Why These Housewives Are Not Desperate
Women who stay at home and take care of their children often
feel pressure from all directions. They see an increasingly
large stack of bills to pay, they miss the mental challenge and
adult companionship of the working world, and they worry that
their skills will be hopelessly out of date when the time comes
to re-enter the work force.
Many women are turning to web based business that they run from
home as a way to blend motherhood and a career. Recently,
several of these 'Super Moms' were interviewed for Web Wonder
Women, the first book to highlight the success of women with
on-line businesses.
Here are some highlights from their interviews:
* Rhea integrates her children with her business. As an avid
home schooling mom, Rhea helps her children master business
skills so that they can be self supporting adults. She teaches
them math, language arts, and geography when they post and sell
items on eBay. One of her children is a web master, another does
real estate investing, and another does transcription. Rhea's
top secret tip for integrating motherhood with a web based
business is to get enough sleep and take care of herself. She
shares, "If Mom is tired and crabby, the whole family suffers."
* Mary Kay has a thriving web design business and a toddler.
She's learned to let go of the idea that she can do everything
by herself. Mary Kay closely monitors the number of clients that
she can serve and does not take on more work that she can
handle. She's created project teams and developed systems to
ensure that communication flows freely so that she can always
answer her customers' questions. She also uses a sitter a few
hours each week so she can have an uninterrupted block of time
to devote to her business. Mary Kay also blocks off time that
she can devote completely to her child and her home. The block
scheduling approach helps Mary Kay enjoy the best of both
worlds- staying home with her child and enjoying the benefits of
a successful on line business.
* Norma's business grew very rapidly. In fact it grew so
rapidly, that her husband joined her in the business and took
over the majority of the household duties. Because her children
are in school, Norma is able to devote the majority of each work
day to her business. When the children return home, one or both
of their parents are there to greet them. Norma experimented
with a home office and space in an office building but neither
of those environments was quite right for her. She needed lots
of room, plenty of quiet, space to meet with customers, and
wanted to be close to home. Finally, Norma converted a detached
garage on her property into an office. Now, she is just steps
from the house but is able to hold business meetings in a
professional setting. In her ten years of business Norma learned
to experiment and take a creative approach to meeting the needs
of her family and her business.
It is possible to integrate a home based business to meet your
financial and professional needs with your desire to take care
of your children. A web based business may be the perfect
solution for you.
Before you decide to start your own business, ask yourself these
questions:
* Do I have the skills to run a business- especially skills in
planning, delegation, computers, and financial management? If
not, where could I learn them?
* What type of a product or service excites me? Being passionate
about your business is a must.
* What are the unmet needs in my community? How could I create a
business to meet those needs, either locally or via the internet?
If you are feeling like a desperate housewife, don't despair.
Consider starting a web based business on a part time basis to
give you the income, freedom, and flexibility you crave, along
with time to care for your most precious resource, your children.
Lynne Klippel is an avid student of women's success. Go to
www.WebWonderWomen.com to see her groundbreaking information on
the real life stories of twenty-six super successful women and
listen to her free radio show, Web Sorority Talk Radio.