As a child, I resented spending so much time with a nanny instead of my mother. She built and heads her own food service and manufacturing company, which has multiple operations in different cities. So, as a teenager, I swore I wouldn’t ‘outsource’ my childrearing when I started my own family, but that promise has been more of a challenge than I ever anticipated.

I grew up in the bosslady capital of the world. Almost 60% of the management roles in Jamaica are held by women. Having been raised by one of these momtrepreneurs, it isn’t a surprise that I want to build my own business and be financially-independent.

But what a ride it’s been.

I never wanted my child to hate me, but I also don’t want to become the woman who packs away all her personal goals into a shoe box and spends her life serving everyone else’s dream. So, I had the genius idea of playing superwoman: work a fulltime job, run a home, take care of my family, be active in my community, and build a brand with multiple streams of income. In the three years since my daughter was born, I have been working as a freelancer, retailer, publisher, event host, coach – and these are all separate from my full-time job.

In a short space of time, it became a big mess!

Exhaustion, missed appointments, depression, forgetting to pack my child’s school lunch, moodswings, abandoning my self-care routine – it wasn’t pretty. After a while, I had to admit that a lot of the ideals I brought into motherhood were ridiculous!

It’s true that more women are taking on the role of provider or co-provider in the family, and many of us are also building our own brands. However, we are still programmed to nurture our little ones. Even when I try to squash it and recruit all the extra help, there is something about being around to teach my child life lessons and sharing in her personal growth that I crave.

I don’t want to miss any of it.

I know that I am one of my daughter’s first role models, and I don’t want her to see me living below my potential nor dying under tons of regret. I knew there had to be a way to live out my dreams while still being fully present when with my family. Little by little I’ve learned some lessons from other women who have been in this struggle much longer than me.

1. Mommy’s Joy is the Family Thermostat

If I don’t go after the things that give me a sense of purpose and fulfillment, I won’t have the energy nor the joy to pour into those I love. I won’t be able to find the extra push to get through hectic and challenging times. Basically, when mama’s happy, everyone is happy. So, if I want the joy to flow in my home, it has to be bubbling up in me. So, if running a business allows me to be a more vibrant me, then leave it be.

2. The Early Childhood Years are Premium

These first few years, when my 3-year-old is figuring out the world, are prime for her whole development. If I want to have a role in shaping her worldview and her core character, I need to be in it with her now. If I don’t give her my attention now, then she won’t be interested later on. It’s ok for me to delay building my whole empire until she’s a bit older.

3. Schedule the Hustle

I only learned this one recently, and I’m still working it out. But, whether my top priority is to be a successful infopreneur or to get a homeschool routine on lock, I have to make and live by a schedule. Just like other resources, my time is limited, and I must spend it wisely.

After trial and error, I now understand that once I designate ‘family time, ’ I have to lock off everything else. It builds personal discipline (which is great for entrepreneurship), but more than that prioritising my family play time allows me the chance to optimise the quality of interactions I have with my husband and daughter. Scheduling makes me prioritise quality over quantity both at home and work, leading to better outcomes with both.

Mommy is just one role I play.

For as long as I’m alive, the feelings of inadequacy will probably pop up from time to time. I’ve learned often times that’s my conscience telling me to pay attention to the choices I’m making. When I struggle with impatience or suffer because of mismanaged time, I must remember that my parenting mistakes don’t define me because “Mommy” is just one role I play. Being a mother is not the totality of who I am. The relationship between my daughter and I, while supreme, is only one of the relationships I have. So, while I refocus my attention and work at being a better mother, I have also chosen to quit the self-blame. Additionally, I’m refusing to submit to other people’s expectations. No more playing superwoman, and no more mediocrity. I’m striving to be 100% Mommy & 100% Entrepreneur – just not all happening at the same time.

Запись I Had to Fail as a Mommy to Succeed as a Momtrepreneur: Getting Over Guilt to Get Things Done впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

Far from the best times of my life, my mid-to-late twenties were an extended pity party. Professionally, emotionally, and physically, I was stuck in a place I didn’t want to be.

