By Karen E. Spaeder
for Work-at-Home.org
It’s a common refrain among today’s parents: You want to work at home and be available to your kids, but you need a viable small-business idea or work-at-home job to make it happen. Not every company will allow its employees to work from home, regardless of whether telecommuting makes sense for a particular job. In spite of the technological advances made in recent years to allow people to work at home, away from the confines of the office, the commute and the inevitable time away from the kids, many employers simply don’t trust their employees enough to release the reins and set their employees free.
As such, many moms are choosing to start a business of their own. There are many ways to go about doing this, but the ideal scenario is either to find a legitimate home business opportunity or franchise, or to start a business from scratch based on a killer work-at-home idea of your own.
Choosing one or the other will depend on your appetite for building something from the ground up vs. stepping in after someone else has done much of the footwork. Neither one is right or wrong; it simply depends on your own preference.
If you like the idea of taking advantage of a business opportunity or franchise, you must do your due diligence and thoroughly research its credentials with the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau, and other federal and state agencies. It’s also a good idea to get in contact with some franchisees or independent consultants from the company to get their feedback on how they like the system.
For purposes of this article, however, we’ll look at how you can start a business based on your own work-at-home idea. Follow these steps for turning your idea into a successful business that lets you be a mom even as you make money from home:
1. The first step is coming up with the idea itself. One simple way to do this is to think of a way to solve a nagging problem. Perhaps you don’t like your kids’ lunch boxes, or you wish you had a certain product that would take gum out of silk. Whatever the case, as a mom, you have a unique advantage in coming up with a small-business idea. Get out a sheet of paper, and make a list of all the possible “problem solvers” you can think of. Now whittle the list down to the one or two ideas that interest you most. Remember, you’ll be spending night and day with this idea for quite some time, so you want to make sure it’s something you can get excited about.
2. Now that you have your idea, it’s time to do some research. Get some of your mom friends together, and toss some ideas around. Make sure you include moms whom you trust will not steal your work-at-home idea for themselves! Their feedback will help you focus your attention on the one idea that hits the most “hot buttons” with other moms.
3. Get online. The internet is also a great place to research your work-at-home idea. Get yourself on some forums and social networks related to jobs for moms, working at home and small-business ideas. Read what the other moms post, and pose some questions of your own. You don’t need to reveal your own idea, but you can ask questions that will tell you whether other moms outside your immediate sphere of influence share your need to solve a particular problem.
4. Get a plan. Any successful small business starts with a business plan. Think of it as your roadmap, the thing that will get you where you want to go. Start with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE, score.org) for help in crafting a plan and other advice on starting a business. SCORE offers free and low-cost workshops, one-on-one counseling in person or via e-mail, and other resources designed to help get a business off the ground and keep it growing.
5. Get financing. The best way to finance your business is by using money that you’ve saved up on your own. This eliminates the need to pay anyone back later. However, if your work-at-home idea is capital-intensive, there are many financing options, from taking a loan from family or friends (with clearly defined, written terms that spell out an exact repayment reschedule) to obtaining a loan from the Small Business Administration (sba.gov). Again, talk with a SCORE counselor to find the option that’s best for you. You can also contact your local Small Business Development Center.
6. Find a mentor. Locate someone, ideally another work-at-home mom, who is successfully running a homebased business. Pick her brain on marketing, sales and promotions. Ask her if she’s willing to be your point of contact to help you in getting your business started and growing it to the next level.
7. Work at home! When all your ducks are in a row, you’ll be thrilled to get your home business started and begin living life on your terms. Most work-at-home moms agree that there’s nothing like the feeling of being available to your kids while also bringing a small-business idea to fruition. And while there are many stepping stones along the way, you’ll happily plod on, knowing that you’re working for your family’s future.
Karen E. Spaeder is a freelance writer, a business developer (www.kspaeder.ildglobal.com), and the founder of Rain Frog Apparel (www.rainfrogapparel.com), a bamboo clothing company in Southern California. For help in starting your own business from home, contact her at kspaeder -- at -- ildglobal.com.
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