Working from home. More thoughts
Posted by Theda K. on 24 May 2007 | Tagged as: Family time, Home Business, Single mother, WAHM
Working for yourself is an interesting life, as I’m sure most of you know.
Darren Rowse just posted an interesting article about making a contract with yourself. It got me thinking about doing the same thing, and seeing where it leads me. In his contract, he stipulated that if he couldn’t stay on track for at least 2 months, it would probably be time to get a regular job.
I have to continue being honest with myself.
If I had a “real job,” my daughter would be away from me the entire time I’m at work. That isn’t happening with my home job. She’s with me about 80% of the time. That’s a lot.
Another work-from-home mom, Susan Payton, wrote an article “confession” on eMoms At Home. Her child is in daycare full-time. In her words, she works from home and is a mother, but is not a work-from-home mom.
Anyway, this has all got me thinking about the best course of action for my family. I’ve started applying for “regular jobs” in the meantime. As a single mother without a lot of money saved up, I have to make some type of income while I grow my business.
I’ve been extremely lucky the past couple of years to have lots of help from my family. But my daughter is beginning to enjoy (and seems to need) time away from me. And, I have to admit, I notice that I crave some time away from her (even though she’s a sweetie pie).
We get along so much better when she’s been away for a while. We miss each other, but we laugh so much more when we’ve been apart.
For those of you who are WAHMs and WAHDs, what are your experiences and thoughts?
Subscribe to Crayon Writer
Thanks for the mention, Theda! Actually I didn’t write that post, it was by Guest Author Susan Payton - didn’t she do a great job?
Hi Wendy, thanks for correcting me. I edited the post to give Susan Payton the deserved credit. It was a great article, and it (obviously) got me thinking.
Here’s my experience:
I’m just starting out as a WAHM, plus I also homeschool my three kids (actually we’re unschoolers but that’s a different post).
Because children grow up so fast and we have such a short time with them, I feel grateful that I don’t have to work outside the home and that my husband can support the five of us (plus a dog and an iguana). It’s a choice we made and we all benefit from it.
I get inspiration, support and encouragement from my children and visa versa. We’re actually looking into starting a WAH business (my kids & I) together.
When I’m working on my blogs or websites, they give me the respect of some alone time, just as I give it to them when they need it.
That’s my experience.
Joanne at Forever Parents
I have been working from home since February of 2006. It took two years to build up to breaking away from my “real job”. I have two obstacles:
1. Myself. I’m just too nice of a boss and I let myself get away with too much.
2.Friends and family. They seem to think that I’m not doing anything and I get a lot of phone calls and requests to babysit/favors…
I actually need to take myself seriously. I also need to learn how to say no.
i couldn’t work from home….there are so many things I would do rather than work!
maybe I will try it someday in the future though
John,
Theda–
I’m so glad you enjoyed my article, and that it’s a topic that’s creating discussion. Let’s not leave it buried under the rug anymore!
Susan Payton
Egg Marketing & Public Relations
http://www.eggmarketingblog.com
I wish I could work from home. Thank you for the information !
Child Safety Store