Motivational Monday: Interview with Mathew Butka
Yes, you read the title correctly, today we`re veering just a little off course to have our Motivational Monday interview with a Dadpreneur! Mathew contacted me after I sent out a call for work at home moms and convinced me to let a little testorone onto the blog. 
He works from home while caring for his two little boys and he`s got a third on the way!
What is your business?
As with many of your readers, I have two businesses. Primarily, in product sourcing. I am a bulk and surplus product broker. What this means, really, is that I am a professional middle man of sorts, connecting buyers with the product they need. On any given day I could be dealing in cosmetics by the case load or electronics and machinery by the container load. My clients need these goods for a variety of reasons: to supply their retail store, flea market, for resale on Ebay, or for export. On occasion, I assist companies needing to source product from overseas. When needed, I can connect with manufacturers in China, Taiwan, and elsewhere to import products for my clients.
My other business is in network marketing. I provide consulting and coaching services and tools to those in any network marketing opportunity from Mary Kay and Amway to Pre-Paid Legal and Market America. I show my clients how to leverage the power of the internet and social media to build a sustainable and profitable downline. In addition, I give free personal coaching on marketing and blogging for business to a limited number of new partners in my chosen network marketing business.
For information on any of my businesses, visit my blog, Adventures Of A Stay At Home Dad, at http://www.VinsDad.com and hit the Contact Me button on the top.
How did you get started?
I started working from home in August of 2005, shortly before my first son was born in January of 2006. My wife and I agreed that he would not go to daycare – that one of us would be with him. It just happened that she was making more money than me and was able to provide insurance for all of us, so I was the lucky one. We realized that we would have spent nearly as much money on daycare as I was making at the time so our decision was easy.
Shortly before beginning to work from home, I had acquired a collection of more than 10,000 vinyl records from the 30’s to the 70’s. And began selling them on Ebay. Believe it or not, there was (and still is) quite a demand for vinyl among a certain crowd. Things were going well for a while and I became a Power Seller fairly quickly. Then there was a large influx of new sellers and records I was previously selling for $10-$20 each were now going for $1-$2.
Obviously, I needed a plan B. Knowing there are millions of sellers on Ebay and knowing they all needed products to sell, I decided to find a way up the food chain and begin supplying the products the need. After making relationships with suppliers and manufacturers, I can now provide goods for Ebayers, flea marketers, retailers, and more.
It was at this time that I realized you must build multiple streams of income. Relying on a single source got me in trouble before and I would not let that happen again. After some research, I found an incredible opportunity with a nationally known fitness company. This company actually gives paying customers to their work at home coaches that put in a little effort.
What mistakes have you made and how did you learn from them?
Nearly all the mistakes I have made in the last few years can be attributed to a lack of planning and goal setting. We has no clear business or marketing plan to start out with, so the business floundered and ultimately failed. Things have changed recently only after defining clear direction.
A huge mistake to make early on is to spend too much on marketing your business – especially with no clear marketing plan. You must be able to measure the effectiveness of your marketing, no matter how big your budget. Jumping in with both feet is something I usually do; however, I would have saved thousands of dollars if I had tested the water first.
One thing to remember when starting a business from home . . . after you have planned how much time and money it will take to build, double it. No matter how detailed your plans are, unexpected things happen (like another baby 
that will draw out the process.
How long have you been working from home?
In some form or another, I have had a home business since 2000, but only went full time in 2005. Over the years, I think I have had 6 or more different businesses.
What are your tricks for balancing kids, work, and household chores?
The number one thing to remember is the reason why I am home. I am not home to work, I am home to take care of and raise my boys, my second priority is work. I notice that, on days I put my work before my children, I am sure to hear about it!
The best thing I have done that help to balance everything is something no one wants to hear – wake up early. I strive to wake up by 5am every morning. By waking up early, I find that I am far more productive in the few hours before my boys wake up than trying to work in small chunks throughout the day. I am blessed right now that my boys generally nap at the same time during the day – its just a battle as to whether or not I get to work or nap with them!
Keeping up with the daily chores is usually pretty easy as I generally clean up as we go along, anything that takes more than 10-15 minutes to do is something I will save for when mommy gets home or the boys go to bed.
How many children do you have and what are their ages?
Right now, I have 2 absurdly cute little boys. Vincent is 3 years and Simon is 2 years. We have a 3rd baby on the way who is due in mid April. We love surprises and will wait till he/she comes to find out what gender.
When do you usually work?
Early mornings, nap times and some evenings. I try to keep the weekends work-free.
What is the best and worst part about being a work at home dad?
I am blessed to be able to witness my boys grow up – I see their first steps, teach them numbers and letters, and play with them most of the day! Who doesn’t want to play all day?
One of the worst parts of working at home is forgetting that my number one focus needs to be my boys. A big problem I have is making sure I give the boys plenty of attention. Attention means more than just being there, its the interaction that is important. It is far too easy to get absorbed with emails and phone calls while the boys are watching a show on TV.
The other thing that is heartbreaking is that my wife misses so much. We struggle with the fact that, right now, she has to work full time. Our goal from the beginning was to build a home business that would sustain us both and allow us to stay home with our first child, Vincent. With baby number 3 on the way, we have nearly cracked the code that will finally allow Mary to stay home with all of us.
What are the plans for the future of your business?
Between brokering and network marketing, we will be in position by early spring to allow my wife to stay at home after our next child is born!
My brokering business is doing pretty well right now. One thing I will be focusing on in the coming year is importing goods in large quantities for a few key clients. Many brokers fail to branch out and start importing because of the learning curve and rules you need to follow. It is easy to get hit with large customs expenses if you don’t know what you are doing – any profit you may have made on the deal can get chewed up in a hurry! To me, it just makes sense to put in a bit of effort to learn the right way to do things. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. A little bit of learning can do wonders for growing your business.
What advice would you give new work at home parents?
I say “GO FOR IT!” Just like when you were waiting for the right time to have children, I can tell you that there will never be the perfect time to start working from home. The ideal would be to start working at home before your child is born to give yourself some time to get a system down and to make sure you can actually make money!
If there were a such thing as perfect timing, I say right now is it. With the state of the economy, millions of people are learning that job security is not what it used to be. Become the ruler of your own financial future by starting your own business. Just keep in mind that it will take 2-3 times longer than you planned before you are successful and it may cost twice as much as you budgeted.
Don’t stop interacting with people! It is so easy to get in a “stuck at home” mindset and cut yourself off from society. After all, you are busy raising your kids and building a business, right? Do you and your children a favor and take time off to escape.
Lastly, the number one thing to remember is that your kids must come first. They are the reason you stay home, not your business.
If you want to contact Mathew about his businesses, services, or just want to chat, head over to http://www.VinsDad.com and click on Contact Me.
Thanks for sharing this! Very interesting stuff. I am going to check out his blog now.
What a cool dad you are. Your family is very lucky to have you, and your kids are adorable. I will check out your site, because I’d love to know how you managed to get your businesses up and running.