Recently I read an article in which a woman business owner mentioned that while some people may be able to run a profitable and successful business by working just a few hours a week, most can’t.
I’m one that can’t.
Lately it seems that I do nothing BUT work. I wake, I work. I put the kids to bed for naps, I work. I have a free moment, I work.
If you are thinking about opening a business, you must make sure of two things: That you love what you are considering doing and that you are okay with working around the clock.
Literally.
When you open a business, there are no massive blocks of time spent on having fun; not in the beginning, anyway, when the fun time that you have is limited to a few hours on the weekend when your husband (or wife) can pry you away from the house to take you to a fair or festival.
I spend my free time with my children, going to the park or hanging out at the library for storytime.
I don’t care so much if the house is tidy and clean, or if the clothes are folded immediately after they are taken from the washer.
If you care about these things and you want to open a business, consider hiring a housekeeper to come in a few times a week and pick up after you. Chances are if you are working from home because you have young children, all of your free time will be spent with them.
I work from home for two reasons: I love what I do and I love being around my children.
I don’t work from home because I want to be able to eat off of a spotless floor.
If you are going to start a home based business, understand why you are going to do so, make sure that you love what you do, and forget about the rest of the stuff.
Believe me, in ten years your children will be more grown and you’ll only miss that you can no longer spend time playing blocks with them on the living room floor. You won’t remember that the living room floor was covered in smushed Goldfish crackers or that you really never folded a load of laundry until your children entered middle school.
Who needs folded clothes anyway?
And if you don’t believe me, read Erma Bombeck’s words and what she had to say about if she had her life to live over.
Have a great weekend, working parents! Remember to take time to smell the flowers!