One type of person for whom home-based work is especially appealing is the stay-at-home parent. In honor of Mother’s Day, even though it was a few days ago, I would like to talk about some home-based businesses that are mom-friendly. Even though some home-based businesses are inherently mom-friendly, there are still things that need to be taken into account in order for the businesses to work. Mothers of young children, this one’s for you.
Freelance writing is an excellent home-based business for a stay-at-home mother of young children if you go about it the right way. By going about it the right way, I mean to say that there are a few things that you should account for when setting up your freelance writing business. These things include having realistic expectations of how much time you will actually be able to devote to work at any given time and maintaining a workload that you can manage to get done when (or should I say if) your little one(s) nap and after they go to bed (assuming, of course, that they stay sleeping for a while once they are in bed). It also includes learning about and working with your child’s attitude towards your work – are they willing to play independently while you work? Can they do that safely? How long are they willing to do that for and how often? Is there a relative or trusted friend that you can call in to help you out with the children if there is situation in which you absolutely need to get some work done when the kids need your full attention? These are just a few factors that go into designing a successful freelance writing business for a stay-at-home mother.
In-home child care is another home-based business that is appealing to moms of small children. You are taking care of your child or children all day, doing things like feeding them, changing them, playing outdoors, reading, learning, and playing indoors. It is not that far of a stretch to think that you could welcome one or more other children into your home a few days each week and do all of those things for a slightly larger audience. In order for this business idea to work well, the child or children that will be attending the day care must be a good fit for your child or children. The parents of the child or children that you will be caring for must also be people that you feel comfortable with. Child care is a very personal matter and it is important that your clients understand and respect your parenting style. A mom that wants to be a home day-care provider will want to check on what the legal requirements are as far as getting themselves and their home licensed to provide day care, and whether what they want to do fits the definition of a home day-care. If you are just going to be watching one child a couple of days a week, it may more accurately be described as babysitting and not day-care, but check the rules to learn what the differences are. Also consider your child or children’s needs – would they welcome a playmate or would they be upset about having to “share” you with the other children? Do they like to spend some time by themselves and can you accomplish that with one or more other kids in the house? Does their schedule (or lack thereof) coordinate with your potential clients? These questions and more will have to be answered as you go through the process of deciding whether to care for one or more other children in our home and who those other children will be.