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Are you thinking about giving up your job to work at home? Perhaps you want to see if this is something that is really do-able? Often times moms who earn a living working at home find themselves the envy of those who are working jobs outside the home, however unless you’re one of those moms working at home, chances are you are not aware of the challenges that are involved. Here are some of the things to consider that may help you decide if working from home is really for you.
First and foremost, you will have to decide just what you are going to be doing to earn money as a home business owner. If you are computer literate it opens a lot more possibilities, however there are many more other ways to run a business from home as well. Look at your talents and things of interest as well as what type of income you’re hoping to create.
If you are going to work from home, you should probably be the kind of person who enjoys being somewhat in control. This means that you will need to be comfortable with making decisions and planning your time carefully. These elements are something you normally don’t have to worry about as it’s already decided and planned for you if you are working for someone else. As your own boss however, these responsibilities fall squarely on your shoulders. Your decisions directly affect your home business and in turn your bottom line profit.
Flexibility is a must. There may be times when you are forced to change and adapt to different situations. Calls to pick up a sick child from school with a deadline coming up, may mean working late that night or missing an event planned later that evening or the next day. A bonus comes as well, if it’s a beautiful day not a lot of work you can take a break and go and enjoy the sun or stroll around the mall.
Time management skills are another extremely crucial factor to work at home success. There will be no time card to punch, no boss telling you what to do or how much time to spend on a specific task, therefore you will need to decide how to divide up your working hours so that your time is spent on completing money earning tasks.
A often hard part for moms, is having to keep your attention focused for blocks of time. This is one of the most challenging aspects of managing a home business, particularly if there are children present while you are attempting to work. Although it can be difficult, it is possible with a bit of forethought and lots of patience.
Organization goes hand in hand with time management. Setting up your working space, maintaining a supply of needed materials, using a planner to do both long range and daily planning, and having a bookkeeping system in place, are a few of the important organizational tasks facing the work at home business owner. For a work at home mom, you’ll have to manage and organize your business as well as your family, so be prepared for double the planning.
The nice part about setting up a home business is that it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing type of venture. If you’ve never experienced working at home, why not try setting aside a few hours here and there to see if it’s really for you? This will allow you to try your hand at it before making the major commitment of quitting your current J-O-B.
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Great post Tamara! I wanted to share something that I was advised about many years ago, when I started a business working from home.
Many Moms who want to work at home, find themselves suddenly with lots of time that they did not have while being employed so they decide to “rip apart” and houseclean their entire house, wash windows, rearrange furniture, etc., etc. I was cautioned that the time management part of working at home would be hampered by wanting to get the housecleaning chores out of the way.
Fortunately for me (unfortunately for my family), I was the opposite. I was so focused on getting my business up and running that I worked from early morning until very late at night on my business tasks. My son would come into my office sometimes at 8 pm or after to ask if I planned on making dinner that night. Now that I look back on it, I was so immersed in my business, I totally overlooked any of my Mom or household duties.
So, yes, I totally agree, time menagement is a HUGE part of working from home. Now that my children are grown and married with children of their own, I still fight with myself to make sure I allow time for household chores. If you love what you are doing, it is very difficult to pull yourself away. For the sake of your own mental well being, and that of your family, please do manage your time appropriately! All too quickly, the family grows and leaves home and you will find you missed many important moments – moments that cannot be recaptured! Although I neglected my household chores, I can honestly and happily say I never missed a “moment” of my child’s accomplishments. That in and of itself is a huge accomplishment.
You can earn a decent living working from home, but it is hard work but as Tamara says, the alternative to working from home is a JOB and if you don’t like that job it becomes “just over broke!” and that’s not a great way to survive!
Tamara, keep writing these great articles. We all need to keep grounded and remember what is important in our lives, both for an income and for happiness.
One thing you will miss when you work from home is your lack of socialization with your co-workers. Also, when you work from home, you will miss other opportunities and experiences in working in the outside world. However, I still can see that moms working at home has more benefits and one thing I really love about it is that you can have more time with your family especially with the kids.
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One thing is we cant coordinate with our colleagues. Social life is finied. So working for home is not for me at least because I love meeting people and want to discover them. Lot of people will agree with me don’t you?