It may not be easy, but it isn’t impossible, either. By using some simple time management tricks, a WAHM can find time to “get it all done!” One thing every WAHM should have is a planner. Schedule your family time first! Then schedule in the time you are going to work your business. Once you have your “work time” scheduled, make it a priority to stay focused on your business during those hours. It is very easy to procrastinate when you are a WAHM.

If your work requires you to do lots of different tasks, try to group similar tasks together. For instance, if you are in a direct sales business and you have a team under you, designate one day to be your “training day”. Instead of helping various team members throughout the week, schedule all of your mentoring sessions for one day. Set aside an hour in the morning and an hour in the late afternoon to respond to email and/or return phone calls. By scheduling that time in, you will find that you are able to get more work done and feel less scattered.

You might also consider outsourcing some of your activities. If you find that you are spending too much time on responding to email, returning phone calls, or updating your website, hire a virtual assistant to do those tasks for you. This will free your time up to work on your business, and by spending more time on the parts of your business that actually bring in money, you will be able to increase your profits.

You can also save time by setting aside a block of time each week to do your “regular” errands, such as grocery shopping. If you plan your meals for the week and go to the grocery store once, you will save lots of time during the week by not taking those daily “quick trips to the market”. And while you are planning your meals, try to schedule a few “cook once, eat twice” days. For instance, you can plan on having spaghetti on Monday and tacos on Tuesday. So, on Monday, brown the hamburger you will need for both days. On Tuesday, half of your work will already be done. And if you are making a meatloaf or lasagna, make two and freeze one for later.

Most importantly, do not feel as if you have to do it all by yourself. You are not a super hero. If you have a spouse or significant other, ask them to chip in on household chores. Children love to help out, and depending on their ages, there are multiple things they can do. And when it is all said and done, don’t forget to take out some time for yourself. Everyone needs a break– WAHMs included!

However, to grow as a person and a business professional, you may want to step outside of the WAHM comfort zone once in a while. You may be asking “Why on Earth would I want to do that?” Well, there are lots of reasons.

Even if you have been able to conduct all of your business online so far, why should you ignore the business in your own ‘backyard’? Check your local paper for the times and locations for meetings of business networking groups or call your local Chamber of Commerce and find out when they hold their meetings. Let’s say you go to the next meeting and there are 30 people there; statistics show that the average person knows 250 people…. Well, if each of those 30 people in your networking group knows 250 people, who knows how many of them may need your product or service?

By showing up regularly for meetings and events, you will get to know the other members. The conversation will eventually lead to the subject of what each of you does for a living. When they, or someone they know, are in need of your services, you will be the first person they think of to ask for help. Likewise, when you are in need of something, you will have an established list of contacts that will be more than willing to help you out!

Plus, these networking groups often have guest speakers and business seminars. Who knows? You may end up picking up some tax tips or learn some community news you wouldn’t have heard about if you were surfing an online WAHM forum.

In addition, these events give you a reason to get dressed up and get out of the house, and sometimes that is the only reason you need to go to them!

You have probably heard the old saying: “two heads are better than one”. Have you ever thought of applying that to your business? Teaming up with another WAHM is a great way to expand your business while learning new skills.

You can form a “joint venture” with another WAHM and create a way for you to promote your services together. You will both share in the work and the profits. For instance, maybe you are an expert in affiliate marketing and you have a WAHM friend who loves to write. You two can team up on an e-book about affiliate marketing! Or perhaps you have a friend who is awesome at creating podcasts, have her interview you about affiliate marketing and the two of you can sell the mp3. The choices are limitless!

If you have an idea about something you would like to create but do not know anyone to team up with, start researching people that have the skills you need. Send them an email and let them know you like their work and might like to team up. You can also ask for recommendations from WAHMs you already know or put up a post on a message board about what you would like to accomplish.

Whatever method you choose to find potential co-workers, interview several people before you make any decisions; you want the project to be a success. Look at samples of the work each person has done in the past. You will also want to make sure your personalities do not clash, as you will be spending a lot of time working together.

