Home-Based Balancing Act
If you have a home-based business, you can count yourself lucky when you consider today's high gas prices. If you have a home-based business and you are generating income, you’re even luckier considering the record number of job losses currently happening across the country. If you have a home-based business and at the same time you are juggling your responsibilities as a stay-at-home parent…uh, ok, what was I just talking about? Oh, yeah…as a stay-at-home parent, how do you balance running a successful business and meeting the needs of your clients or customers while providing the best care for your child or children at the same time?
I chose to start a home-based business so I could be home to care for the child my husband and I were trying to have, and the other reason was to combine my experience and interests and do something that I enjoyed while generating an income, that being my corporate experience as an executive assistant and my love for the Arts. As a certified Virtual Assistant, I provide assistance from a distance, working off-site and completing work and project assignments via the Internet, e-mail, telephone, fax and postal service for businesses. My specialty is in Arts and Entertainment support, but I provide services to non-industry clients, too. My experience as an actress and model, and my husband’s knowledge and experience as a music producer, composer, arranger, artist manager and managing orchestras for many years made it a no brainer.
We now have a 10 month old daughter. I’m doing what I love to do, and feel I have the best of both worlds being able to be with my daughter while I work at home, and having my husband’s full support with it all is just as great.
So, I am trying out different things with her as I go along each day while I work and handle phone calls. Having a routine for her definitely has helped, such as putting her down for two naps a day at scheduled times so I can get more work done. I also get a lot accomplished at night time once she is tucked into her crib, but I would love to do that less often.
I would enjoy hearing from readers who are also balancing being a stay-at-home parent while running a business or telecommuting from home. What works for you? What hasn’t worked and did you find a solution? I welcome your comments and suggestions.
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