What did you do before you worked from home?
I worked in intellectual property litigation for a large law firm
in Washington DC. The firm and benefits were great, the commute
was horrible. I worked from home while I was on bedrest with my
son and loved it. After he was born I went back to the office 2-3
days a week, but eventually I realized I wanted to be home all the
time.
Tell us about your home business.
We offer basic budgeting, saving and financial planning concepts
for women. The website is designed to help women take control of
their finances on their own and in their own time. We offer online
articles, newsletters, a budget club, and work with other organizations
to offer services such as mortgage loans and financial planning
help. We have two books about to go to print and several e-books
in the making. All of our products and services are offered in an
uncomplicated language because financial planning doesn't have to
be complicated.
How many hours do you normally work per week?
Anywhere from 40-100. I used to push myself way too far. After working
18 hour days for 6 months straight I realized I wasn't getting any
further ahead and my family life was definitely suffering. Since
then I have tried to let go of the Super Woman image and accept
that somethings will just have to be put off until tomorrow.
What made you start your own business?
It wasn't really a conscious decision. After quitting my job to
stay home I had more time to work on a website I was building as
a hobby, and the business kind of grew out of it from there. I started
on a free website builder, I knew no HTML and hadn't written since
the high school newspaper. When we had our first article published
in a newspaper I knew that there was something to keep working on!
What training did you receive?
I taught myself website design, with a lot of help from other webmasters
I met online. I have always had an interest in financial planning
and my husband works in finance. I have learned financial planning
on my own and I think that's important because it's the basis of
the magazine. If I can learn it, I figure anyone can!
What were your start-up costs? Start-up costs were minimal. I had to pay legal fees for
my DBA and incorporation. I had to open a checking account, buy
a merchant account and pay for the website domains and hosting.
Then it was just advertising and promotions that helped get the
word out. All in all it was probably about $1000 to get started.
What were your greatest obstacles in starting the business?
Learning website design was probably the toughest, I redesigned
I don't know how many times! Other than that it was learning time
management with two very little children.
How do you market your business?
Networking is the best and cheapest way to market. I have developed
relationships with other webmasters and we often trade advertising.
I also
belong to several business organizations such as the Chamber of
Commerce and Financial Womens Organization. Talking about your business
is great because it's free and you are able to show your excitement.
How do you handle managing your time and working at home with
children?
Managing time is
not my strength. I try to keep the kids on a schedule so they know
what is going on most days, but for myself I usually just keep a
to do list in my day timer and start marking things off as they
get done.
I have to say that my kids are really great. They are able to entertain
themselves now, and with their scheduled nap times I am able to
make calls when they aren't in the room. We have the office set
up right in the downstairs family room so they are able to be right
with me most of the day. We try to schedule one class a season for
them, such as swimming lessons or art classes, this gets them out
of the house once in awhile giving all of us a needed break. We
are also close to family and visit them often or go on shopping
trips, my daughters favorite!
What advice would you give others wanting to work from home?
Find what you love to do and try to make a business out of it. Once
you do that it really doesn't feel like work at all.
