“Work At Home Moms”, the web is littered with the remains of those who have tried and failed! It’s also home to those who are just beginning, those who are succeeding and some of the most important, soon to be work at home moms with a dream. If you considering working from home, think long and hard, do you have what it takes to be a work at home mom?
No matter what type of business a mother chooses to run with, if you’re considering working from the home, remember, you are working from the home! The norm of cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands, children and the things you do from day to day, will still be there…along with your work.
Time management, household budget and family time take on new definitions when you work from home. I can tell you up front, if you are too proud to hand over the mop to someone else to help out, to send the children off for a day dedicated to work for yourself, if you can’t handle leaving dirty dishes in the sink for a couple of days or waiting until the weekend to catch up on laundry then working from home may not be for you.
It takes a lot of discipline to work at home.
On the other hand if all that doesn’t sound to bad, you have goals set, your willing to compromise for your business without giving up your family, you’re a self starter who can stay focused and you have strong work ethics, maybe a home business is just what you need. Here’s one good tip, be prepared for ups and downs.
As with any business, it takes time to build. You can’t expect to “boom” overnight and even if you did, could you handle the workload on your own? Getting started can be difficult and can mean your family may have to sacrifice in order for you to start. Here are a few questions to consider:
* How much money do you need, realistically for start-up? (supplies, equipment, etc..)
* Can the kids stay home or will childcare be needed, if so, what’s your budget?
* What types of things may your family need to sacrifice?
* Will my husband/family be supportive?
* If you are working 9-5, when will it be possible for you to quit your job?
* Can I handle the work on my own or should I hire an assistant?
* Do I have a sufficient area to work from in my home?
* If your biz requires that you have room for product storage, do you have room?
* When do you expect to see profits?
* Can you effectively multi-task?
And the list can go on and on and on…
To succeed with a home business, you are the boss. No one tells you what to do, no one makes you do your job and no one pays you a salary, it’s all derived from you. It’s not fair enough to say that, you reap what you sew. A seamstress can sew all day long, if she has no customers, she has no profits. Same ideology applies to working from home, you can work your fingers to the bone, if you don’t have a solid business plan and a time map, you may not benefit at all.
What if your business doesn’t necessarily come from your own idea?
Many women choose to sign up under another business, representing products or services. If you consider this type of home-based businesses, be careful. If anyone asks you for money up front, that’s a warning flag at least and if they don’t have a jam up money back policy, that’s not good. Weigh out all of your options, take your time, research your possibilities, don’t make quick decisions and you’ll be ahead of the game.
I encourage all mothers, if you’re passion is working from home then do it but be prepared. It’s a lot of hard work, it’s well worth it because being a work at home mom myself, I love the freedom I have. I’m able to set my own schedule, I may do some juggling sometimes but that’s what I bargained for when I gave up my day job to stay home. I virtually had no choice, because of family priorities, I was forced into work at home because our family couldn’t make ends meet on one income. My initial dream of working from home began as a temporary solution, I really didn’t think I would be very successful working at home and planned on returning to my cushy office job after awhile. Boy was I wrong!
The most common misconception I personally get is when I meet new acquaintances; I really have to laugh though. When they find out I’m a work at home mom, the usually say, “I bet your house is spotless, I wish I had time to concentrate on things at home.” Fact is, I’m pretty sure that if the lady’s from “How Clean Is Your House” came to mine, they would find new classifications of dangerous microbial entities all over the place, I mean the government could easily mistake my house as a testing site for biological weapons and when someone unexpected knocks on my door, I feel signs of a massive coronary coming on. I do have a really nice lady that helps me out with housework every week, but it’s not enough and I could never possibly pay her what she’s worth. God knows I’d love to milk that cow for every drop and just move her, all expenses paid! (That’ll be the day.)
No matter whether you choose to follow in the footsteps of so many women who have chosen to work from home or those of the 9 to 5’er, I wish you nothing more than complete success. There’s no doubt about it, there’s no business like the business of being a mom and especially the business of being a work at home mom.
