Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
This is one of those questions that work at home moms (WAHMs) often ask themselves – in fact, it’s often something potential WAHMs ask before they even begin working from home: how are you going to balance work, home and family? No one is perfect at this, and no one has the perfect formula. But, there are some good tips out there on how to balance these important elements of your life. Here are some of those tips.
Organize Your Time.
As a mom, it can sometimes seem like everyone wants a piece of your time and attention every minute. It helps to look at time as a big pie – if you take out a piece now, that’s one less piece that you’ll have later. So, divide up the pie.
You can make a pie chart of your day if you want to, but a day planner or online calendar will work just fine. This might work best if you do it weekly rather than daily. And it does not have to be done in this order – just because business tasks are listed first here does not mean they are the most important. If family time is a bigger priority for you, then list it first.
First, list everything you need to do for your business that week, dividing it up into urgent priorities and not-so-urgent ones. Then estimate the hours that the urgent ones will take, and plug those hours into your work week. Those are the non-optional work hours. Then, plug in the less-urgent business activities – maybe using a different color – so you know those are not absolutely vital.
After that, make a list of household chores for that week – laundry, meals, errands, etc. Divide those up among the non-work hours. Take into consideration thinkgs like weekly events (religious activities, soccer games, etc.) that will require more laundry. If possible, set this weekly household task list up to repeat each week so these things will be on autopilot and won’t require re-scheduling each week. There’s no need to re-invent the wheel every week!
Make another list of family time. Do your kids go to school? Do you homeschool? What about family dinners and game nights together? What about a date with your spouse, or if your single, a date with a friend? Schedule in these social things into your calendar too, and rearrange accordingly. Maybe a non-vital business task can be set aside to spend some extra time with your kids this week.
Give yourself time off.
People who work in an office get weekends off. While you may not be able to spare two whole days every week, set aside time one day a week where you can rest and spend time with family. Organizing your time is fine, but a little down time can be therapeutic…even if you have to schedule it in!
Consider a mother’s helper.
Mother’s helpers can be such a help for busy WAHMs. Mother’s helpers come to your house rather than you having to drop your kids off with them. They are cheaper than a babysitter, and your kids still stay at home with you present. The mother’s helper can help out around the house, entertain the kids or even run a short errand.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Moms are busy and by necessity you have to wear many hats. People tell you to focus in order to succeed in business, but how can you focus and stay motivated when so many things demand your attention? Here are some tips for busy moms who need to keep their focus and motivation.
Choose the Right Job.
If you are just trying to bring home some money and are willing to take on jobs you dislike, you will burn out before long. This is not to say that you can just do what you want and earn money at it, but it does mean that finding the right work at home job is important to your motivation. Choose topics that you care about, and use skills you enjoy using. Just because you are good at something doesn’t mean you want to do it all day.
Establish a Routine.
New and intersting things are fun and exciting, but routine helps keep you grounded. It’s a good idea to set your alarm for the same time each weekday morning and to head to the home office/computer at approximately the same time each day. Trying to scramble and figure out your work hours each day only wastes time and energy, and hampers your productivity.
Stay on Task.
It’s amazing what you can do if you buckle down and shut out distractions. It’s easy to think you spent two hours writing and article, but if you cut out the trips to the refrigerator and the bathroom, the email reads and replies, and the few minutes here and there you spent on social networking sites, you probably spent less than one hour actually typing. Taking breaks is fine – in fact, it’s necessary to avoid burn out – but schedule your breaks into your day rather than taking them at a whim.
Delegation is Fine.
Presumably, your family is going to benefit from the extra income you plan to generate with your home business. It would behoove everyone to support your efforts. Delegate some of the household chores and errands to the kids and husband (or whomever is in your family).
Ask others to help.
You might consider getting a friend to act as a motivational partner who can hold you accountable if you haven’t accomplished your business goals. He or she can check in on you at regular intervals to see how you’re doing and to encourage you if needed. Tell this person what your goals and intentions are so that he or she can check your progress. For some people, it really helps to know someone is ‘looking over their shoulder.’
Be a Nice Boss.
