Starting your own business is a big deal and if you are considering quitting your job to become a work at home mom, it becomes downright terrifying. How will you manage? Can you really earn enough to justify working from home?

Working at home is a great opportunity, but it`s not easy. And it really isn`t for everyone. That being said, simply fear shouldn`t be enough to hold you back from following your dream. Fear is meant to make you more cautious and there`s nothing wrong with that, but when it immobilises you . . . that`s when there is a problem.

First, sit down and make a list of the reasons why you are afraid to start your own business and become a work at home mom. Then start to deal with those. Make a plan to get rid of those reasons for fear and do it.

Baby Steps

You don`t have to jump straight into working at home. In fact, it`s often best to start your own business slowly, working in the evenings and on weekends. Yes, it`s a lot of extra work, but it will be well worth it in the end.  You can take your time to establish your home business, develop your product or service and learn about marketing and market research without giving up your day job.

Establish an Emergency Fund

Part of the fear that most wannabe work at home moms face is the fear that they won`t earn enough to pay the bills. This is a very valid concern and one that you shouldn`t disregard. Saving up 6 months worth of income will not only give you a headstart on surviving the first months of your home business, it will also give you peace of mind.

Where do you get the money for this emergency fund? Well, everyone has different ways . . . here are just a few:

• Put all your business earnings (from those weekend hours) into a savings account.
• Get a second job.
• Cut an expense, such as smoking or coffee and deposit the money into your savings.
• Sell things you no longer use and save the money.
• Use Christmas and birthday gift money for your emergency fund.

Getting out of debt is something else that most women who aspire to work from home try to do, as well, since this can cause a lot of unnecessary stress.

Test the Water

Are you afraid that you might not be able to handle staying home with the kids all day? This is definitely no small thing. Dealing with your children day in and day out without a break can be exhausting and when you add work into the mix, it can get downright crazy.

Try staying home for a week and working on your business just to see how things go. You will learn a lot from this week! Then you can begin to work out options. If you need to, consider childcare. Can you do a kid swap with other work at home moms? If you have three or four families in the swap, you can look after kids one day and have three or four kid-free mornings or afternoons. Look into hiring a mother`s help for the afternoons or even part-time daycare if needed.

Break Through the Fear

Once you have addressed the situations that were making you afraid, it`s time to go. Chances are, you`ll still be nervous, but you certainly won`t succeed if you keep hanging back. Sometimes you just need to break down the walls and do what you need to do.

Starting a business requires plenty of planning and if you plan for as much as possible, you should be more than ready to become a work at home mom. It won`t be easy, but it will be rewarding.