Great Advice for New and Aspiring Work-From-Home Moms
Many new moms dream of being able to stay home, earn an income, and care for their little ones at the same time. Considering the Digital Age in which we live, this is a dream that’s achievable by more women than ever before. Is it going to be easy? Nope — but neither is packing up a baby, getting them in the car seat, and dropping them off at daycare.
If you think working from home — and, specifically, starting your own business — is in the cards for you, great. But before you get started, take the time to mark off a few essential tasks that will help your business get up and running without weighing you down.
A Wonderful Website
That Digital Age we mentioned earlier necessitates an online presence. Your website and e-commerce shopping portal are crucial to your success. Work with web professionals to get your website online and, most importantly, catered to your customers. Whether you want just a simple landing page and contact form or a full e-commerce platform, find developers who can help.
A Direction
Having a web developer in place is crucial, even if you don’t yet know what you want to do. But you also have to have a direction. If you have experience in the workplace, you can always use that to start your own consulting company. But there are also plenty of things you can do without a long and drawn-out resume. Affiliate marketing, content copywriting, and insurance sales are three examples from Work-From-Home Depot.
Structured and Stable
Next up: financing and business structure. If you don’t have cash in the bank, you may have to take out a loan or open a business credit card account to finance things like equipment, office furniture, web development, branding, and inventory. Keep in mind that you’ll need a credit score of at least 670 to get the best rates, but there are plenty of options.
For your business structure, plan to form an LLC. If you don’t mind doing research, you can skip the attorney and find a formation service online — read zenbusiness.com reviews to learn more. Do your homework first since every state has slightly nuanced rules. Your LLC can even get a credit card, and you’ll enjoy a few advantages, such as reduced tax liability (in most cases) and structural flexibility as you grow.
Last but not least, there are a number of resources online that can help women get their businesses off the ground. In addition to SCORE.org (which has an entire section dedicated to women entrepreneurs), you can also look for funding opportunities and information via the US Small Business Administration website.
Organized and Ready to Work
One of the hardest parts about working at home is working athome. There is always laundry, hungry children, and neighbors knocking on the door to contend with. Despite Apollo Technical’s statistics that show that working from home makes you up to 77% more productive, there are exponential challenges to overcome. Being organized enough to focus on work amid the chaos of a functional household is one.
Make sure that you have a workspace that no one else is allowed to touch. Even if you have to put your desk and computer in your bedroom, it’s better than trying to work from the kitchen table. Set specific office hours and, importantly, hire a babysitter for a couple of days each week to take the kids to the park or help you clean up around the house so that you can spend your evenings being mom instead of mompreneur.
Being a mom and an entrepreneur are two full-time jobs. It takes a ton of work and effort to get out as much as you put in. Is it worth it? Absolutely! But you can’t just dart blindly into the road of self-employment. Take the time to tie up the loose ends before they unravel, making sure you have a web presence, a business structure, and a helping hand in place.
Visit Free Fundamentals for free and practical resources and information to live a balanced life and bring confidence to your life.
Article by Annabelle Harris of elders.center
Annabelle Harris is a writer, wife, mother, and grandmother. She started blogging nearly a decade ago when she was still facing the prospect of retirement and old age. She was terrified and needed an outlet for her thoughts, fears, and uncertainties. It was through her first blog that she found the support of a community that truly helped her through the process of aging.
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