By Alyice Edrich
A few years ago, I ran a weekly column for work at home moms, or those who want to be. One day, a young mom said to me, "I started a virtual assistant business two years ago, but I still don't make enough to stay home with my children. My husband told me to choose one or the other: my job or the business. I don't know what I want. What should I do?"
I felt for that young mom.
I'm an introvert by nature and tend to shy away from any form of publicity that requires me to meet and greet people in person, as a result, my business isn't as far as it could be. I've turned down television interviews, radio interviews, and even a chance to be on a reality television show.
But what I couldn't relate to was her husband's words, "Choose one or the other."
I am lucky. I have a wonderful husband who believes that I can have the best of both worlds. The only person stopping me from doing anything is me.
When we started talking, what I realized was that her husband wasn't telling her she had to choose because he wasn't supportive. He was telling her to choose because she was miserable and she kept telling him she wasn't doing what was necessary to achieve her dream.
Starting a home based business is hard enough when you are a stay-at-home mom raising two children, it's a completely different story when you're a full-time working mom raising two kids and trying to build a business, too.
So I asked her, "Do you really want to work from home or do you feel pressured into doing it because everyone tells you that it's the best thing for your children?"
I didn't even give her a chance to answer, because I wanted her to really think about that question.
I continued to bring the point home by telling her, "If you truly want to be home with your children, but don't want to work a business, sit down with your husband and let him know how you feel. Show him how much money goes out the door every month just so you can work and how much is actually left after those work-related expenses are taken into account. Then ask him if there is a way you can cut down your monthly household expenses so that you can stay home with the kids and be more attentive to his needs when he comes home from work."
"If you want to be home with your children, but don't want to give up your own identity and feel working from home will save your sanity, than you really need to set some realistic goals and stick to them."
The next question I asked her was, "How badly do you really want to work from home?"
"Do you want it bad enough to sacrifice sleep? Bad enough to work when your children are napping, in school, watching their favorite television show, or on a play date? Bad enough to work your regular job during the day, deal with your kids until they go down for the night, and then work your virtual assistant business in the evenings-often until 1 or 2 in the morning?"
She wasn't sure. She thought it would be a lot easier to get her business running since she worked as a secretary in her day job.
So I told her, "Your business will never replace your current job until you decide to make a few sacrifices. If you don't have enough hours in the day to work a full-time job, a part-time business, and raise your children (and honestly, who does?!) then you need to take a hard look at your life and your situation."
Which brought me to a question that she hadn't even considered before, "How much do you really need to make in order to stay home?"
"After you subtract the expenses associated with working such as childcare, lunches at work, gas to and from work, extra car insurance because you're driving those extra miles, the taxes that are taken out of your check, etc., how much money is really left from your salary at the end of the month?"
"Can you make that from your business now?"
That question was the eye-opener.
After deducting work-related expenses, she was only bringing home $500 a month. She was already making $500 a month in her virtual assistance business after expenses.
She had found her answer...
If you're in the same boat, but you have not reached the income you need to bring home, ask yourself the following questions and take action:
* Where can I cut monthly expenses/bills?
* Do I really need cable television?
* Do I really need a gardener to mow the lawn?
* Can I move into a smaller house, with a smaller monthly payment?
* Can I consolidate my bills and get a lower monthly payment without raising my interest rate?
* Do I have stuff in my home that I can sell in a garage sale (or on Craigslist) to pay down the debt or get us to a monthly budget that works?
If you desire to work from home, you can do it but you'll need to take an objective look at your lifestyle and be willing to make sacrifices until you reach your end goal.
Alyice Edrich is the editor of The Dabbling Mum, a free parenting publication, and the author of several work from home e-books designed to help parents earn extra cash while spending more time with their children. To learn more, visit http://thedabblingmum.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alyice_Edrich
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6998850
A few years ago, I ran a weekly column for work at home moms, or those who want to be. One day, a young mom said to me, "I started a virtual assistant business two years ago, but I still don't make enough to stay home with my children. My husband told me to choose one or the other: my job or the business. I don't know what I want. What should I do?"
I felt for that young mom.
I'm an introvert by nature and tend to shy away from any form of publicity that requires me to meet and greet people in person, as a result, my business isn't as far as it could be. I've turned down television interviews, radio interviews, and even a chance to be on a reality television show.
But what I couldn't relate to was her husband's words, "Choose one or the other."
I am lucky. I have a wonderful husband who believes that I can have the best of both worlds. The only person stopping me from doing anything is me.
When we started talking, what I realized was that her husband wasn't telling her she had to choose because he wasn't supportive. He was telling her to choose because she was miserable and she kept telling him she wasn't doing what was necessary to achieve her dream.
Starting a home based business is hard enough when you are a stay-at-home mom raising two children, it's a completely different story when you're a full-time working mom raising two kids and trying to build a business, too.
So I asked her, "Do you really want to work from home or do you feel pressured into doing it because everyone tells you that it's the best thing for your children?"
I didn't even give her a chance to answer, because I wanted her to really think about that question.
I continued to bring the point home by telling her, "If you truly want to be home with your children, but don't want to work a business, sit down with your husband and let him know how you feel. Show him how much money goes out the door every month just so you can work and how much is actually left after those work-related expenses are taken into account. Then ask him if there is a way you can cut down your monthly household expenses so that you can stay home with the kids and be more attentive to his needs when he comes home from work."
"If you want to be home with your children, but don't want to give up your own identity and feel working from home will save your sanity, than you really need to set some realistic goals and stick to them."
The next question I asked her was, "How badly do you really want to work from home?"
"Do you want it bad enough to sacrifice sleep? Bad enough to work when your children are napping, in school, watching their favorite television show, or on a play date? Bad enough to work your regular job during the day, deal with your kids until they go down for the night, and then work your virtual assistant business in the evenings-often until 1 or 2 in the morning?"
She wasn't sure. She thought it would be a lot easier to get her business running since she worked as a secretary in her day job.
So I told her, "Your business will never replace your current job until you decide to make a few sacrifices. If you don't have enough hours in the day to work a full-time job, a part-time business, and raise your children (and honestly, who does?!) then you need to take a hard look at your life and your situation."
Which brought me to a question that she hadn't even considered before, "How much do you really need to make in order to stay home?"
"After you subtract the expenses associated with working such as childcare, lunches at work, gas to and from work, extra car insurance because you're driving those extra miles, the taxes that are taken out of your check, etc., how much money is really left from your salary at the end of the month?"
"Can you make that from your business now?"
That question was the eye-opener.
After deducting work-related expenses, she was only bringing home $500 a month. She was already making $500 a month in her virtual assistance business after expenses.
She had found her answer...
If you're in the same boat, but you have not reached the income you need to bring home, ask yourself the following questions and take action:
* Where can I cut monthly expenses/bills?
* Do I really need cable television?
* Do I really need a gardener to mow the lawn?
* Can I move into a smaller house, with a smaller monthly payment?
* Can I consolidate my bills and get a lower monthly payment without raising my interest rate?
* Do I have stuff in my home that I can sell in a garage sale (or on Craigslist) to pay down the debt or get us to a monthly budget that works?
If you desire to work from home, you can do it but you'll need to take an objective look at your lifestyle and be willing to make sacrifices until you reach your end goal.
Alyice Edrich is the editor of The Dabbling Mum, a free parenting publication, and the author of several work from home e-books designed to help parents earn extra cash while spending more time with their children. To learn more, visit http://thedabblingmum.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alyice_Edrich
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6998850
No comments:
Post a Comment