When you find someone you are interested in working with, make sure you both understand how the work will be divided, when the deadlines will be for each step of the project, how you are going to sell your product and how the profits will be divided. Keep looking for other joint venture opportunities as they are win-win situations – you can offer a new product or service to your current customers and the new product can also bring you a whole slew of new customers!

Holding down regular employment and being a mother can almost be like working two full-time jobs; yet in times of crisis, people have to find the strength to be more self-sufficient, especially as just one income is becoming less satisfactory for a family.

Data from the UK shows that more and more people are being forced into part time jobs, either through working from home or finding employment, with almost one million people turning to this to secure an income. Even people who are fully qualified, if not OVER-qualified to perform certain roles are finding themselves out of work simply because businesses cannot offer positions when there are no incoming contracts.

Families who have not suffered job redundancies as a result of the crisis have not necessarily avoided problems altogether though, as pay cuts and bonus restrictions have been put in place by a lot of companies. This has made the need for dual-incomes greater than ever before, and more and more working moms are appearing across the world!

If you are a work at home mom, you probably became one so you could spend more time with your children. However, there will most likely be times in your business when you will need to arrange for childcare. The following are some creative solutions to your childcare dilemmas.

WAHMs in direct sales are very often faced with childcare predicaments. A main portion of their business is conducting sales presentations, usually held at someone else’s home. If you are a party plan WAHM, the most obvious choice would be to schedule these presentations when your partner can watch the children, but what if your partner has an odd work schedule or you are a single parent? You can hire a local high school student to come to the party and be the “party nanny”. Check with the hostess first, but she will probably love the idea (and so will the other guests – since they won’t have to worry about getting a sitter for their children, they will be more likely to come to the party and the more guests you have, the bigger your profits!).

If you just need an occasional sitter, try setting up a “child care group” with your friends and neighbors. Each woman can designate a time frame on a certain day of the week or month to be “the sitter”. Any of the Moms in your “child care group” who need a sitter that day can drop their kids of at the “designated sitter’s” house. The children will get to play and interact with one another and each Mom can get free childcare on an “as needed basis”.

Check with your place of worship as they may offer a “Mom’s Day Out” type of program where you can drop your children off for a few hours per day, a couple times per week. This may be a free or low-cost service. Also, check with local library as they may have “story hours” where you can drop your children off and the librarians will read the children a book and after the book is read, the children can participate in a craft, game or activity.

If you just need some “quiet time” to do some work, you can hire a neighborhood teenager to come over and play with the kids while you are tucked away in your office. You will have some uninterrupted “work time”, but will still be there in case ‘something comes up’. If you have regular meetings that take you away from the house, check with friends and family to see if they can help out by watching the kids. Offer your product or service in exchange for their time. They may jump on the offer!

And don’t feel guilty if you need to put your children in daycare part-time. Yes, you may have had every intention of working at home in order to spend time with your children, but, there may be times when your business will need your total focus. By taking that time and completing your business tasks, you will be able to focus 100% on your children during family time.

photo credit: c r z

Maintaining the business grew more challenging as my boy grew older and more demanding. It seems extremely difficult to juggle both motherhood and businesswomen until I learned how to prioritize my time.
Advantages of a being a Work from Home Mom

As a mother very keen on educating my child from birth being a work from home mother seem a natural choice. Being at home it gave me the opportunity to spend more time with my child. I was able to tend to both his physical and emotional needs as he grew. There is no need to spend money on a babysitter or nanny from your child and you save both money and time in commuting.

Being a mother you are the best caregiver for your child. It seems perfectly natural to be able to be there both physically and mentally for your young one.

There are many examples of successful work at home moms like – Denise Willms & Brandy Ellen who have set up their own businesses while being at home. They are inspirational role models for moms who are aiming to work from home.

Being at home you are given the flexibility to work as much as your want and when you want. There are no strict 9-to-5 work schedule to focus on. You are working on your own time and target.