Hate is too light a word to describe how I felt there. It’s a perfectly fine place for some people to live, but for me, I was dying.

I felt bad for feeling so bad when I knew there were people in much worse situations around the world. So I heaped guilt on top of my sadness because I was safe, fed, and yet still miserable.

Many days of the 13 years I was there, I felt like life was a test I was failing, until I made some key changes that helped me survive.

As a direct result of all these, my life improved. I met new people and strengthened existing friendships. It was rough going, but eventually I found a much needed village that made a huge difference for the remainder of my time there.

We’ve been in our new city for over a year now, and every day I’m so grateful. I worried at times that we’d finally move, and I’d still be unhappy because the problem was me, not the place. People will tell you to bloom where you’re planted, but you can’t put a full sun plant in the shade expecting it to thrive.

There’s nothing wrong with not being happy where you are.

It’s not a shortcoming or a personal failure. What is a problem is to allow it to destroy you. Move where you can thrive when you can, and until that point, try some of what worked for me to get by.

Запись 10 Survival Tips For Mommies Who Hate Where They Live впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

When I told her this baby was my first, she warned, “Do your best to take care of your little girl because you might not have another one.” I was appalled.

The story goes, “Your clock starts ticking at age 30, gets super loud when you’re 35, then just falls apart by the time you hit the big 4-0.” As such, it didn’t take long for me to start getting anxious for my friends who were dreaming of raising their own little village, but still hadn’t gotten around to baby #1 as yet.

Whether they are busy working to pay off student loans, taking care of siblings, or simply still waiting to meet Mr. Right, some sisters are trying to get some financial stability before taking on parenthood. Others are battling infertility, miscarriages, and ‘anti-fertility’ health challenges like fibroids, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), all the while the clock keeps ticking, or does it?

Let’s take a look at the top 3 myths about pregnancy for women over 35 years old.

You Have Fewer Eggs

You’ve probably heard that every baby girl comes into the world loaded with her own ‘egg bank’ – her two ovaries stocked with 1-2 million egg cells. Then by the time she hits puberty, some of those eggs are released monthly through ovulation, while many others die their naturally programmed death like other cells in the body. This being the case, by the time the average woman is in her 30’s (and past her fertile peak), her reserve of eggs has been significantly depleted to about 12%.

Truth: The concern about a low egg reserve is relevant to women who have already been diagnosed with fertility problems and are considering using In-Vitro Fertilisation to conceive. That’s because the procedure needs multiple eggs to be extracted for fertilisation. This ‘low egg reserve’ argument is a non-issue for women who are trying to conceive naturally. The thing is, if you’re only left with 12% of your eggs at age 30, that works out to more than 100, 000 eggs. You only need ONE egg to make a baby.

You Have Lower Quality Eggs

While a woman’s womb can be kept fit and fabulous, her eggs don’t have the same kind of longevity and resilience. Some of her eggs will die naturally as time passes, and the remaining eggs just get old! This results in miscarriages and babies born with Down syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities.

Truth: It is true that ‘older eggs’ don’t perform as well. The chances of the chromosomes dividing improperly, and the body in turn rejecting the embryo are higher in mature mothers. However, this experience is not exclusive to women in their 30s, and miscarriages are more common than we think for fertile women of all ages. While chromosomal abnormalities are more likely with older women, most children born with Down syndrome are born to women under age 35.

You Will Have a High-Risk Pregnancy

An older body is less tolerant of the demands of pregnancy, and so it is standard procedure for medical professionals to inform mature expectant mothers of the risks they face like hypertension.

Truth: Pregnant women of all ages will be at risk for complications if they have existing health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease and obesity. So, it is not just for older women. Yet, if a healthy woman has become pregnant for the first time after age 35, then she needs to realise her body may or may not ‘go with the flow.’ She is more likely to have a cesarean section delivery, prolonged labour, among other things. Unlike teens (who are also high-risk during pregnancy), a first time mom aged 35 or older, is more likely to be well-educated and have better finances. As such, she is more likely to make better preparations for pregnancy, gain access to higher quality healthcare and make better health-supporting lifestyle choices.