Just because you are your own boss doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a nice one. Give yourself time off and frequent breaks, but also crack down when things aren’t getting done.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
It’s unfortunate that there are so many ‘work from home’ scams out there, but the sad truth is that they exist. Therefore, if you want to work from home, it’s a good idea to be savvy about these scams and know what to look for. In addition to listening to your gut and doing your research (search the web on each company you consider), here are some tips for making sure that a work at home opportunity is legitimate.
Beware of vague claims.
Scammers like to make big but non-specific promises, like how much money you will make. They may even try to sound specific by giving you a dollar amount you can expect to earn. But if you can’t discern what, exactly, you would be doing if you worked for them, or if you can’t tell what the job description is, then steer clear. You want concrete, specific directions and job descriptions, not vague promises about getting rich overnight.
Testimonials.
Testimonials can be a great way to promote a legitimate business, but watch out for testimonials that sound far too glowing or staged. “I was able to quit my job after only one week and now I make thousands each month working from home!” says Jane Smith in Somewhere City. Jane and many others may have similar testimonials on a company’s website, but once again they are too good, too perfect and too vague. Jane doesn’t say what she did to earn all that money, and the success time is way too quick (one week).
Consultants/Reps.
Beware of consultants and representatives who call you constantly trying to get you to sell their product. Legitimate businesses won’t harass you or try to pin you down on selling a product. If it’s a truly good product, then it should be enough in demand that they don’t need to bug you.
Customer Service.
Find out what the customer service is like with the company you’re considering working for. If you can’t get through on the phone or don’t get replies to your emails, that’s a red flag that the company is either very disorganized or not legitimate.
Fees
Fees are somewhat of a gray area. It’s normal to expect a sign-up fee with an online community with great business resources, for example those that own that community network are probaly work at home people too! It’s also normal to expect to pay a fee for marketing services or for getting your name put on a list for a prospective employer to see. The point is, you are getting something for your money.
Beware of companies that ask you to pay a fee that does not seem to have any basis, or a fee for you to be trained. Most sources agree that you should avoid companies that ask you to pay just for the privilege of working for them.
Also, be sure to differentiate a job working for a company and a home business where you are working with a company. The two are very different. You can expect to pay a start-up fee to start your own business working with a legitimate company.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish
There are a lot of interesting business ideas out there for work at home moms (WAHMs). As more and more employers look for ways to cut costs, hiring people to work remotely is getting more common. Also, some WAHMs run their own business and have people working for them. Here are some business ideas and strategies for a home based business for moms.
Telecommute
There are multiple resources on the web where you can browse for telecommuting jobs. You can also check with local employers who may appreciate your skills. Your current employer or employers from your past are often sources of telecommuting jobs.
Telecommuting jobs are varied, but writing, typing and secretarial duties are probably the most common. Some people work for travel agencies or do other phone work from their homes. Tap into something you already know how to do and offer your services to employers who need you.
Freelance Work
Another business idea is to do freelance work for clients. You could offer marketing advice, design websites, write articles, edit e-books and a host of other things. Working freelance means you have multiple clients rather than an employer and you will need to market your business and skills in order to find clients.
Start Your Own Business
If you don’t want to work for others (or if you want to do both), you can start your own home based business. Like freelancing, you are responsible for finding clients and promoting your business. Consulting, providing information, coaching, and building a membership website are just some of the ideas for a home based business. Some moms have had success providing information to others who want to build their businesses from home.
Marketing
Choosing the right marketing strategy (or strategies) is important. Look into social networking like Facebook and Twitter, and use their advertising platforms to get your name out. However, it pays to take it slow. No one wants to be ‘spammed’ all the time about your business. Build relationships in your demographic – join groups, make friends, join discussions, etc. – and then see where you can advertise to your potential customers.
Depending on your budget, you might consider hiring someone else to do your marketing – in fact, it could be a nice give and take if you hire another WAHM to market your business for you. Maybe she, in turn, can use your help.
