Five Ways to pursue both Freedom and Security.

by Crystal Schaffer for Work-at-Home.org

Making the decision to work at home, especially in challenging economic times, can be difficult. If you're a parent, it can be even more difficult. On the one hand you know you want to be there for your family.  On the other hand, you know that as a parent, security for your family is also crucial.

Here are five every-day-actions for work-at-home entrepreneurs that really help enable freedom while still having a sense of security:

• 1. Knowing yourself and maintaining focus on what’s most important to you. What inspires you? What motivates you? What stops you? What trades and sacrifices might you be willing to make short-term or long-term? Knowing what’s most important to you and those you love, and continually reevaluating your work in those terms helps to keep you honest about your goals and focused in attaining them.
  
• 2. Understanding your potential and having the courage to express your value. When you work from home a number of the extrinsic indicators of your value may be in shorter supply—the corner office, the pat on the back, the peer-to-peer validation, among them. Similarly, the ways in which we express our value need to shift as well. Many would-be entrepreneurs find it daunting to constantly “sell” their businesses. “Human commodity”-thinking, where you imagine yourself like can of peas on a grocery shelf tasked daily with differentiating from the other packaged goods, may be useful for marketing but it’s less helpful for the soul. Instead of simply productizing what you have to sell, understand the value you deliver. If you work on constantly expressing that value through everything you do, you can influence with authenticity.
  
• 3. Building your support system. You might be able to “go it alone,” but like anything else, working from home is a lot easier with some support. Know the benefits and limits of your support system, from family and friends to colleagues and associates. My husband and I are both small business owners and rely on supporting one another. Support also needs to extend beyond your home as well. Building outside networks is critical. Remember that it’s harder to build relationships when you sit behind your computer screen 24-7. Social networking sites like Facebook and Linked In are great, but you also need to include elements of “getting out” to interact with others as a large part of your work-at-home plan.
  
• 4. Suspending disbelief. There’s a sign at my son’s school that reads, “If you believe you can or can’t do something, you’re right. So what’s it going to be?” While just believing you can do something is no guarantee, it’s a near-certainty that believing you CAN’T is pretty counter-productive. A little faith goes a long way.
  
• 5. Creating comfort with taking small steps toward big change. Particularly if you’ve always been a “go-getter,” once you decide to take a leap of any kind in your career, you may feel both pressure and excitement to arrive at your ideal work-at-home destination overnight. Some folks do take that path, but often the more sustainable successes are those that begin and are maintained with a few small steps at a time. A little forward progress each day is a key component of long-term results.
  

Just remember there is power in positive thinking, and greater power still in focused action.  The key is to keep going.

Crystal Schaffer is the owner of Nu U Consulting, LLC (www.nuuconsulting.com) and the mother of three boys. She can be reached at: info-at-nuuconsulting.com.