards and closets? You might consider becoming a professional organizer. This is a trendy, popular and growing industry. The hourly pay runs the gamut from $25 to $200 an hour. An excellent way to learn more about this profession is by contacting the National Association for Professional Organizers, www.napo.net.
• Do you walk into a house and begin to think about new and creative interiors? Did you love to decorate your own home? Are you artistic? Then you may love a career as an interior designer or an interior decorator. This industry has experienced renewed interest thanks to shows like "Trading Spaces," and "While You Were Out." Interior Decorators largely focus on the finishes of a home, like fabrics, furniture and window treatments. Interior Designers need to meet licensing, certification and education requirements. You can learn more at www.asid.org and www.fider.org.
• Have you ever lived abroad? Do you have mastery of a second language? Then you might consider a career as a translator. This industry is growing, dynamic and dominated by home-based businesses. The work is interesting, start-up costs are minimal and the pay is good. Contact The American Translators Association, http://www.atanet.org for more information.
• Do you love to attend weddings? Are you able to stay focused under pressure? Then wedding consulting may be for you. Start-up costs are low, and you don't need expensive equipment. There are around 10,000 wedding-consulting businesses nationwide. A new consultant charges around 10 to 15 percent per event. An experienced consultant, handling around 40 weddings a year, earns $70,000-plus annually.