Outside My Comfort Zone
As a WAHM, I have a circle of WAHM friends that I have met online. We share in our successes, offer advice when we get stuck and we’re there for each other whenever any of us have a bad day. We understand and support each other as we each live life as a work at home mom.
However, to grow as a person and a business professional, I’m thinking I’m going to have to step outside of my WAHM comfort zone here pretty soon. You may be asking “You own an online greeting card business, why on Earth would you want to do that?” Well, there are a couple of reasons.
I have been a WAHM now for 4 years, and so far I’ve been able to conduct all of my business online. But now that I’m looking at both kids being in school for the first time this Fall, I’m looking at ways to take advantage of the business in my own ‘backyard’! That’s right – I’m branching out offline.
I’ve already checked the local paper for the times and locations for meetings of business networking groups, and plan to call our local Chamber of Commerce to find out when they hold their meetings. (Hopefully this won’t conflict with my youngest’s school schedule – don’t know if he is in morning or afternoon Kindergarten yet.)
Let’s say I go to the next meeting and there are 30 people there; statistics show that the average person knows 250 people…. Well, if each of those 30 people in this networking group knows 250 people, who knows how many of them may need my greeting card service?
By showing up regularly for meetings and events, eventually I will get to know the other members. The conversation will eventually lead to the subject of what each of I do for a living. When they, or someone they know, are in need of my services, I will be the first person they think of to ask for help.
Besides, it might be nice to get dressed up and get out of the house!
Summer Childcare Ideas for WAHMs
If you are a work at home mom, you probably became one so you could spend more time with your children. However, there will most likely be times in your business when you will need to arrange for childcare. With school out now for summer, the following are some creative solutions to your childcare dilemmas.
WAHMs in direct sales are very often faced with childcare predicaments. A main portion of their business is conducting sales presentations, usually held at someone else’s home. If you are a party plan WAHM, the most obvious choice would be to schedule these presentations when your partner can watch the children. But what if your partner has an odd work schedule, or you are a single parent? You can hire a local high school student to come to the party and be the “party nanny”. Check with the hostess first, but she will probably love the idea. The other guests may also appreciate it since they won’t have to worry about getting a sitter for their children. They may then be more likely to come to the party – the more guests you have, the bigger your profits!
If you just need an occasional sitter, try setting up a “child care swap” with a friend and neighbor. Each of you can designate a time frame on a certain day of the week to be “the sitter”. The children will get to play and interact with one another and you can schedule your time knowing you will have free childcare.
Check with your place of worship as they may offer a “Mom’s Day Out” type of program where you can drop your children off for a few hours per day, a couple times per week. This may be a free or low-cost service. Also, check with local library as they may have “story hours” where you can drop your children off and the librarians will read the children a book and after the book is read, the children can participate in a craft, game or activity.
If you just need some “quiet time” to do some work, you can hire a neighborhood teenager to come over and play with the kids while you are tucked away in your office. You will have some uninterrupted “work time”, but will still be there in case ‘something comes up’. If you have regular meetings that take you away from the house, check with friends and family to see if they can help out by watching the kids. Offer your product or service in exchange for their time. They may jump on the offer!
And don’t feel guilty if you need to put your children in daycare part-time. Yes, you may have had every intention of working at home in order to spend time with your children, but, there may be times when your business will need your total focus. By taking that time and completing your business tasks, you will be able to focus 100% on your children during family time.
National Hugging Day
Today is National Hugging Day, and while this “Free Hugs” video has been around for a couple of years and has had over 37 million views on YouTube, it makes me smile every time I see it! Consider it my online hug for you!
Who will YOU hug today???
