Going Back to Work – At Home!

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In my previous life I had a job that I loved. I was a youth minister and in my opinion, really just got paid to have fun. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard work, sometimes thankless, the hours were rough, and sometimes did not mesh well with my desire to sleep, but it was fun. During all those years, though, I longed to get married and be a mom.

I quit my job before a move to Arkansas 5 years ago. My eldest was born a little over a year later. Even though motherhood is actually a lot like youth ministry, at first I had a hard time staying home – something I didn’t expect. I wonder if a lot of moms make this transition silently and painfully…because I did. Staying home was sometimes lonely, and I craved adult interaction. I missed work, yet at the same time the thought of going back to work didn’t sound appealing either. I missed my baby when I was away from her for 2 hours, I couldn’t fathom 8.

Before we moved back to Fort Worth, a friend and mentor suggested that I buy my own business. I laughed in her face, told my husband that night how crazy she was, and put it in the back of my head…for 2 seconds. Once the idea was there, it was there, and then it grew and grew and grew. In December 2012, (after much thought and even more praying) I signed a 3 year contract for my very own Stroller Strides (now Fit4Mom) franchise. And I haven’t looked back – not for one minute.

Hanging out with other moms-could my job be any more fun?
Hanging out with other moms-could my job be any more fun?

Here are some of the benefits for me in owning my own business:

1. I get to hang out with other moms 3 days a week as my job – how fun!!!

2. I get to keep my kids with me, so I don’t have to factor daycare expenses into my budget, or miss time with them.

3. I have actually been BETTER at planning our weekly schedule and have been forced to be more organized (something that flew out the window with baby #1).

4. I’m my own boss. Best thing ever. Enough said.

5. I feel like myself again.

Here’s (sort of) how I do it:

1. Work stuff is relegated to the fringe hours of my day: either nap times or after bedtime. I’d love to be hardcore and get it done in the early hours but well….let’s be realistic. That’s not ever going to happen. (I love Netflix on my Nook in the wee hours too much).

2. I schedule days off, just like a normal job. On these days I won’t do any Fit4Mom work.

3. I plan my week during the weekend. I create my “lesson plans” in my google account and save them as drafts, so I can change them. I email them to myself, print them out, and save them in an email folder for reference later.

4. I do my finances in Quick Books on the last day of the month when I also do my personal finances.

5. I stay connected with other franchisees and learn from them.

Here are some things I need to/wish I was doing:

1. I don’t write things down – never have. But at this point, I really should get a planner.

2. I believe there is power in community. I’m sure I have MUCH to gain from the mompreneur community, but I’ve not sought that out yet.

3. At some point, I need to create a client feedback survey. Yikes! Criticism.

There are a million mompreneur scenarios. What’s yours?

Do you own your own business or work from home? If not, have you ever considered taking the plunge?

3 COMMENTS

  1. Loved this post Anna! I’m an Iowan now based in Kansas City and the co-founder of Kansas City Moms Blog. Thanks for writing about the great pros of working from home as a mom!

  2. Since starting FWMB, I am now considered a WAHM and it isn’t easy! It is hard to not let it ooch into my family time. Great tips. I am really working on setting up working times and learning to shut down the computer and phone at set times during the day!

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