Myths will always abound, and statistics can be deeply flawed. For women 35 years and older, the key is to be strategic when trying to conceive by tracking their cycles and timing intercourse for when they ovulate. Then throughout pregnancy, they need to practice self-care to help the body manoeuvre the 9-month transformation including any negativity they face for being over 35.

Запись Have We Been Conditioned to Panic? 3 Myths About Pregnancy Over 35 Debunked впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

Now over a year into my total life change, I’m still shocked when I look back. Did I really turn down two jobs to stay home with my kids?

I did not go to college and graduate school to stay at home.

The reality is after my family relocated for my husband’s career, the offers I received had significant drawbacks. With one job I would have had to commute 47 miles each way. I’d have to leave before child care opened, and I’d get home after it closed. My husband’s work requirements wouldn’t allow him to do pick ups. We have no family here, so we’d have to hire someone to pick up our child.

I worried what about being so far away during the day while my children were so small. An hour away if traffic agreed is more distance than I felt comfortable putting between me and my children. On top of that, my 16-year-old car would not sustain such a commute, so we’d have to buy a new car immediately, taking on debt and much higher insurance and registration payments.

The other job was in town, but the salary was back to where I started a decade ago. Considering the cost of two children in full time child care, I would technically earn enough to pay for the child care and still have some from my check, but the value wasn’t there.

The quality of child care wasn’t worth it.

The child care options swayed me. Ideally, I’d like a program where the staff all had at least a Child Development Associate credential. I’d like low staff-to-student ratios of no more than 1:4 for babies and 1:8 for 4 year olds. Numbers higher than this reduce the level of attention even the best teachers can offer. The staff should be well paid and funded so they can provide a play-based program that supports children in all areas of development. Also, diversity of the staff and children and a secular background were important to me.

The preschool option I liked the most was only a 9-month, partial day program, still leaving me the afternoons and summer to fill. The cost was staggering, but quality comes at a price, a price these jobs just didn’t leave me the ability to budget.

The emotional cost is hard to measure.

While there were many aspects that I appreciated about my son’s previous child care, I hated leaving a little baby for 50 hours a week. With my husband in school, that’s exactly what I did. Bills had to be paid. Sacrifices had to be made.

I’m proud I supported my family then, but I’d like my little babies to be with me or at least a relative. Adding on a long commute, I just can’t see doing it again. I’ve had to look at what I am gaining and losing if I accept these jobs versus if I stay at home.

How we’re making my being home work.

Right now, what’s working for us is scheduling several enriching free and low cost activities during the week. We go to story time at some libraries and at our local children’s museum. My four year old also takes a tap, ballet, creative movement class once a week. Plus, we have play dates.

My husband has taken on a part-time remote evaluation job he does from home in addition to his day job. I write, edit, and transcribe during naps and when the children go to bed. I’m still figuring out my schedule, and I don’t earn anywhere close to what I earned before; however, I’m hopeful working from home will only become more profitable as I expand my client base.

I’ve learned that making as much money as possible isn’t how I want to live my life. My happiness is defined by activities that enrich my soul. Nothing does that better than spending time with my family and friends.

Frugality pays in its own ways.

We bought a modest home close to my husband’s work. This cut our living expenses significantly. We keep driving our 16- and 18-year-old cars that are paid off and inexpensive to insure. I visit 2 to 4 grocery stores in a week to stock up on the best prices. We buy things in bulk such as a quarter of beef which gets us a great price. I cook almost everything from scratch. These things and more save us hundreds of dollars each month.

When added to the cost we’re not spending on child care, the comparison between my working outside of the home and my staying home makes staying home the clear winner. Studies show we’re not the only ones making this choice as child care now costs more than rent in many places.

With my employment and child care options as they stand, I’m happy with this arrangement. I love what my kids are doing during the day. Many days I am exhausted, but honestly this is the happiest I’ve been. Keeping a tight budget is a job in itself, and I’m proud of how I’m managing our home. It may not have been the original plan, but I’m hopeful to continue in this direction.

