Work at home business are always going to be prevalent in our society. The government doesn’t cover a much need leave pay when having children causing moms to stay home and figure out a salary. I, myself, have even taken on various WAHM businesses since having my oldest. All but one failed and honestly it was because I dove right in instead of thinking it through. Here are three questions you want to ask yourself when you begin to think about tackling a WAHM business.
How much time do I have to invest in a business per week?
Today we have so many options to help us work from around our families because of the internet. It truly gives you the freedom to design your life and reach billions of people all around the world, which I did not have when starting my first business almost 20 years ago. However, you still need to sit down with a weekly plan sheet and figure out exactly how much time you can devote to a business each week especially as a busy mom. A more traditional business like becoming a beauty blogger, coach or a service based consultant is going to require more of a time investment than the many wonderful direct sales and network marketing opportunities. They allow you to ability to step into a business model without having to develop the entire business plan.
What financial resources do I have available?
Just like the time consideration, you must figure out how much money you have to invest and how long you can work a business without profiting. More traditional businesses require a bigger financial investment. You can “boot strap”, but that means you are not taking a profit, so you have to figure out how long you can do that. Direct sales and network marketing opportunities do not require the same amount of financial investment, but you will need to invest something, so you need to know up front how much do I have. More traditional businesses can take as long as 3 to 5 years to be totally profitable. Direct sales and network marketing can be 3 to 5 months, so understanding this when starting out is so important.
What gifts, talents of experience can I monetize?
I truly believe that everyone has something they can monetize and turn into a business. Begin by taking an inventory of the things you are really good at, so that you can begin to find what you can turn into a business. Ask yourself, what can I do with my eyes closed? What do people always ask for my help with? What would I do for free? These are really great questions to figuring out what to monetize.
If the wheels are starting to turn in your head and you want to learn more, this Saturday Snowe Saxman is offering a free financial gift bundle on her site. Its a great way to keep exploring the endless possibilities you could offer. Feel free to learn more about her Financially Free online event here.
These are great tips. You really need to make sure your ducks are in a row before you jump into something like that. This is an outstanding resource.
These are great tips for choosing to start a business or not. I love being able to work from home and my wife as well, amazing way to be able to be there for our kids.
My Sister is looking into doing this. I will have to share this with her. It is great information. I wish I would have asked myself these questions before I started.
I think these are great questions to ask yourself before starting a wham business. I have been thinking about it for the last year.
Times have definitely changed. I am truly grateful I can bring in just a little bit of money from home. It’s helpful. I hope to make it more of a solid income this year.
What great tips, I have seen so many try to jump in and pay a lot to work from home, only to lose money!
I’ve never had the courage to go into a WAHM business because I know it’s not that easy. With the tax, and yes, the time you have to spent. I haven’t focused much on my blog yet and I am not ready yet for it. I am happy that you are able to do it. 🙂
These are all great angles to consider before jumping in head first. Sometimes we take on too much then wonder why we fail. This will help a newbie greatly.
I just started playing with a blog after I had my youngest son. I actually managed to get some traffic to it. When I was on medical leave while they were trying to find me a suitable job, I was putting time and energy into the blog. It kept me busy and made me not think about my pain. I ended up converting that site into a large parenting site. I ended up selling and started a new blog.
These are three great things to consider. I had to ask myself these as well, especially if I have the time. Or, in my case, if I can sit long enough to accomplish what I’d need to. Back issues, long story.
These are certainly some great questions. Definitely something to consider. I think it’s great to be able to think about all of these first.
These are very helpful tips for those whams who are thinking of starting a business. It’s something one should really think about.
Perfect timing! I was just talking to my sister about her plans of starting a business. Thank you for these tips. We haven’t talked about number one yet. 🙂
We luckily have more room in our lives to start our own businesses due to the internet. It is such a great blessing to be able to stay home!
Its deifnitely hard but it is possible. Ive been doing it for the last 3 years and I love it! I’m actually expanding my business at the moment and hiring moms to work with me.
These are great tips when jumping into a new venture. Definitely good things to think about and consider