Being a Professional and Being a Mommy
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When you become a work-at-home job, you will also become a professional juggler. To people who talk to moms who have made that transition, it seems like the work-at-home mom has it easy. After all, you don’t have a boss, you can work in your pajamas and get up to play with the kids whenever you want to. Right?
Not exactly. Before you make that jump, its good to do some planning. Along with getting good work and having plenty of ideas on what kind of work to do, you need ideas on how to actually be productive and keep your customer’s satisfied once you get them. The only true statement we made earlier is you can work in your pajamas. You don’t have a boss, you have many. Every customer is your boss. And the way they promote or “fire” you comes in the form of more work from the customer or when they decide not to use your services again.
A work-at-home mom will have at least as many deadlines as anyone who works in the business world. You may have more deadlines as you work with your many customers to provide them with your services to meet their expectations. So the number one qualification you need to be a success working at home is discipline. There are some things you can do to help you stay focused and provide good service to your customers day after day.
The best gift you can give yourself in your home based business is a dedicated work area or office. So look at your home and decide which room you can set aside to be your office. That office is a space you can organize for efficiency. It should have a door that can be closed and maybe locked so you cannot be interrupted if you are using the telephone to service your customers. Along with setting that space aside, take the time to keep it organized. Your efficiency will skyrocket if you are organized to be able to get to your files and supplies quickly so you can stay focused on work more of your dedicated work time.
The tools of your trade in that office should be dedicated to your work. You will almost certainly need a computer with a good internet connection. It is vital that the kids know that they are not to see the computer in mommy’s office as a toy. Set the kids up with their own computer so they can have their internet fun in another room. Mommy’s computer and internet connection should be off limits. Along with making sure that machine is always available for your work, this also protects your computer from virus invasions or any other dangers that kids bring to an internet enabled computer.
Also, set up a phone line so your business has a separate phone number. There is nothing more disastrous to your growing home based business than having an important business call to make but your teenage daughter is on a marathon gossip or flirting call so she won’t give up the line. Avoid the problem of family fights and dedicate a line to your business. That also assures that any calls coming to that phone are your customers so there is no doubt what that phone number is for.
Finally, a work-at-home mom is also a work-at-home family. Naturally, you will dedicate the hours while the kids are in school to your business. But you should also talk to your family, including your spouse, that there will be hours when they are home that mommy is “at the office” and interruptions should be kept to a minimum.
Of course, you want to be there when here is a crisis. That is the whole idea of being a work-at-home mom. But make it a family project to keep you productive and working for designated hours of the day. Then when you close that office door and you are off duty, be off duty and give your family all the love and attention they deserve. You don’t have a commute so you can quickly transition between working mom and mommy. So keep your worlds separate and both of them will prosperous from your discipline.
Avoid Scams that Target Work at Home Mums
Working from home is a fantastic way for moms to earn some extra money and still watch the children. Every woman who wants to become a Wahm has traveled down the same path. Unfortunately, that path is littered with scams and traps to take money and time from honest women looking to make money from home. With a little common sense and extra research, you can find legitimate work at home opportunities.
The first step is to search for jobs in the right places. Dont simply click on ads to find work. Try to find helpful groups of Wahms who have successful work at home jobs to guide your search. You can try searching on message boards or finding e-mail groups for ideas of where to start your work at home job search. Many of these women can give you insight into which work at home opportunities are actually worth your time.
Keep in mind that there are no real ways to get rich quick on the Internet or by working at home. The only people who get rich are those who are scamming others. Never believe an ad or an employer who claims that you will get rich instantly.
There are also a few red flags to look for when you are searching for Internet jobs. You should never have to pay for work or job lists. There are plenty of free listings available that can provide tons of work at home opportunities. Companies that want to charge you for lists of jobs are just trying to get your money. The lists are often filled with dead job leads, or lists of companies that want to charge you money. Many work at home scams will also require you to pay a start-up fee or cover the cost of necessary training. Again, legitimate jobs will never require you to pay them any money for you to work.
