While the path for success can actually vary a great deal depending on the business you plan on pursuing, there are some generalized tips that can help you no matter what. Some of the best pieces of advice for work at home moms include and I dare say some advice I ignored at the beginning of my journey are:
Have Patience
Working at home can be terribly rewarding. It can also be terribly frustrating. When your 7-year-old tells you the same story for the fifth time while you’re on a deadline, your patience might just run thin. Or when you’re doing a Live video and your 2-year old runs in screaming “Mommy I toozed”!. Take a deep breath, count to 10 and explain to them that mommy can’t do anything about that right now or you’d love to hear it in a little while.
Believe In Yourself
Since you’re no stranger to the workaday world thanks to your original career, you should have a leg up on this one. Still, it can be very daunting to have your own business and not have a “company” to fall back on. It can also be very difficult when you’re being told that you should just forget this “work from home” thing and go and get a “real” job. Believe in yourself, take stock in your skills and move full steam ahead. If you were able to enjoy a successful career working for someone else, there’s no reason why you can’t do it all for yourself!
Set Working Hours
This just can’t be stressed enough. You have to establish a routine for most days to pull off working at home. If you would rather spend all day with your kids, go for it. Just make sure to “clock in” when they go to bed. You have to stick with it to make a go of an at-home venture. For some people they can work in 30 minute bursts, others require long periods of concentrated work time. This also depends on the type of venture you’ve decided to pursue. But all the same as a mother of 3 young children setting my working hours particularly during the periods when my husband was traveling was vital to the success and survival of my business.
Promote Yourself
Do take the time to get the word out about your venture. If you don’t, no one else will. Your ultimate success will lie not only in your abilities, but also in how well you do at pulling in clients and contracts.
Be Persistent
Launching any type of business takes time and dedication. If you’re working at home, you’ll still face the same obstacles any business faces. You’ll have to be diligent and persistent to overcome them. Don’t give up too early on the task at hand but have an exit strategy if you’re going on 20 years with no profit!
Keep Your Contacts Open
You’re leaving a career with a company to stay at home with your family and launch your own venture. Make sure you keep your contacts you’ve established through the years open. They can be valuable sources of business for you down the road. This won’t matter whether you are staying in your field or planning to pursue a slightly different track. The reality is your existing reputation can help you out very much no matter the field you enter. Do let your old contacts know what you’re up to and keep yourself and your venture in the forefront of their minds.
Be Realistic
Don’t expect to build a Fortune 500 company from your garage in 10 days or less. While this is a fantastic goal to shoot for, expecting such success right out of the gate is unwise. You could discourage yourself and harm your chances of reaching your goal. Just make sure your expectations are realistic.
Learn To Multitask
You have decided to stay at home for a reason – your family. When my first child was born I knew that there was no way I could ever work for someone else in the traditional sense. I had to find another way of bringing in the income while being home and available for my growing family.
Make sure you do save some time for them. As you work on your business, this could mean needing to multitask. Learn to start dinner while you’re on the phone. Make calls while you’re sitting in the car line at your child’s school (if they attend regular school) Not only do I run a business from home but my children are homeschooled. So one of the things we do everyday when “school” is finished is we have family outdoor time – usually that’s when dinner is in the oven and a load of clothes in the washer!
Don’t Forget Yourself
It can be so very tempting to put everything you have into your family and your business venture. While this might seem like a great idea, it could burn you out fast. Make sure to carve out a little time for yourself. This will help you relax, unwind and recharge. Even 20 minutes a day reading a favorite book series, meditating or jogging can give you the time you need to just be you. Overlook this and your family, your business and you are all likely to suffer.
I often spend 20 minutes doing a walk at home program, I read for 15 minutes morning and evening and I journal daily! The days that I don’t do these activities are often the hardest to get through!
In Closing
As a work from home mom, it can be difficult but success is not elusive if you follow the path of those who’ve made it.
Most work from home moms aren’t looking to be millionaires, although in the process many of them do become millionaires. Most work from home moms are looking for an alternative to working out of the home so that they can truly embrace their vocation as wife and mother. If that sounds like you then we’re on the same wave length. Let’s lock arms together this year and make your dream of becoming a work from home a reality.
That was my main reason for becoming a work from home mom. What was yours? Tell me in the comments below.
