Don't Give Up Your Day Job

Don't Give Up Your Day Job

There are good reasons that a mom wants to stay at home and still have a successful business. Being a mom is a top priority for you. But for many moms who are trying to balance a successful career and motherhood, it is hard to walk away from a job you are good at. The good news is we live in a time when it might be necessary to give up a job you love just so you can be at home where your children need you. In other words, you can have them both.

Many employers are seeing a real value in helping moms who are valued employees work from home. It's a great deal for the employer. If that mom is a trusted employee, this is a way for the company to retain valuable training and experience and not lose you just because you need to be there for your kids. By working with you to do some or all of your work at home, you could become even more productive because your work is always there.

In fact, by helping you work at home, it can actually save the company money. After all, they don't have to keep an office equipped for you at their location. You don't drink their coffee or use their electricity or utilities. If the program is open to many employees and a significant number of other moms and dads opt to work at home, the company may be able to move into a smaller office space, which saves money. It is also good for the environment because you are not driving to work back and forth each day.

The obvious benefit to a work at home mom is you get to continue to do a job that you know well. You already are qualified for the job and you can probably continue at your same salary, which is much better than losing income to start some new enterprise. You may be able to arrange your schedule to fit the needs of your children as well. If you need to do phone calls or go to the office for meetings, you can do that when the kids are in school. Then you can be home to greet them and get them going on their homework and keep your paperwork or computer research for those hours when they need you to be able to jump up and be mom.

It will take some getting used to splitting your attentions like that. Most work at home moms who go through this kind of transition do see a drop off in productivity as they get used to doing housework, cooking and cleaning and keeping a full work schedule at the same time. Nobody said it would be totally easy. But compared to putting the kids in day care or letting become "latch key kids", it's worth the investment.

One big change to your home environment that will have to occur if you bring your old job home with you is that you will need an office that allows you to be just as productive and capable as you were when you officed outside the home. Your employer may have ways to help you set up an office, equip you with office supplies, a connection to the work network and even a phone set up so you have an extension on the office system. In that way, clients or professional contacts who need to reach you can call the regular work number and put in your extension and it will ring at your home. This is also preferable because it keeps your home phone private and a phone dedicated to just professional use.

If you have made that decision to put family first and become a work at home mom, this is an option to look into. Before you decide you just have to walk away from the professional world, have a talk with your employer. They may have a plan to set you up at home that will work very well for you. Even if they don't, they might be willing to work with you on a part time basis or as a contractor in a work at home mode. That is a fine way to launch your work at home career. And it keeps you doing what you are really good at which is a great way to adjust to your new lifestyle.