Another warning sign is if the ad or website tells you to act now. You should always do research before joining a company and never feel pressured to make a decision right away. Many websites are set up with text that says that the offer will expire on todays date. But if you revisit that website the next day, the ad says that the offer expires on that day.
If you are unsure about a company, do some research on the Better Business Bureau website. The BBB has files on all businesses that have had complaints filed against them. You can see what other people have to say about a particular company and be steered away from scams.
There are some scams that have been around for years that should be avoided at all costs. These business scams have unfortunately been successful for the scammers, so they continue to take the money and time of hardworking Wahms. If you see an offer for any of the following types of jobs, run the other way.
Envelope stuffing is a common scam, although it is being seen less and less these days. These jobs are normally listed as mail service jobs, and then you are asked to pay for a start up kit. After you receive a start up kit, you are given instructions to place your own work at home ads. You basically just sell the start up kit to other people and become a scammer.
Craft assembly scams can take many forms. Typically, you receive a set of crafts to complete with instructions. You generally pay for the set and then are told you will be reimbursed for the kits and also paid for their assembly. After working hard at assembling the kits and returning them, you will be told that your work is not up to their quality standards. You will be out the cost of the kits, and they will sell your crafts anyway.
There are legitimate jobs out there for Wahms, but you have to do some research on the opportunities first. If you do your research and are careful, you can successfully work from home and never be scammed.
Be careful to avoid WAHM scams
If you really want to work at home, you might be tempted by the many ads online and even in newspapers that promise easy work and good money.
Its hard not to be tempted by these ads and promises. But there are many scams out there, and they can strip you of money, reputation and, at the very least, your confidence.
The most common scam
Yes, this one is still around. You might remember seeing these ads in newspapers years ago, promising easy money! for stuffing envelopes. The ads are generally targeted to moms at home, students and retired people. Its easy to get sucked into the idea that you can make money by stuffing envelopes for businesses, but in reality, you dont.
You are asked to send money (usually $29.99) and in return, you will get a list if of businesses you might contact to try and get their envelope stuffing business. The reality is that few, if any, companies hire people to stuff their envelopes. And these days, with more and more people relying on online methods to contact potential customers and clients, they need this service even less.
Sometimes people who pay the money will be given information on how to advertise in newspapers and online for people to start an envelope stuffing business. You make $29.99 off these poor people as they contact you for more information.
If you see this offer, or its sent to you directly, its best to ignore it, no matter how tempting.
How to spot a scam
Its not easy to spot a scam. If you are desperate to work at home and looking for something thats already set up for you (in that you dont have to actually start your own business), you might be tempted by these offers to work at home.
There are several criteria to help you determine if you are dealing with unscrupulous people who are tying to scam you.
First, if an offer promises big pay for easy work, it might be a scam. The reality is that few people can get paid big dollars for easy work and little work. Big pay usually is a reward for big work, so while it might be temping to think that you can get paid big dollars for little work, you have to objectively consider the possibilities there.
Any offer that promises you a lot of work for a fee is likely not on the up and up. You shouldnt have to pay to work. You shouldnt have to pay for a job. Of course, some businesses (like businesses where you sell products as a consultant for a company) will require a small up-front investment. In that case, however, you are investing in your own business, not the business of others. You are investing to get the products you need to run your business and that is decidedly different than paying to get a job.
Ask questions. If you get vague answers, or your questions are ignored completely, that should set off a few warning bells with you. You should be able to dig up a street address for the company, the names of the relevant players in the company and you should be able to check the companys history with the Better Business Bureau and other such agencies.
Dont sign up for a job or to work with a company without talking to someone on the phone or person. Dont settle for the information available on a website in the FAQs. Instead, make sure you can make contact with someone you can talk to one-on-one (not in email). If you cant do that, you might want to look elsewhere.
If you do need to make an investment in product or materials (not for the job itself) use your credit card. Dont write a check or use a debit card because those will be harder to get protection with. If you use a credit card, you get protection from the credit card company if things go wrong.
Do your research and understand the various risks and rewards of the company you are considering there are many bad deals out there and many scams, but if you do your research, you should be able to find the right opportunity for you.