Have a Plan
You need to know what you’re doing and have a handle on the tasks that need to be done. As a mom, you will have unexpected interruptions and unexpected moments when you can snatch a few mintues to work. If you have a grasp on the day’s tasks, you can slip in and out of work mode and always know what needs to be accomplished. If you have a spare ten minutes you weren’t expecting, and you have to spend that ten minutes organizing and figuring out what needs to be done, you’ve lost productivity.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish
Work at Home Moms (WAHMs) often begin their ventures with very little money to invest. There are specific business ideas that can be started on a shoestring budget. Here are some business ideas for moms who have few start up funds.
First, a Website…
Since you will probably be finding many of your clients online, you will need a website. This is generally considered to be step one for any work at home venture. It is a means by which you can promote yourself, and a place to refer people who want more information.
Prospective clients can visit your website to learn a bit about you before hiring you by email through your site. Thankfully, though, starting a website is not expensive. You can generally purchase a domain for less than $10, or you can start a blog for free and build that as your promotional online presence.
Virtual Assistant
A Virtual Assistant (VA) is someone who does administrative or secretarial work remotely. VAs transcribe, translate, prepare mailings, and do other administrative duties. Virtual Assistants are not confined to secretarial work, however. Some VAs offer web design, marketing consultation, and even technical support to clients. Since VAs use the internet and telephone, they can garner clients around the world.
Some suggest taking a VA course online. Whether you take a course or not, success depends significantly on the hours you are willing to put in. Some VAs become so successful that they begin their own VA business, employing a staff of VAs who can serve their clients.
Consulting
Teaching others something you know is a low cost work at home idea. Consulting can start with your own acquaintances and friends – spread the word that you have valuable knowledge and are going into business sharing this knowledge with others.
Some ideas for consultant businesses are in the fields of nutrition, natural lifestyles, green living and marketing. But in reality, there are so many possibilities in the consulting world that you can get unique and creative with your consulting business. Just make sure you are filling a real need before you venture out to sell your knowledge.
Childcare
Someone needs to care for children while their parents are working – even working from home! Once you check with your local regulations and laws in this regard, running and in home daycare (or something less official, such as watching one family’s children) can be a lucrative at home business.
Writing Web Content
The internet is the place to go for information. This is why no one buys set of encyclopedias anymore! That information has to get out somehow, and writers of web content are often in demand. You can work for a publishing company that provides web content to its clients and write articles on various subjects.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
Today, there are many work at home options available. In order to stay motivated and succeed, you will want to choose something you are good at and enjoy.
Of course, there are scams out there that promise you thousands of dollars for doing nothing but what you want all day, and this simply isn’t realistic. Working from home is still work! It will be much easier, though, if you choose something that interests you and that you enjoy doing. Here are some options and how you can determine what works for you.
Time
Be honest about how much time you have. If you have young children, you’ll need to arrange for childcare or work around their schedule. If you only have ten hours a week to put toward a work at home job, then it’s better to go ahead and admit that now rather than bite off more than you can chew.
List your skills.
Making lists is not always our first instinct, but it’s a good exercise for looking truthfully at your abilities, hopes, dreams, etc. Begin by making a list of your practical skills – these can run the gamut from meal planning to typing to teaching.
Then, make a list of all your income needs. How much money do you need to quit your day job, or to pay the mortgage? List all expenses from groceries to car payments.
Finally, make a list of your goals and dreams for your business. Where do you envision your business going? Are you content working for others or do you want to go into business for yourself? Include in this list your financial goals – maybe you’d like to afford a vacation, a new car, or just the utility bill.
Having these lists will help you determine if a work at home opportunity is a fit for you. If it doesn’t help you meet your goals, it probably isn’t right for you.
Practical Steps.
If you’re working from home, you have a computer and an internet connection, right? So, get online and research. If you are going to work at home for a company, research that company thoroughly.
Another online option is to join a work at home community where jobs are posted regularly.
How much money do you have to invest?
Some legitimate companies do require a cash outlay. If you are going into business for yourself, you will need to consider the cost of a website, possibly hiring a designer, marketing and advertising.
Next: Top Business Ideas for Work at Home Moms on a Shoestring
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.
Recent Comments