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Working To Work From Home
by
Kristine Roberson
As long as I can remember, I have wanted to be my own boss. I have
never been able to truly get excited about working for someone else.
And, with my vast array of interests and talents, I have also never been able to find a position that is that perfect match for me.
The idea of owning my own business and working from home has come to
the forefront of my thoughts since the birth of my son on April Fool's Day, 1999. My
drive to be home -- and still contribute financially to the family household -- is as
fierce right now as it has ever been.
I'm sure I'm not alone. I've gone through every formula out there on how much it
costs for both parents to work when you have kids versus how much you actually save by one staying home. Those formulas don't
fit my life. I don't dress up for work, so I have no dry cleaning expenses. My husband works nights and I work mornings part time, so
we don't need day care. I don't stick around work long enough to have to buy my lunches, and I make my own coffee in the
mornings. True, it is costing me $4 per day to get to and from work (gas prices
in California are $2 per gallon and I live a gallon of gas away from work), but we
can never survive with one car. We've tried it. We failed miserably.
So, although we are extremely lucky than the average parents in that we were
able to cut down on enough expenses for me to work only part time to keep our
son out of day care, we still desperately need my income to pay the mortgage
and utilities. We no longer have credit card debt, and are four payments away
from our last car payment. In short, my husband's passion as a newspaper
sports editor isn't paying our bills (if you've worked for a newspaper, you know
why). But we have both said several times, we'd rather be happy with what we
do for a living and be poor than hate our jobs and be financially set.
Still, working part-time for someone else is not enough for me. I need to be
working for myself. And I am getting there. When you want to make such a
move, you need to be realistic about finances. It could take months or even
years to get your business turning enough profit to allow you to work from home and quit your job.
Don't quit your day job.
Keep working for someone else while you develop your business idea and plan.
Start your business, and work in your spare time as much as you can.
Learn from your day job.
Chances are, your employer is a wealth of information on starting and growing a
business. If you feel you can approach her about starting your own business,
you should pick her brain as much as you can. Who knows, you may even get some support from her!
Use the contacts you already have.
Market your idea to your family and friends, coworkers and business associates
-- even your neighbors! Be truly excited about it and explain to them why they
need your service. In essence, you will be created a great test group for future
ideas and products. Chances are, if they are excited about your service and
want to use it, you will find others out there that feel the same.
The squeaky wheel...
Write press releases and promote your services to the media -- over and over
again. Sooner or later, they will either tell you to go away, or they will give up
and give you some free publicity. Treat your local reporter as a friend -- you don't
want to pick fights with a person who buys their ink by the barrel!
Always be your No 1 fan.
You're it. You're the marketer, the inventor, the sales rep, the CEO, and CFO.
Always be excited about your services -- and always look for another opportunity to plug it.
I am confident I will reach that goal of working from home, and I know you can
do it, too. Making the switch to work from home takes incredible
perserverance and guts.
But then again, so does becoming a mother.
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for the Would-Be Home Business Owner
Think you don't have what it takes?
Think again. This entrepreneur tells you what you need to do to
get yourself started. All it takes is some organization and
self-discipline!
Success
Comes in All Forms
Money, money, money. Being in business, by definition, means
that you are trying to make at least SOME money. After all, no one can
sustain a business that loses money year after year! But if you ask
people WHY they started a business in the first place, you'll get all
sorts of answers.
What
is Passion?
I give all types of advice to people who write to me and want to know
how to start a home-based business and what to do. My standard
response is to find your passion.
Working
From Home?
Get Up and Get Out! Home-based shouldn't mean
housebound. Here, the best ways to fight isolation.
Putting
it in Perspective
There comes a point in every work-at-home individual's career when one
has to step back and take a good look at what one is doing and
how well one is doing it...
Is
your personality helping or hindering your success?
Do you ever recall saying to yourself, “Today I choose to fail.”
probably not. I don’t think any of us ever made a conscious or
deliberate decision to fail...
Leaping
the Hurdles
Anyone who has ever started his own home-based business knows how
precarious the future can look, considering all the obstacles and
potential pitfalls...
Mom's
Work-at-Home Dilemma
Gathering together in one neat pile all the things I’ve gotten from
those encounters, I’d say that most moms don’t know where to
start, nor are they fully aware of what type of work they are
capable...
Breathe
New Life into Your Business or Career
Remember back to a time when you were young
and viewed the world with a child-like sense of wonder...
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