Запись I Turned Down Two Jobs to Stay at Home Because Child Care Costs Too Much впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

The author of this piece has asked to remain anonymous.

Women are catching up in the workplace — fast. Time Magazine recently proclaimed that within 25 years most American families will be financially supported by women instead of men.

I am part of that shift. When my husband and I began dating out of college our earnings were about equal. Within 5 years my earnings had tripled while his grew by just a few percentage points. By our seventh year together it was clear that I would be the primary breadwinner for the foreseeable future. But that position didn’t come with the appreciation, praise and support I thought it would. A lot of times it absolutely sucks, and here’s why.

1. I work hard outside and inside my home.

Never mind that I work long hours to provide for my husband and two children. As soon as work is done I’m often expected to clock into my second job at home cooking, cleaning and doing childcare. These responsibilities are still seen as ‘women’s work’.

2. America doesn’t know what it looks like for a husband to support a breadwinner wife.

A large part of the reason that domestic work is seen as women’s work is we don’t have any cultural scripts to the contrary. How many families are designed to support a wife who puts the food on the table? A husband who does this is still seen as emasculated.

3. Mommy guilt times a million.

Have you tried completing a work project while your kids begged you to read to them and play with them? It will make you feel like an absolute monster.

4. Guilt about limiting your partner’s earning potential.

In addition to the mommy guilt, I sometimes feel guilty about the fact that, because my career is taking priority, my husband’s career has taken a back seat and his earning potential is reduced. When I feel this way I must remind myself that my career path is objectively more lucrative, and my husband and I have both discussed and agreed that supporting me on this path makes most financial sense.

5. The judgmental family members.

Once my mother-in-law caught wind of my breadwinner status she tore into me, accusing me of emasculating her son and not spending enough time with my kids. Shaming and mommy guilt wrapped up into one.

So why do I do it?

Because I cannot stifle my abilities to fit into a problematic society. I have to accept who I am and be the change I want to see. Women are not the weaker sex. We are fiercely intelligent, responsive and resourceful, and it shows in our job performance and increasingly in our compensation. When I feel guilty or ashamed about my giftedness, I remind myself that I am not the problem, the culture around me is.

My husband has come a long way since our early dating days. He is slowly beginning to understand that his masculinity is not defined by how much he earns and this helps tremendously. I let him know that outside of providing money there are many many ways he can provide for us and protect us. I also take heart knowing that, throughout history, societies that value and elevate women’s contributions have existed and thrived.

But as I continue to work on my own home and marriage to be a space where I can give without feeling drained, I’m waiting patiently for the outside world to catch up. Because it’s hard out here for a breadwinner wife and mother.

Запись 5 Reasons It Sucks to Be the Female Breadwinner of Your Home впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

I remember my first night as a mother. I nursed my tiny baby to sleep, placed him in his crib, where he began to cry. So I calmed him, waited longer before I put him down, and yet he cried again.

Since his crib was already in our room, the transition to the bed was a very short walk. That night my husband and I took turns holding him while he slept, and we’ve had a kid in our bed ever since.

I have no doubt we could have trained our son to sleep in his own bed, but that little cry spoke to me.

Babies don’t come into this world equipped with many skills. They can’t hold their heads up. They are pretty much helpless, but what they have is their voices, their little cries. So that first night when my son told me he needed me, I answered and let him into my bed. Now almost 4 years later with him still in my bed, you might think I regret this decision, but I don’t.

Co-sleeping is a way of life for many families. Some statistics show that “that 25% of American families always, or almost always, slept with their baby in bed, 42% slept with their baby sometimes.” Other studies have shown that co-sleeping is more widely accepted in Asian, African, and Latin American countries where parents are more concerned about separation from their child versus lack of privacy.

I saw a mom who shared her family’s co-sleeping arrangement with their four kids ranging from a baby to an 11 year old. Many people had lots of negative things to say, especially regarding the seeming lack of privacy, but I respect these parents’ decision to do what worked for their family. I know safe co-sleeping works for my family, even though there’s now 4 of us.

