If you are a home-based professional parent, then you already know how important the support of your family is to the success of your business. If you are thinking about becoming a home-based professional parent, one of the things that you should think about as you plan your home-based business is the amount and type of support that your immediate and extended family are able to provide. This week has provided two examples of just how essential family support is to my home based business.
This past Monday, I was going about my usual business of taking my son to the grocery store to pick up a few things that we needed. No big deal, right? When we got to the store he had fallen asleep, so I parked the car under a tree and I took out my phone to make some phone calls. Still no big deal, right? As I finished up the first call, another call came in that I was not expecting. It was someone from the courthouse calling to let me know that I had to be in court the next day for an emergency hearing. At first, I panicked. My husband does not have Tuesdays off. It was kind of short notice to call my father in law or my sister in law and ask whether either of them would be able to care for my son while I went to court the next day. I had to do something, so I called to ask anyways. They were both available and were both delighted to come and care for Dylan while I was at court. I am so incredibly lucky to have my in – laws living right down the street and so lucky that we have developed a relationship of doing whatever we can for each other whenever we can. I went off to court the next day knowing that my son was in good hands.
Tomorrow, I will be attending a professional conference for the entire day. It is an important one too, because by attending the conference I am able to obtain some of the continuing legal education credits that I really need. Normally, my husband has Fridays off but this week he has something that he has to do during the day. Even though my dad lives over three hours away, I thought that perhaps I would call him because we have not seen him for about a month. Fortunately, he is not working this week and is able to come up to spend the day with his grandson tomorrow. This will be the first time that my husband and I have left our son with someone for such a long time, but it is my dad. I am completely confident that both grandson and grandfather will have a wonderful day.
Family support for a home-based professional can come in many forms, whether it is providing child care, helping with some of the tasks associated with the business, or just simply offering emotional support and encouragement. I am grateful for the contributions that my immediate and extended family make to the success of my businesses. From emotional support to child care, my husband, his family, and my family have got me covered and for that I am eternally grateful. How has your home-based business benefitted from the assistance of family members?
Photo by cohdra on morguefile.com.