Finding work at home jobs can seem overwhelming and confusing. The first and most important step to getting started is to assess your skills, finances and family dynamics. Then figure what’s best for you. Whether you want to be a telecommuter or independent contractor, these work at home jobs lend themselves well to a home office environment. These mom bloggers answer the following questions:
1. What would you say are the pros and cons of being a work at home mom?
2. How did you get started working from home? In this type of job?
3. Do you have any advice or resources you can offer our readers?
TRAVEL BLOGGER – Debbie Dubrow, Seattle, WA www.deliciousbaby.com
1. I love the flexibility of being able to move my schedule around easily. I get to volunteer at the kids’school, hang out with them when they have a day off and pick them up from school every day. There’s nothing I would trade for that. That flexibility can be tricky too. With three kids and my work, there’s a lot to keep track of, and my schedule ends up being different every week. It can be tough to get into a productive work routine and stick with it. It’s also hard to leave work behind. I feel like I can squeeze in another piece of email when I’m hanging out with the kids, and that takes away from the quality of the time I spend with them. And of course when someone gets sick or something comes up, I’m the person who deals with it, so that takes away from my work time.
2 . I left my job at a software company back in 2003 because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore and was having some health problems. I then started working on my own because I realized pretty quickly that I needed some sort of work in order to feel balanced and happy. My son was born in 2005, and my daughter was born just 18 months later. I started my blog, DeliciousBaby.com in 2007 as a way to share our travel stories and help inspire parents to travel with their young kids, and to give them resources that would help them plan their trips. My husband is a freelance software developer, and working together we just launched a travel app (available on the iPhone and windows phone) called TripDoc (http://www.tripdoc.com). You give TripDoc the names of all the places you’d like to visit on a trip, and it plots them all on a map for you so that you can find your way around.
3. There are tons of resources out there for getting started as a blogger. I particularly like the advice on ProBlogger (http://www.problogger.net/). I’ve learned a ton by meeting up with people in person too, but you don’t need to go to expensive conferences. Ask around and find out who is blogging in your area. If there aren’t any meetups happening already, you can start them yourself. It’s important to be aware that while blogging can be very personally rewarding, very few people make a full time living from blogging. I make a few thousand dollars a month, and that is very helpful to my family, but wouldn’t replace a full time income.
FREELANCE WRITER/BLOGGER Traci Suppa www.WordScapesny.com and www.GoBIGorGo-HomeBlog.com
1 .Pros: For me, the pros outweigh the cons. Having flexibility in my schedule is key. I love being able to volunteer for PTA projects, and not having to stress about taking time off from work if one of my kids is sick. Of course, the work is still there, and I’ve spent many a night burning the midnight oil to make sure it gets done. Cons: The major disadvantage is that my income reflects a part-time workload. In the future, when both my kids are in school full time, I hope to make up the difference! Working from home can also be solitary, so you have to make the effort to network through professional groups, both online and in person.
2 .I accepted my first paid writing assignments while I was still employed full-time. A former employer needed a freelancer to write press releases, which I could do in my spare time. I also wrote several unpaid travel articles for websites in order to build up a portfolio of published work.
3. My advice to anyone considering freelance writing, especially if they are currently working for someone else, would be to start it as a side business and develop relationships with editors and corporate clients. Also consider how you will get health insurance if you don’t have a spouse with job benefits; you may be able to obtain it through a professional organization. Freelance writing requires little overhead; mainly a computer and email account! There are many different types of writing from which you can earn money. The majority of my work is for corporate clients, writing press releases,
newsletters, ad copy, and website copy. I started a family travel blog, “Go BIG or Go Home,” both for fun, and as a platform to “show off” my writing skills. Blogs can be used to earn revenue, as well, but you need to build a lot of traffic before you can sell ad space on your blog. There are many websites listing writing jobs. You really have to search to find work, which is fairly compensated, though. I joined Freelance Success early on, and have found it to be not only a good source of leads, but also a source of camaraderie, advice, and support.
ONLINE COUNSELOR/BLOGGER – Crystal H. www.counselormom.com
1 .The cons to working at home are that you don’t get adult interaction in the same way you would if you were to work outside the house. Working at home doesn’t give you the same concentration level because you are the one taking care of the needs of your children. The pros to working at home are that you are the one taking care of your kids and you don’t have to pay for the cost of childcare. You also get to enjoy the other things stay at home moms do. I love staying and working at home, although it can be stressful because I need “me time” still.
2 .I graduated with a master’s degree in school counseling in 2009 and am a licensed school counselor. I have been unable to find a job in school counseling since or any other counseling position for that matter. Because I have a passion for counseling and education, I started my website called CounselorMom. I started making a little bit of money from affiliates and advertising, so I started a company called CounselorMom, LLC. CounselorMom is a website catered to stay at home moms that offers coupons, household organization, and parenting advice; however, it is different from other mom blogs since I offer knowledge from a school counselor standpoint. I think I’m one of the only school counselor mom bloggers that I can find.
3. Starting a business from home is like any other job. It is hard work. It is not easy to make money quickly and a lot of work goes into it. I am still trying to make money and am nowhere near my goal, but I’m working on it. It is also wise to be careful when starting any business from home because there are a lot of scams out there…a lot trying to grab stay at home moms attention. It is also wise to be careful when starting any business from home because there are a lot of scams out there… a lot trying to grab stay at home moms attention like the old saying “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is”. Also, it’s best to find a mentor who can give you advice if you want to work from home.