The Pros And Cons Of Working From Home As A Mom
Working from home as a mom has its daily, hourly and minute-ly challenges. But the feeling you get from being there for the important moments in your child’s life is something that cannot be taken for granted; and for some people, working from home is the part of an exciting new career chapter. For moms who are looking to pounce on the prospect of becoming a work-at-home mom, take some of these pros and cons into consideration first.
Pro: You’re There For Your Children (In Theory)
You won’t feel so guilty about missing out on things if you’re work-at-home mom. You can be there for every ballet recital, football game and scraped knee in your child’s life (or that’s the dream at least). Having a parent at home from a child’s infancy to middle school has been shown to be extremely beneficial to children, but the focus is on quality, rather than quantity. Being at home means you can be more present, but you will still have to work hard to create enough space for work and family.
It’s all about balance and juggling family life. Doing what you can to improve your work-life balance ensures that you’re:
- A) Spending more quality time with your kids
- B) Reducing your stress levels, which can start to have a knock-on effect on your kids
Me-time is also vital to keep you sane as a work-from-home mom. Make sure that you set up playdates for your kids and make an effort to meet other work-from-home moms, to prevent you from feeling isolated.
Pro: You Save Money On Everyday Costs
The cost of childcare is extortionate, but as a work-at-home mom you can negate these costs completely, saving your family a small fortune year-on-year.
Aside from the regular working expenses like gas and lunches, office life gives you ample opportunity to fritter away money on non-necessities like coffees, snacks and post-work drinks. These ‘little things’ can all start to add up and may contribute to a less-than-healthy lifestyle.
By taking the decision to find a job you can do from home, you can use your former commuting funds to spend more wisely on things like exercise classes or educational audio books.
Con: You Can Feel A Bit Trapped Sometimes
You’re there for your children when they need you, but then, of course, you’re always there. At home. Staring at the same walls, the same view from the window – and if you’re working productively, going through the motions of the same daily routine.
Working from home as a mom is like being in the office 40 hours a week, only you also eat, sleep and do everything else there too. There’s no office cleaner who comes around every week to clean up....but on the flip side, your family may be tidier than some of your co-workers in the past.
Pro: You Escape Office Politics
From dressing right, to ‘making nice’ with gossipy colleagues, breaking away from the humdrum politics of office life can be extremely liberating. In most other areas of life, you get to choose the people that you spend time with, so why should your work life be any different?
If you have some hours alone at home on the weekdays, find a local co-working space in your hometown, or go to your favorite coffee shop to spend time with some carefully selected company. Meeting with other freelancers and remote workers in your area may even inspire some new and exciting business opportunities.
Pro: You Can Start A Business From Home
There are many ideas for starting your own business. You can start off small and simple — often these ideas work the best. For example, you could set up your own ecommerce store selling screenprinted t-shirts, or personalized mugs with funny slogans.
By going through a subscription service, you can save money and have all of the tools you need to set up a fantastic online store in hours. Alternatively, you can earn some money from home the drop shipping way. This is an arrangement where, rather than storing stock at home, you purchase directly from suppliers and they send the goods directly to your customers. Ideal for those low on space and production skills. You will need to have some digital know-how, but surprisingly little working capital to get started. You can even sync up your ecommerce platform and drop shipping supplier, controlling both with one easy-to-use interface.
Con: You Need To Stay In Control At All Times
Starting your own business can be extremely rewarding, but then of course, the onus is on you to make sure that it succeeds. The risks and commitments involved in starting your own business need to be seriously considered before transforming your life and leaving your secure job.
For some, the stress of keeping your business afloat as well as raising a family can be hugely taxing. If you’re not naturally good at planning and being organized, it may be worth spending a good amount of time acquiring skills and discipline in this area, or you may face burnout. There’s a lot of ‘hidden’ time that goes into running a business, and it can be hard to estimate how much time you’ll need at first.
The pros and cons of being a work-from-home mom will be unique to your circumstances. Whether you switch from part-time home working or dive straight into launching your own business full-time, there is help and support out there. In fact, it has never been easier to research and explore your best options. So get started now.
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Kayleigh Alexandra is passionate about helping startups succeed. She blogs at Microstartups.org and donates all website profits to charities that help people reach their full potential.
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