Avoid Re-inventing the Wheel! See What Other Moms are Doing… and Doing Successfully
by Angela Strosnider
Ever wonder if there truly are people out there whom work from home everyday and make a decent living? I know several years ago I did! I wasnt equipped with the knowledge to weed through the scams, the plethora of business opportunities, nor the people I spoke with who all seemed to have something exciting going on, but what it was I just couldnt grasp. I wanted to work from my home more than anything, but what I was going to do yet I just didnt know.
After months of visiting work from home mom, home based business, and entrepreneurial websites I still couldnt find anyone or any website that would tell me the companies in which hired homeworkers to legitimately work for them. Whats a mom to do?!
With a little one in daycare that just seemed to be getting sick all the time, I knew I had to come up with another solution to providing income for our family as well as have the ability to relinquish daycare from my options. While your reasons for working from home may be similar, extremely different, or outright zany, the fact remains that you are not alone in this search and there are
plenty of untapped opportunities for you to make this goal of yours become achieved.
Many work outside of the home mother want to work from home to have more flexibility over family responsibilities. Mothers that are currently staying at home may want to keep their careers they've spent so much time training for alive. Or, a stay at home mom may just want to help provide to the family finances while still being "at home". Whatever the reason, you have self-proclaimed it as an important one and thats what matters. Again, so whats a mom to do?!
As our computer generation and technology continue to advance, we are finding that more mothers are pursuing the option of telecommuting or working from home more feasible for themselves and their families. With little more than a personal computer, phone, fax, and printer, you can be well on your way to grabbing a position that fits your needs. So what position you ask? In a nutshell, I couldnt find one, so I created one.
This too will probably be your best option for landing the type of work you want to do while at the same time making the money you need to compensate for your time. Sure, there are companies that hire homeworkers out there, but if youre not happy with their terms, pay, hours, etc. youll be back at square one with how to make the flexibility of being at home and pursuing your career balance.
Depending on what your previous experience has been thus far as well as your training and education, you can build on that to create the perfect work from home position for yourself. That brings us to the next question.whats legitimately out there that moms are finding great success with?
The top four categories that work-from-home mothers participate in are:
- Office-Based Professional Services - Think of the many daunting tasks that are done in cubicles each day or the frazzled small business owner who cant afford an employee yet needs tremendous help. There are plenty of outsourcing categories that companies large and small will take advantage of providing a good fit with a homeworker.
- Home Services - This ones easy...think of anything and everything that you do everyday and offer your services to someone who may need them.
- Shopping
- Dog Walking
- Party Planning
- Meal Preparation
- Errand Running
- Childcare
- Organization
- New Baby Help
- Housecleaning/Gardening
- And the list goes on.
3. Crafting - Everyone loves some type of crafts dont they? And there are a lot of wonderful crafters that have a knack for creating these crafts. Woodworking, painting, jewelry, decorating items, and accessories are a couple of great ideas in this category. We moms are creative by nature.take that talent youve heard people talking about a little further and start making your choice of goods for sale.
4. Direct Sales - This category may be better stated with, "What cant you sell utilizing another companys name, products/services, and business model?" The answer is nothing. There are many choices for joining a direct sales company and the types of companies are endless. No matter what your hot point or passion is in products/services, youll find a direct sales company that can lead you down the right path to success.
So there you have them! The four biggest entities moms across the country are finding success at participating in and bringing together a great balance of family and career. So, whats holding you back? Get started researching and get down to business! Want a couple of secrets on what to consider before starting a business or working from home?
Although you may read "what to consider" before starting a business plenty of places on the internet, in books, etc. many of these dont have the mom mentality to tell you just what to pre-plan for. However, Im going to. The biggest obstacles I see moms face once theyve made it a goal of theirs to work from home are:
The affect on your partner and your children. This is a big one. Some families arent used to mom taking time out for something she wants and even if you work outside of the home now, it may be very difficult for them to understand and quite frankly may take some initial understanding and patience on your part. Stand your ground and keep reiterating why you are doing what youre doing.
The affect on your finances. Depending on how much pre-planning youve done with your familys budget and finances in mind, you may have to start working from home part-time until your situation allows you to jump into your new role. However, if you are a stay at home mom, with clear goals and bottom-lines on the finances involved in your new venture, things will go a lot smoother for both you, your business and your family.
What technology you can bring to the table. Do you have the equipment you need? If not, youll need to budget this ahead of time to make sure you have an up-to-date computer, fax machine, and printer at the very least. If this isnt feasible to go and buy these items, work with what you do have and make this a priority to put money back from your earnings until you can afford to get them.
How is your home going to accommodate you? Will you be using the location that your familys computer is in now? A spare bedroom? Wherever the place for set-up make sure it accommodates what youre going to need. Space is going to be an issue as well as filing cabinets, etc. if you are going to need them. Make these plans in advance and get your familys input. Making them a part of your goal and gaining feedback from them makes them feel as if theyre going to be a part of your new venture and ultimately important to you.
Last but not least, prior to choosing a work from home position or a home-based business to start you are going to want to jot down notes some notes to yourself. What type of personality do you have? What are your personal strengths and weaknesses? This list will be a big help in determining what type of position you will go after or what type of business you want to start. For example, I dont know many shy moms in direct sales. I dont know many outgoing moms in behind the scenes computer work such as transcription without doing something else as well. Why? Because these jobs dont fit their personality very well and once you do find a great fit it not only makes you feel better, but allows you to become more successful.
Equipped with the knowledge you know have, your next step is to start planning. This is a big decision and should not be jumped right into. The more time you spend on planning prior to starting to work from home, the smoother this transition will go for all family members involved. You are now a mom on a mission and there is no stronger force.
Make a mental note or even tack this to your computer if you have to as this is my last word of advice, "I am a mom on a mission and if I am going to work from home I will make money." This is your ultimate goal right? Of course! There isnt a business out there that would have its doors open if they werent looking to make money.
This is your goal as well...
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