Speaking with other co-sleeping mothers, I’ve seen our motivations vary.

One friend whose nursery was on the first floor but master bedroom was upstairs realized that if someone broke into her house, the first room they would come upon was the nursery. Once she realized that, she knew she couldn’t leave a baby or a small child there.That threat also extends to emergencies like a house fire. I like knowing that if anything is happens, my kids are already right there next to me, at least until they are older and more capable.

I know I don’t sleep as deeply with a baby in the room, but I see that responsiveness as a bonus. I worry less. I breastfeed easier and longer without supply problems. When I was working outside of the home with my first child, the most time we had together in a day was when we were sleeping. I was so glad to have that connection after being away from him all day. During that time of serious internal conflict of working and leaving my child, the nights with him reconnected our family.

When I became pregnant again, I worried that our co-sleeping arrangement might not work with two children and me and working from home.

I thought I might crave more space from my children after being with them all day. When I see their sleeping faces in my bed, I feel peace, love, and comfort. If I felt negatively, I’d work on a different arrangement because I’m not a martyr. I’ve just found sleeping is not where I seek privacy. I find that time in the shower, at the gym, on a run, or even just browsing Facebook while my kids nap.

Just because we co-sleep, doesn’t mean all my waking hours are spent with awake kids.

I’m a believer in naptime and bedtime. I write this now while my 3 year old is at least quietly “reading”, if not asleep in the bed, while the baby is asleep. Soon, I’ll pick her up and bring her to bed with me. She’ll shift her weight against me, ready to nurse and sleep some more.

As I approach four years into parenthood, I can see how quickly these 18 years will pass.

For perspective, my car is 15 years old. My husband and I have been together for 14 years. Our first dog is 12 years old. Years only seem to go faster as I get older. My car is breaking down. My dog’s face is nearly all white. Their time is coming to a close right in front of me, as my husband and I approach being together nearly half of our lives. My lap can hardly contain my leggy 3 year old as he “reads” me stories. This new baby who just arrived in August is now smiling, grabbing things, and trying to roll over. I have no worries about forcing them out. Their independence is coming without question.

One day my children will tell me they are sleeping in their own beds, and I will be proud as they reach that stage. Until then, I’ll scoot over and welcome them in.

Запись I Won’t Kick My 3-Year-Old Out of My Bed впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

When I tell people that I work from home, they usually congratulate me on my good fortune. I agree with them; since my employer made me a 100% telecommuter nearly two years ago, I’ve had nothing but positive things to say about the experience.

I fulfill all the stereotypes poking fun at people who work from home: I frequently work in my pajamas, Afro smushed in the back from a rough night’s toddler-interrupted sleep, eat breakfast and drop crumbs around my keyboard, without a single care about being judged for my appearance. Friends laugh when I describe my desk. This, they expect, because it’s what they’d do.
But when they tell me, “It must be nice having the baby home with you!” I have to backtrack. “She’s actually in daycare all day, ” I tell them. They nod and say okay as if they get it, but the puzzlement on their faces indicates otherwise.

In truth, it’s seemingly the perfect setup. Work from your guest room and save money on the commute, wear and tear on your car, save all that travel time (an hour and a half for me), and potentially save money on daycare. All the win in the world!

And yet I pay for a childcare provider to watch my 2 year-old daughter full-time. Why?

The complicated truth about being a work-from-home mother is that I still have to work, which means that, even if my child is physically in the room with me, I am mentally elsewhere. I believe my daughter deserves to have a fully present parent. It would feel selfish for me to keep her penned in the office with me when she wants to run.

I find it difficult to concentrate on spreadsheets and take care of an active 2 year-old. My daughter treats the world as her jungle gym, climbing, exploring, and crashing into her environment when she is not sleeping. If I kept her home with me, she would (rightfully) demand more of my attention than my employer would allow me to give her.

