When You Have Too Much Work
When you get a bunch of job offers, it can be really tough to turn work down, but sometimes it´s necessary, if you simply don´t have the time. I´ve been running into this issue lately . . . I´m working on so many different projects that it is getting to be a bit overwhelming!
The way I see it, you have two options when you start getting floods of work.
Option One: Turn some of it down. This hurts, it really does. When you´ve struggled to build your business up to this point and then find that you just can´t do everything, it´s very painful to turn jobs away and watch that extra money float away! But it´s necessary sometimes and you just need to be very selective about the jobs you take.
You can look at turning work down as a luxury, if you like. You now have enough work that you don´t need to deal with the unpleasant clients, it´s fine to turn them away, without feeling guilty about money lost.
Option Two: Hire someone. Expanding your business can be a scary thing to do. You need to find someone who has the same work ethic as you and who will turn in great work that you can actually hand over to your client without being embarrassed about the quality. Depending on your business, you may need to train someone to this level of quality and that takes time and money . . . something that is pretty scarce when running your home business.
Neither of these options is right for everyone every time. You might not want to take on employees. Some work at home moms are content to keep their business fairly small, so they can still spend plenty of time with their children. Others will find it impossible to say no to work and will need to hire extra help.
I personally have been doing a bit of both, hiring on a sister to help me out with extra writing assignments and turning down a few lesser paying jobs that I just don´t have time for.
You are the only person who can decide which is right for you and your business, but even if you haven´t reached this point yet, you should think about it. What will you do when you start getting too many order or too many assignments to handle on your own?
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This is difficult for me. I have several clients that send me work on a regular basis, and I just bill them for the hours worked at the end of the month. They’re great clients, and I can’t afford to give any of them up because I earn several hundred or several thousand dollars a month from each.
Hiring someone isn’t feasible for these clients because much of what I do requires knowledge of their business or book projects that it’s taken me months or years to learn. I occasionally hire someone to proofread a manuscript at some stage of editing, but otherwise I feel like I have to do it myself.
I do turn down projects from new clients, though.