Managing a home business as a work at home mom can be a challenging,

yet very rewarding endeavor! Many women who have young child elect to

leave the workplace in order to focus on their children, and ensuring

that the operations in their home are running smoothly and effectively.

In times of economic woes like the world is currently facing, it is

often quite challenging to live off of just one income. This is why

more and more women are findings ways to make money at home

,  starting to create and operate their own home based

business. If you are working to establish a home office, and create a

supplemental income for your family, there are many preparations to be

made. Here, I will offer some strategies on managing a home business as

a work at home mom.

Creating a Schedule

If you are starting your career as a work at home mom who manages a

home business, the first thing that you will want to do is to create a

schedule. The idea is to create a schedule that will work in

conjunction with your parenting responsibilities to optimize your

profits so that you may be successful. Now, with that being said…how do

you do that? It is actually quite easy to set the schedule. The hard

part is sticking to it. Consider implementing the following tips in

order to create a schedule that will work for you:

1.    Set a certain amount of time each day

to conducting household chores. Naturally, the time that you set must

be a personal choice. During this time, take care of the laundry,

dishes, vacuuming, and other things that must be contended with in

order to maintain the home.

2.    When it comes to meals, it may be

appropriate to dedicate one day a week to preparing meals for the rest

of the week. Believe it or not, it is actually much easier and quicker

to create five to six meals at a time than to space them out over

several days.

Prepare a chicken casserole in one dish, and a meatloaf in another oven

safe dish, and throw them both in the oven at the same time. While

those are cooking, cook a pot of stew and maybe some chicken and

dumplings on the burners. There, you have four to five meals depending

on leftovers. You may also want to throw some burgers and hotdogs on

the top burners. Then, simply freeze the meals and pull them out to

defrost the morning that they are to be eaten. Once you defrost them,

reheat, and you are all set!

3.    If you have children that are at least

toddler age, there are many chores that you can assign to them to help

make things run more smoothly. They can pick up their own toys, learn

to set out their own clothes and dress themselves, assist in dusting,

and even feeding, watering, and walking pets! You should also assign

certain tasks to your spouse, such as taking out the trash and lawn

maintenance. Putting dishes in the dishwasher, starting the washer

and/or dryer and even helping the kids get ready for bed are also great

chores that can be assigned to your spouse.

4.    When you work at home as a mom, it is

important to understand that it is not going to be your typical eight

hour work day. You will need to block certain times to dedicate to your

work. I say, if you are just starting out, blocking work in two hour

intervals is appropriate. As your children get older, and the family

becomes more accustomed to your work, you may move that up to three or

four hour blocks. However, it is important to know and understand that

this may take time.

 

5.    Designate certain activities and

projects on each day of the week. For example, break up the house work

into certain days. For example, Sunday can be your "cooking" day, and

you may designate Monday as your "laundry day". There is no rule that

says everything has to be done, in completion, in one day.

Professional Goals

If you are a work at home mom that is in the process of managing a home

based business, it is important to set

professional goals. One of the best ways to achieve this is

to create a sound business plan. This is a basic documentation of the

way that you want your business to operate, the way that you want to

handle your finances, a detailed list of your resources, and where you

want to go with your home business. Businesses that do not incorporate

a business plan into their endeavors typically fail due to lack of

direction. It is likely that you really want and need your business to

work, so do not fail to leave out this essential detail.

Quality Time

Once you begin your home based business, you will come to face the

challenges that so many work at home moms face. Typically, the main

challenge is separating the personal life from the professional life.

It is essential that you have some quality time scheduled in among all

the household chores, professional projects, and deadlines. This should

be scheduled in daily. Then, there should be a day set aside, at least

one, which you dedicate to your family. Let’s say Saturday your spouse

is off, and the kids are home from school – make this your "family

day". Go out and visit the museum, the park, the zoo – or just sit down

and play some games together!

Conclusion

Managing a home business as a work at home mom will likely prove to be

challenging. However, it is also a very rewarding experience that you

will come to cherish. If you follow the techniques contained within

this article, you are likely to experience the success that you always

dreamed of as being your own boss!