Are you thinking of working from home? Things such as, monetary constraints (the cost of child care to return to work), not wanting to leave the child(ren) in day care or with someone else while working, or realizing how little time is actually spent with a child each day while maintaining a job outside of the home, often makes the idea of working from home very appealing.
However, no one outside of the situation can decide if working from home will be a good fit for your family, but some advance planning and research can help, and is strongly recommended. Determine the type of business that you want to start. Perhaps you can you do some consultant work for your present employer so that you don’t have to start from scratch? Also, if your household is used to a two-person income, then making the adjustment to a one or one and a half income while business grows, can have a serious impact.
Begin by preparing a budget to determine if it is feasible to make the switch. Remember that gas usage, professional clothing budgets, day care expenses, etc. will probably go down, but the cost to start a home-based business, setting-up a home office, and the amount of time it will take to generate an income will also have to be calculated into the budget.
If you have time, give starting your business extra serious thought. It’s an awesome experience, but requires hard work and dedication. There are often numerous peaks and valleys throughout the process, but it’s an awesome ride and a wonderful way to make your mark your way.
