If you’re a stay-at-home mum who is looking for ways to make money,mother working from home can be a good balance – you maintain your current presence from home, raising young children and still make money. Perfect…but is it really right for you?
If you’ve just started looking for work-at-home jobs, you probably have a beautiful concept of what working from home is like. Maybe you imagine yourself waking up whenever you want, sliding your feet into fuzzy slippers and shuffling to the kitchen to get some coffee, then shuffling along to your home office (kitchen able, or laptop in bed for some!) to put in another wonderful day at work, fitting in chores and school runs around it effortlessly… I hate to burst your bubble, but it doesn’t work that way. Actually, let me clarify that and say it doesn’t always work that way.
The truth is, working at home is usually a lot harder than working in your employer’s premises, especially when you have children at home. Hyped-up home business opportunity adverts and scam artists playing on the emotions of those needing extra cash have given us the belief that working at home is oh-so-easy. We just relax on a tropical beach after a few weeks and watch the money roll into your bank account. I’m sure you’ve seen ads like that. Those of us who already work at home know better!
Here are some things you should consider before jumping into a work at home job:
How much do you want to earn?
If you want to work for an employer while working solely from home, be prepared to earn less than you would at a job outside the home. There are exceptions of course. Some jobs, like virtual assisting, web design and graphics, medical transcription, and computer programming and coding and other professional jobs will probably pay more than a simple data entry or customer service job.
Many work-at-home jobs don’t pay hourly, either. For data entry work, for example, you might get paid per piece or project, and for telephone-based jobs you might get paid per “talk minute” (only those minutes you are actually on the phone with a customer).
Do you need work-related benefits?
The majority of work-at-home jobs do not provide benefits like health or life insurance, or pension. Again, there are exceptions, but generally you would have to seek these and pay for them yourself.
Tax and other contributions
There are companies that will hire you as an actual “employee” and they will take tax and National Insurance out of your pay. But some will only hire you as an “independent contractor” which makes you responsible for paying your own tax and National Insurance, which means completing a self assessment tax return, so do your research and know what you need to do before you start.
Work hours
If you are hired as an independent contractor, it’s important to understand that your employer (or client) is not obligated to provide any work for you.
Most companies have busy seasons and slow seasons. During a busy season, you might be working 40-50 hours a week, and in the slow season you suddenly find yourself practically begging to get even 10 hours of work per week. If your income is especially important to your household, definitely keep that in mind.
To get around this, many people choose to work more than one job at a time so that when one job slows down, they start working more for the other employer.
How motivated are you?
If you’re the type of person who usually needs a kick in the rear to get moving and someone constantly breathing down their neck to get work done, working at home will be very hard on you.
As a home worker, you have to be extremely disciplined to sit down at the computer, log in and actually work each day. There are so many distractions in the home that will pull you away from work if you let them so you have to be very focused and set a schedule for yourself, just like you would at a job outside the home.
Do you mind solitude?
Working at home can be lonely – even when the children are around. There’s no office banter, and often communication is done via email alone. If you thrive on social interaction, working alone can be difficult to adjust to. However, you can ease this by spending time with friends frequently, or joining some online groups to chat with like-minded people.
Childcare
So many mothers want to work at home so they can raise their children while earning money, rather than sending them to a childcare. However, working at home with small children underfoot is no easy task! It’s not impossible – thousands of mums do it successfully every day – and it depends greatly on the ages of your children and what type of work you are doing at home.
If you work a telephone job, most employers will require a very quiet background, which is impossible if you have small children. You also can’t stop working every few minutes to entertain the kids, unless you want to put in a very long day at the computer to make up for all the interruptions.
There are certainly things you can do to make it easier, like have a neighborhood teenager come in for a few hours to watch your children while you work, or work only when your spouse is home and can keep an eye on the kids.
Choosing work that fulfils you
This is SO important! Right now you’re probably thinking, “I don’t care what type of work I do, as long as it brings in a paycheck.” I guarantee that attitude won’t last long.
Again, you will need to be extremely self-motivated and self-disciplined to work at home, and your job will be a lot easier if you actually like what you do! Think about the type of person you are, and the type of work that suits you best.
Are you creative and free-spirited, or nose-to-the-grindstone efficient? Give some thought to your “vision” of working at home, and try to find a job (or business) that will complement that.
Do you even want a “job?”
When some people decide they want to “work at home,” they don’t want a regular J-O-B at all. What they want is the freedom to set their own schedule and do work they love. It’s certainly possible to find those qualities in a job, but it can be difficult. If this describes you, consider starting your own business instead, focusing on your existing talents and abilities.
Many people shy away from this idea because it seems so overwhelming. But people do this every day! It’s not hard at all. If you don’t know much about business but have an interest, start learning! There are so many great resources on the internet today.
If you’re still not sure what type of work at home is best for you, get out a pad of paper and a pen. Write this sentence along the top of the page: I want to work at home because . . . and then write down as many endings to that sentence as you can think of. If most of your answers have to do with freedom and passionate, fulfilling work, a “job” might not be the best thing for you.
Regardless of what type of work you decide on, understand that working at home can be difficult and challenging. But for most of us who do it, it is also wonderful. Personally, I wouldn’t trade it for anything! And once you find the right job or business, you will probably feel the same.
If you’re not very motivated, you’ll need to work on that. Give yourself little challenges every day and strengthen your level of self-discipline. If you need health benefits, keep searching for a job that provides them, or research other possibilities like affordable health insurance for the self-employed. If your resolve is strong enough, you can make it happen! Never give up on your dreams.
