Aren't You Ready To Work At Home?

I'm not sure what my neighbors think, though I know they cast odd looks at me. They know I'm a single mom with kids to support, and they see me leave every morning to drop my kids off at school. However, as soon as I have my children distributed at their various schools, I turn right around and come home. My car sits parked in the driveway, and I leave for a few hours a week just to run an errand or meet friends for lunch. I am not wealthy, and I did not inherit money or receive a giant alimony settlement! I am responsible for supporting myself, and my kids in a decent neighborhood by good schools.

However, I was just determined to find a job or business I could perform from home, and after lots of work, trying many different things, I can finally say that I support myself from my home business!

It wasn't always this way. I used to scramble around the house before daylight, looking for paired socks and attempting to shove breakfast in my kids so we could get packed up for before school care. Any interruption could almost reduce me to tears because I had to get them sqared away so I could begin an hour long commute to my own desk. My employer expected my to arrive by 8:00 a.m. Of course, I seldom met that expectation.

After work, I needed to be the first one out the door so I could beat traffic and arrive at after school care before it closed. Then, after a day of work, and a long commute, I could come home and attempt to come up with a balanced and satisfying meal, get my kids started on their homework, and make sure I had laid out things we would need for the next morning.

I felt like I was struggling to accomplish three people's jobs, and I didn't feel like I could give any area of my life the attention it deserved.

This may not describe your life. You may be one of those superwomen who thrive on activity from pre-dawn until post-dusk. Or you may have lots of support from family, so you aren't on your own. Maybe you won your state lottery! However, I think the situation that I had was very common. It is more common with single parents, but from my experience, one parent can find herself or himself with a huge share of the responsibility in married couples too.

Millions of people work at home now. Believe it or not, Apple Computers and Hewlett Packard were started in garages. Some individuals manage to work a deal to telecommute for their present employer, while job seekers are always looking for flexible job arrangements. Others take the route that I concentrated on, and begin their own business that can be worked out of a home office. These days, you really only need a computer, telephone, and maybe a fax machine.

Online selling sites like EBay and Amazon have made it possible for many people to begin their own business on a shoestring. Others do affiliate marketing, or perform free lance work for companies who ask for it. Some job boards concentrate on finding recognized employers who are looking for employers or freelancers to work from their own home office. I researched and tested working at home, until I finally came up with the perfect fit for me!

Visit my blog at www.womanwork.net and follow my adventures, advice, and rants. You can also subscribe to my free reports there, and get specific tips to explore a half dozen real ways you can begin working from home!