As a work at home mom, it is very easy to get stuck in the routine of staying at home . . . all the time. You certainly get more work done if you lock yourself in, but it isn´t good for your mental health or for your kids, especially if they aren´t at the age where they can go to school yet.
Even getting out to run some errands is a good break, but sometimes, you just need to relax. Take the kids to the park, arrange a play date or just go for a hike with your older children. Get out of the house, away from work and when you return, you´ll be far more productive.
If you find that you always MEAN to get out, but end up working instead (I tend to do this a lot!), you will need a strong motivator to get you up and going. Try a scheduled event like a weekly mother´s group or Mommy and Me class, swim lessons, etc. Having other people who expect you to show up will help you actually do it and can be an excellent method of getting yourself out of the house.
Remember, work at home mom doesn´t have to mean shut-in mom!
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Writing a business plan is essential to make sure you get where you´re going faster. Sure, you can wing it (I have to admit, I´ve done that with many businesses in the past!), but it´s a lot like taking a zig zag path to your destination, rather than the straight line.
You see, having a business plan helps you figure out the steps you need to take in order to reach success. Plus, laying everything out nice and clear before you start is a great way to ensure you have thought things through enough to proceed. So, today, you are going to take your business idea and write a business plan for it. (My apologies, this should have been posted last week, but I had some nasty tech issues . . . my computer died on me!)
There are two reasons to write a business plan. One, for your own personal use, so you know what you are aiming for and have a good idea of how to make your business a success. Two, if you are applying for a loan or need to submit your business plan to someone else, you will want a more detailed plan.
The Personal Business Plan
With the personal business plan, you only need the basics to guide you and let you know if the business idea you are thinking of is actually feasible. Of course, if you want, you can do a professional business plan for personal use, it will give you that much more of an understanding. Here are the elements that need to be included in a personal business plan:
The Business
- Description of your business.
- Marketing plans (how will people know about your business?)
- Competition (who is your competition? How will you be better than they are?)
- Market (who is your target market?)
Finances
- Pricing
- Break-even sheet (how much will you have to sell in order to break even?)
- Start up funds needed
This will give you a basic idea of how your business will get off the ground.
The Professional Business Plan
If you will be requesting funding, you´ll need a far more detailed business plan. This is a good idea anyway, if you want to figure out exactly how things will be run, but most people don´t bother with the full professional business plan unless they have to. Here are the elements of a professional business plan.
The Business
- Description of your business.
- Marketing plans (how will people know about your business?)
- Competition (who is your competition? How will you be better than they are?)
- Market (who is your target market?)
- Operating procedures (how you´ll run your business)
- Staff (if you´ll need extra people)
- Insurance (this may not be necessary if you are working out of your home, without employees)
Finances
- Pricing
- Break-even sheet (how much will you have to sell in order to break even?)
- Start up funds needed
- Income projections (profit and loss)
- 3 year financial summary, the first year should be done by month, by quarters after the first year
- Reasoning behind your projections (why you believe you can earn this amount)
- Expected cash flow
Other Documents
- Copy of business license
- Copy of your resume
- Copy of letters of intent from any suppliers
- Your tax returns for the past 3 years
(NOTE: This information was gathered from the Small Business Administration, which is in the US. If you live in another country, check to see what the regulations are before submitting your business plan to a bank or other financial institution.)
Find the rest of the From Work to Home series HERE. This list will be updated as each new installment in the series is released.
Those of you who have already started your home business, did you write a business plan before you started?
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You might be lucky enough to have a separate room for your home office, but if you, like me, have to squish your desk into some shared corner of the house, it helps to find just the right location. There are a few things to consider when looking for the perfect spot to put your desk.
Kids. If your kids are older, you might do best in a room where you can shut the door and tell them to only bug you if there is an emergency (set rules about emergencies, not being able to find the ice cream scoop is NOT an emergency). However little kids, toddlers and babies, will need you watching them as you work, unless you have a nanny or babysitter. I recently moved my desk from the bedroom to the kitchen so I can watch the boys while I write, it works best to be in the room where your small children are most of the time.
Light. Being locked up in a dark closet with your computer is not only not healthy, it can really affect your mood and productivity. Try to locate your home office near a window or two, you´ll find that you are in a better mood as you go about your tasks for the day.
Distractions. Pay attention to where your personal distractions are. If the television is something that constantly lures your eyes, then make sure you are in another room when you work, or set up your desk so that your back is to the television.
Setting up a home office can be fun and it doesn´t have to be permanent. If you find you just can´t work in one location, try to find another area to work. As your children grow, you can adjust your home office to reflect the fact that they don´t need constant supervision anymore.
Where is your home office and how did you choose the location?
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Work at home moms are in a special risk bracket. We tend to be workaholics to the nth degree, often because we are pushed into that role. Being a full-time mom, wife and running your own business is automatically a lot of work. But the problem comes when we lose track of priorities and focus only on the work.
Recently, I received a very good offer to blog for money and took it. Writing for 9 blogs that are on topics across the board has been interesting and keeps me fairly busy, but I was managing my time well. Until I got a special request to do some articles for a company I work for. It was higher pay than normal. I hadn´t been active for a couple of months on the forums and the owner actually contacted me specifically to see if I would do the articles. I said yes.
In retrospect, this would have been a good time to say no and continue on with what I was doing! My husband has been out of town with his band most days, leaving me alone with two small children (2 years and 8 months), and taking on an extra writing assignment was not a good idea. As a result, I ended up stressed out and working too hard, sleeping too little and generally being a grump to my family.
It´s important to know what your limits are. How much work you can do while still maintaining a balanced life. And saying no to anything else that comes up. That can be the toughest part, since the extra money is always welcome, but if you don´t put yourself and your family first . . . why are you working from home?
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At long last, the At Home Mom Business Directory is up and ready for use. There have been more than a few delays on this directory, but you can now submit your business to get a free link in the directory. There is a major shortage of free business listings for WAHMs online, but you now have a place to not only advertise your business, but also to find businesses run by other work at home moms to support. I hope you enjoy it and tell your friends!
Check out the new Work at Home Mom business directory today and add your listing for free.