I learned this firsthand during her infancy. When she was five months old, I kept her three days a week because I was still breastfeeding. She was easy to please back then and spent most of her day playing with her toys on the bed next to my desk. But once she started crawling, she rolled dangerously to the edge of the bed. I realized I could not keep her safe as she grew more active.
In this current toddler stage of her life, I would rather my daughter (an only child) be in a social environment with other children. I want her to go outside and practice “playing nice.” At daycare, she is also learning fundamental concepts from her teacher. My job forces me to be stationary at a desktop computer, which means that I could not do much besides push toys and television at her, hoping she could entertain herself.

I love spending time with my daughter and would generally rather be with her than at home by myself. But my last reason for sending my child to daycare is a bit less pretty: I still covet that break from motherhood. Sometimes the silence in my home during the day is nice. Our time away allows me to re-charge and get ready to be fully attentive. When we reunite in the evening, we collide into each other in a blur of hugs and kisses.

I find myself explaining my reasons for daycare because the common perception is that families only send children to a provider because they have to. This is not true for my family: I choose childcare because it fits our situation. Our daycare provider is five minutes from my home and my employer graciously allows me the opportunity to clock out for family emergencies. In the event that the facility is closed unexpectedly, I am also able to keep my daughter without taking a day off work, even if it makes working more difficult.

If I could find a way to be a full-time mother and a full-time worker simultaneously without shortchanging either endeavor, I would shout it from the hills. But this arrangement is my compromise and I have made my peace with it. This is my motherhood.

Dara Mathis is a freelance writer, editor, and poet who lives in Georgia with her husband and daughter.  Her writing interrogates the politics of respectability for women, concepts of femininity, motherhood, and the intersection of race and gender. You can catch her tweeting reckless acts of punctuation on Twitter @dtafakari and at daratmathis.wordpress.com.

Запись Why I Put My Daughter in Daycare… Even Though I Work From Home впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

I recently read the book, 7 Myths of Working Mothers by Suzanne Venker, and I thought it was a thought-provoking read. She contends that most careers are just not accommodating to mothers who really want to spend time with their children.

But the idea that struck me most is the reason why many women — who want to be stay-at-home-mothers — end up working is because they didn’t plan for motherhood. Women who know they want to stay at home with their children need to be encouraged to actually plan for motherhood soon after college.

This made me think about my own choices, and those of many of my friends. A lot of times we have children that we have not particularly planned for or, at least, didn’t plan wisely for. So if we want to stay home, we either struggle financially or end up working outside the home.

I think it’s a good idea for young women with homemaking ambitions to think about and actively plan for the time they will be out of the workforce or working from home with young children.  Nothing is guaranteed, of course.  But imagine if a young woman spent the first five years or so post college working and saving and investing money precisely for the time when she will be a stay-at-home mother?

A woman could also focus on growing a home business that, in the future, could support her family while she stays home with the children. What better time to devote the endless hours needed to get a side business going than when you are single and/or childless? 

I only have one friend who followed Suzanne Venker’s advice.  She married right after college and worked for about five or six years in a successful job while actively saving money towards her future life as a stay-at-home mom. That is not the norm.

I often think about the time before I had children, and all the free time I had that I wish I’d devoted to developing a home business.  Of course, it’s never too late to do anything, but a woman’s single years allow her the most freedom to do what she wants.

Women who are single and/or childless, and desire to be stay-at-home mothers, should be encouraged to use this time now, while they have it, to pursue whatever dreams they have, and save and invest their money for the future.  It seems like common sense, but quite a few women don’t actually do this.  They’re living in the now, which is easy to do.

This advice also applies to women who want to stay in the work force and pursue careers after having children.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a nest egg already in place, and a life that is set up to support any decision she makes regarding work and kids. Planning can make all the difference between having the choice to do what you want to do versus doing what you have to do.

Here are 3 points from Venker’s book that are worth considering;

 1.  Choose a career that works well with motherhood
This includes careers that offer flexible schedules, options to work from home, don’t require a lot of traveling, and don’t require working long, demanding hours.

