Home-based businesses can be amazingly rewarding for moms looking for a means of income or something to call their own. I began my home-based business journey as a blogger. Then I moved into also doing direct sales as well as supporting my husband in his two businesses. As we have done multiple home-based businesses, but I have found that there is a lot in common with the motivations why people launch their own business and succeed.
So many moms feel overwhelmed with being a mom and possibly homeschooling that they don’t think they can add another thing to their plate. But I have found that often adding a business helps the mother focus on self-care, eliminate what is weighing her down that isn’t necessary, aligns her expectations more with what they should be and makes her happier so her family benefits from both the happiness and the income.
I have also found that often a mom is pulled between caring for her family and caring for herself. Many times women in our society have been taught that in order to be a good mom, they have to deny all of their needs and care for all of their children’s needs and most of their wants before they can even consider taking care of themselves. Unfortunately, many women buy into the idea that they have to sacrifice all of themselves in order to have children who even might be marginally happy.
My experience is that this is counter-productive to their home and their children because it creates an unrealistic expectation on the part of the child and possibly the father that the mother will always be orbiting around them and put their wants ahead of her basic needs. It also sets up the idea that a woman and especially a mother must sacrifice herself and even damage her health for someone else’s wants. This isn’t how the Bible calls us to live as women, wives or mothers.
I find that having something for yourself, such as a business, that doesn’t involve the children or the husband gives the mom some time, mental space, friendships and connections that she so desperately needs in order to be able to parent well. When I have time to focus on my business, go to meet friends and have mental stimulation with something that isn’t homeschool, chores or food, I am much happier, patient and much more at ease when I get back home to my family.
In reverse, I find that women who continue to believe they must sacrifice all of themselves for their children will struggle with how to balance a home based business with the increasing demands of children and home. They often think things will get better as the child or children get older, but I have found that they demands don’t lessen, they just change. As my children are now teens, I’m discovering this season is just as busy and rewarding as younger seasons were, they just involve more sleep and less handling bodily waste for the parents and less crying and hopefully less tantruming for the kids. This leaves a mom who is burnt-out, past exhausted, struggling and totally empty with nothing left to give her family.
For women who are motivated, a home-based business can far outpace the ability to exchange time for set amounts of money. Especially in direct sales, as I can teach others how to duplicate myself, my income can multiply without me multiplying the number of hours I work. Bloggers can set up products and systems that allow them to scale their work so that they can scale their income up without much more work outside of customer service, but I find it takes much more in the way of time and training to earn income as a blogger verses a direct sales business.
Here are five ways to know that you’re ready for a home-based business.
Swallowed Whole
If you feel swallowed by not having your own identity, you might be ready for a home-based business. If you’re constantly identified as only Jeff’s Wife and Belle’s Mom but never by KerryAnn, you might need something of your own.
When my kids were in early elementary, I struggled to find my place. Everything I did and everyone I was connected to identified me not by my own being, but by my relationship to someone in my family. I was always Mrs. Jeff or Trey’s Mom. Al’s only girl. Pam’s daughter. Despite being a busy mom, I had no activities of my own where I was just KerryAnn.
I felt like I had lost my identity as KerryAnn and I needed to find it again. So I began blogging and went into direct sales in an effort to help other mothers. This gave me a badly needed creative outlet and it also gave me a stand-alone identity where I could form relationships with other women based on a common interest and not because we had kids at similar ages and stages.
This began the process of helping me find my tribe. Your ‘tribe’ is a group of women who resonate with you- they have the same interest and hobbies, they same outlook, and they are supportive towards each other.
Mental Stimulation
A home-based business can give you the mental stimulation you crave in the middle of an unrelenting stream of mundane household tasks. If you are worn out by the constant stream of unending meals, dishes, laundry and hearing “MOM!” a million times a day, a home business can give you some mental space in which you can focus on something that is productive and has goals, but can be done when you have time for it.
The lack of goals and end-dates in home-making can be maddening to a motivated woman. It seemed like no matter how many dishes I washed or loads of laundry I washed, folded and put away, there was always MORE. No breaks. no shifting gears. No ability to get mental stimulation, variety or a feeling of satisfaction from a job well done. And no ability to shift gears and congratulate myself on being able to complete something and move on.
The bonus is that when you’re your own boss, you decide where, where and how you work, so it doesn’t have to conflict with your commitment at home. And you can interrupt it anytime your kids need you.
When Was The Last Time You…?
If you need more self-care, a home-based business can spur you towards it! Self-care is a critical component for mothers, and one that is the first to be sacrificed. Society expects women to go without showering, hold pee until they’re bursting followed by an audience in the bathroom once you finally do go and not brush their teeth for days while their kids have every want answered within seconds.
Starting a home-based business made me focus more on self-care because I was in front of the camera more. Speaking to more people. Out in public more. Showing my face on Facebook and doing live video feeds.
Suddenly I was concerned about taking a shower regularly and keeping my teeth brushed because it made ME feel better. I made the time for self-care because overall it made me feel better and I was therefore more patient during trying moments of motherhood.
It also made my husband and kids happier because I looked better. It was a win-win!
Instant Tribe
When I launched my It Works business, I wasn’t working alone. I instantly had a group of women who were invested in helping me succeed. Some of these women became close friends. Since people tend to join direct sales businesses under a sponsor whom they resonate with, this can be an amazing way to connect to women whom are like-minded in beliefs and lifestyle and how similar goals and values.
Now when people join my team, they have an instant tribe that can lead to life-long, deep friendships. It has for me because my team cultivates a spirit of friendship, acceptance, and we cheerlead each other from the bottom of our hearts. We have can-do attitudes, and we know other cheering other women for their accomplishments doesn’t take away from our own.
I turned 40 this year, and my need for close, deep friendships grows as I get older. Soon my children will be grown and gone, and close friends help that transition and to fill that void. My life will look very different in six years. Having an established business and deep relationships will help to bridge that difficult empty nest gap that we’re soon facing.
What About Socialization?
Don’t you hate hearing that question when you homeschool? I always answered that we spent an awful lot of time in the car and out in public for people who weren’t supposed to be well-socialized!
The truth is that having the ability to socialize around a common interest can be very important for a mom, too!
I found often in social opportunities for my kids, I was being put in with women with whom I didn’t have much in common outside of homeschooling. Let’s face it- we lead a VERY different lifestyle with both adults working home-based businesses and equally co-parenting. I have a hands-on, very involved husband and I do not bear most of the burden of child-rearing alone while he is gone from home many hours a day. I needed to be able to get out and socialize with many women to find more people with whom I clicked.
This business has allowed me to go on trips, meet people in public and online, and meet other women who are in the same business but not on the same team. First as a new distributor, and now as a leader in the company. Even though I’m very much an introvert, this socialization has been refreshing and energizing for me!
Oh Yeah, And There’s Money!
The final and most obvious reason you might be ready to start a direct sales business is if you’re in need of income but you don’t want to invest hundreds to thousands to get a different type of business off of the ground.
When I was doing paid content courses on this blog, it costs me hundreds a month to host it and I had to spend many months of hard work to build an audience. With direct sales, the start-up cost is low, you don’t have to worry about creation of product, marketing materials and more. You join in with a proven system and product, and if you join a solid team like mine, you walk in with training and support built-in.
If you’re thinking about trying a direct sales business, I encourage you to dive into It Works! I train online, you don’t have to be local. I’m in the top 1% of the company and I work amazingly hard to support all of my team in reaching their goals with plenty of training and support!
You can contact me here or contact me on Messenger and let’s chat about the opportunity! Whether you’re looking for $200 of fun money a month or want to replace an income, I can help!
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