Whether you’re expecting your first baby, a mom who works outside of the home, or a stay-at-home mom without a current career or business, chances are you’ve at least thought about running a home-based business. After all, what could be better than making money from the comfort of home, and being there for your kids?
Honestly, in my opinion, there’s not much for a mom that can top running a home-based business. But just because it’s a great thing for a lot of moms, doesn’t mean that it’s easy or that it’s right for every mom.
Is Running a Home-Based Business Right for You?
Here are a few things to consider when it comes to whether or not this option is right for you.
1. It takes time to make money
While every situation is different, I believe it’s completely possible for home-based business moms to replace, or perhaps even exceed their current income. The problem is, it might take a good amount of time.
Now if you’re currently a stay-at-home mom with zero income, this will be easier, because any income will be more than you’re currently making. But if you currently have a high-paying or for that matter, even a lower-paying job, the stakes are higher.
If you’re married, a great starting point is to go over your finances with your spouse, to see if there are areas to cut, and the bare minimum you would need to make while you’re working on building your business.
The important thing to know is that except for in extremely rare cases, money isn’t typically made overnight.
2. You might really miss the social interaction
Some women are quite content to be at home, and others really miss coworkers. Regardless of which category you fit into, it will be important to consider what you’ll do to replace the social interaction that is part of working outside of the home.
The great news is that there are many opportunities for work-at-home moms to socialize with others. In some cases, this can come from being part of a team, even if your only meetings are on Skype or over the phone.
You can also get involved with meetup and other networking groups where you can rub shoulders with like-minded individuals. The important thing is to be intentional about maintaining relationships.
3. It’s sometimes hard to get things done at home
If you’ve chosen to home-based business to have time with the kids, then kids will be part of the mix. While that may seem like a no-brainer, many women who work from home for the first time wrongly assume that they’ll be able to get just as much done at home as they can in the office.
Now obviously, if your kids are in school for a big chunk of the day, then you can have a good amount of focused work time during school hours. You can also devote some extra time to work after the children go to bed, but that can make for a really long day.
The important thing to remember is that one huge reason for working from home is to be with your kids, and sometimes that’s going to be a higher priority than getting work done.
4. There’s a lot more to running a business than making widgets
Especially when starting out, you’ll likely have to do most, if not everything yourself. And while you might be passionate about (fill in the blank here!), you may not love bookkeeping, handling email, or other necessary aspects of running a business.
That’s no reason to avoid starting a business, but it’s important to have an awareness of the less-than-romantic parts of running a business before you quit your job.