2. Plan to live near your parents or siblings.
Venker asserts that many women find that they do not want to raise a family with no family of their own nearby.  Having family support helps mothers combat feelings of isolation, provides respite so they can refresh and recharge, and provides overall support in undertaking the huge responsibility of motherhood.

3. Be responsible with your finances before motherhood
Financial mistakes made prior to having children can determine whether you will be able to stay home with your children or not.  Women should save and invest money, decline buying a house that requires two incomes, refuse to acquire a lot of debt, and possibly delay motherhood until finances are truly in order.

Ladies, what are your thoughts? Did you plan for motherhood? Why or why not? Do you wish you had? Share your experiences!

Запись Does Planning for Stay-At-Home Motherhood Begin… In College? впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

Before I got into blogging, I had a habit of trying different business ideas. The thrill of earning extra cash prompted me to try some pretty random things; selling vintage items on Ebay, cleaning houses, glittering cards for a stationery company, doing online questionnaires, selling natural hair products online, selling t-shirts at summer festivals and doing a monthly newsletter for a local business. Some of this work I hated, some I loved. Each experience taught me a little bit more about myself, and what it takes to start a business.

Here is my advice for getting started in home-based work.

1. Start with what you’re interested in, what you enjoy and what you’re good at. Everyone has talents and interest. Can you draw well? Are you stylish? Is your house always neat? Are your finances always in order? Is your hair always beautifully done? Are you funny? Do you mix your own beauty products? Do you make your own jewelry? At the heart, home-based work is about taking something you have an affinity for, and finding a way to earn money off of it.

2. Sometimes it’s just about doing things that others are too tired, unmotivated or busy to do. Can you do someone’s taxes and charge $75? Can you bake a cake for a friend’s party? Can you clean a busy friend’s house? Can you charge neighbors to watch their kids during the day? These ideas aren’t glamorous, but they’re solid and marketable!

3. It helps to be self-motivated and a self-starter. Certain personality types do best with home-based work; individuals who are organized and self-motivated to achieve short-term (keeping your days productive) and long-term (getting your business to profitability) goals.

4. If not, partner up with someone who is driven and organized. If you have a great idea, but need some help — partner up with someone you trust to bring it to fruition. I have found older family members (parents, grandparents, in-laws, aunts) to be a great resource for this. They tend to have more time on their hands, can be trusted with proprietary information and would welcome a chance to work with their child/daughter-in-law/granddaughter/niece.

But please be sure that whoever you partner with is reliable and will do their share of work. I once went into business with a friend who turned out to be unreliable. This destroyed both the business and our friendship.

5. Once you have an idea don’t overthink and procrastinate. Just do it. I know quite a few people who have ‘great ideas’ but are ‘waiting for the right time.’ Look… the right time is now! You’re really not going to know exactly what works as a business until you test it out, so the sooner is the better! The beauty of a home-based business is that it’s not a 9 to 5. There’s no contract to sign. No boss to report to. It’s essentially a project that you can start and stop at any time.

Also keep in mind that, in the 20s and 30s, life tends to get busier over time. If you think you’re busy now, you’ll probably be even busier a year or two from now.

6. Pick business ideas that require low to no overhead costs. Unless you have a wealthy benefactor (and most of us don’t), you’re going to have to scale your business idea down to its simplest form. If, for example, you want to start a daycare, don’t begin with buying signage and paying for a business license. Start by watching a friends’ kids for an afternoon to see what it’s like.

If you want to sell your own beauty products don’t start by buying expensive packaging and paying for marketing to ‘get your name out there.’ Start by mixing up some raw ingredients and selling them to friends and family, at a local farmer’s market (if they don’t require a business license) or at a church event.

Think cheap and think small, and remember that word-of-mouth can be powerful in the early days.

7. Don’t be discouraged at your earnings because, chances are, they’ll start out small. Instead of thinking of your earnings in terms of dollars and cents, think in terms of scale and net profit. Starting out, the priority is to get your business to profitability. Depending on what your business idea is, you might start out in the red, but — with a home based business — you should aim to be in the black within the first 6 months to a year. Once you are in the black, focus on scale. Say you earned $25 in your first profitable month of operation, aim to increase that by 25% from month to month. Identify the elements that are driving your profit growth, and expand on them.