It may seem rather risky at first but with perseverance and effort it could turn into a job which has both financial security and growth in passive income. Instead of slogging at a job in the office for a merger income why not start up your own business which you are passionate about?

Disadvantages faced as a Work at home Mom

It is not always a bed of roses working from home. For once there is no chance of your taking off on medical leave. You still need to ensure that work is being completed and household chores are being done despite you feeling under the weather.

You may face constant interruptions from your child who is vying for your attention and be unable to concentrate on both. Multitasking may not be the answer as it may reduce your level of productivity instead of increasing it.

There is a lot of things which you will need to compromise.

1) How clean your house will be.

Clothes maybe left un-ironed and unfolded as you busy yourself
attending to clients on the phone while your child sleeps.

2)Your hours of Sleep

this will be the first to go as you try to pack in the maximum amount
of possible working hours within the day.

You will need to ask yourself this question

Is it worth the effort to work from home? Does the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

If you answered yes then this would be the best job offer for you.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Dominique Goh, elementary school teacher, mom to two active toddlers, mompreneur and online coach
Read more about her parenting tips at From Dominique’s Desk
Join her coaching site – Learning with Dominique

What is a service business?

Service businesses are those that provide help to others. This can be anything from mowing the lawn to managing business accounts. The basis of a successful service business is one that supplies a need. In your area, it may take some research to discover the top service needs and then figure out which one you can provide.

Benefits of a home-based service business

There are several benefits to running a home-based service business. First of all, you can run the business from your home. Since you already pay a mortgage, utilities and car payments, the only thing you need spend money on now is the equipment for your business. And, running a service that began as a hobby means you already own most of the needed equipment.

Secondly, a home-based service business requires low overhead and startup costs. We alluded to the startup costs above and the low overhead means no employees but you. The key to keeping the overhead low is taking on only as many projects as you can safely and efficiently handle by yourself.

Home-based service business options

As we mentioned, you can usually run these service businesses out of your home. Establishing a website for selling your services lowers the overhead even more and maximizes your profit. With the Internet as your potential customer base, the opportunities are endless for marketing and finding clients. Here are some home-based service options.

Virtual assisting has taken off in a big way in the last ten years. Using a computer, fax machine, telephone, and Internet access, you can perform various administrative duties for large and small companies. You are paid for the work that you do so there is no extra charge for the company. Virtual assisting skills run from transcription to accounting to managing email and company websites.

Transcription by itself can be a profitable venture. Medical offices and businesspeople are always in need of someone to transcribe their audio or video files. It is far easier and less time consuming to record an interview or dictate a medical procedure. Your job will be to turn that file into a document for patient charts and online use by various businesses.

Ghostwriting is the process of writing articles, novels, eBooks and more for an individual or a company. Using your writing talent, you can make a lot of money creating literary works (print and electronic) for others who need them.

Getting started tips

There are considerations before beginning any type of business even a home-based one.

1. Check out the local laws for registering and zoning a home business. Most home businesses require no zoning issues unless you will be meeting clients in your home and posting signs in the yard.

2. Small business tax laws. Now that you are a business, you are subject to different tax exemptions, deductions and payments. Sites like www.irs.gov can give you the information you need.

3. Set up a separate work space at home. This could be as simple as using a spare bedroom or den with a door to keep your work separate. If you rely on the telephone a separate phone line can be added. When a workshop is needed, consider using a garage or purchasing a large outbuilding.

4. Use on and offline marketing methods to find clients. This includes: viral marketing, newspaper and Yellow Pages ads, flyers and direct mailings, email marketing, article marketing, setting up a website and etcetera.

5. Create a schedule to divide time between work and family. Balancing both is hard. Scheduling time and sticking to it means more gets done and no one is slighted.

A home-based service business is an alternative for people who want to know entrepreneurship without spending a lot in upfront costs. If you have a talent and can meet a need, consider a home-based business.

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