Many businesses don’t become significantly profitable until the first 12 to 15 months. Until then, just focus on getting and/or staying in the black.

8. Your first few business ideas might not work. It’s common — even standard, for entrepreneurs to try and fail at ventures before they hit the right one. Don’t let it discourage you!

Black women and entrepreneurship
Recent studies have shown that black women are the fastest-growing entrepreneurial group in America! My theory is that we are catering to ourselves since so many of our needs are overlooked by mainstream commerce. I find this knowledge to be empowering. Your business idea might seem insignificant — but there’s a good chance that you’re serving a need that many women have!

Are there any home-based business owners/workers out there? Do you have tips to share? How did you start your individual businesses?

Leila Noelliste is the founder and editor of Baby and Blog and Black Girl with Long Hair.

Запись 8 Tips for Starting a Home-Based Business впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.

When I wrote “I’m a Jamaican Housewife“, I was protesting the disregard today’s society seems to have for the role of the homemaker. Yet, even before I detailed all the work that managing a home and family entails, I referenced my own grandmothers and their entrepreneurial ventures while they were stay-at-home-mothers (SAHMs). Today, we call them work-at-home-mothers (WAHMs) since they were actively generating an income from their homes. But, that was fifty years ago when a woman had no choice but to stay at home. The 21st century mother has had society’s expectations change completely, making a successful career her priority, while the terminally ill economy has forced even the best-intentioned of mommies to end up on the payroll.

But, technology has changed the way business is done and as such, many occupations no longer require one’s physical presence to service clients or supply goods. All we need is an internet connection to earn a living and build a career. But, before I dive into a list of income-earners that are great for mothers who want to work from home, we need to go over some of the mental preparations necessary for making this new kind of occupation a success:

a. Assess Your Skills, Qualifications and Passions. In the same way a job recruiter would go over your resume and qualifications, you need to make some objective and realistic assessments about what you are competent to do. You don’t need to have years of experience or be any kind of expert, but you should have some interest, ability and motivation for your job of choice.

b. Create a Tentative Schedule. All jobs require time! Some jobs come with their schedules, while other jobs will require you to carve out your own. Determine how much time the job requires and find a balance with managing your family life. Your loved ones will need to know your new schedule and support you by respecting this time like they would a commuted job.

c. Plot Your Transition Strategy. Once you’ve identified the job and what it requires of you, you will need to make some lifestyle changes to facilitate the new duties. This means that some of your responsibilities will need to be shared with your spouse or other loved ones, and therefore you will need to draft a plan for modifying your daily routine.

d. Tap Into Your Professional Zone. Working from home allows you to be in your comfort zone, but this does not mean you should be too relaxed and neglect the job or your clients in any way. Many WAHMs find it very helpful to get ‘dressed for work’ so they get into the mindframe for being professional and productive, while doing everything possible to manage their time efficiently.

With those preliminaries  taken care of, we can look at these ten jobs out of the deluge of work opportunities that WAHMs have been diving into:

1. Catering
Food sales and servicing is great for you if you are keen on making cakes, natural juices or pastries. If everyone raves about your cooking, you should consider catering for events or delivering breakfast snacks or lunch to businesses.

2. Tutoring
If you have the space at home, you may receive students who need private tutoring in one or more subjects, like Math or Computing. Or, you may be able to start a homeschool co-op for other like-minded parents. Many people are also willing to attend webinars to learn skills like pastry making, make-up artistry or to study a foreign language via Skype.

3. Retailing
If you are a great salesperson, you may want to get into social/commission-based sales (like Avon), use social media pages to retail clothing and accessories or sign up to make sales (on behalf of major companies) through drop-shipping.

4. Desktop Publishing
If you’re technically inclined, have impressive document preparation skills or know your way around photo-editing software, you may be the right person for creating flyers, brochures, t-shirt graphics, a website banner or e-book covers.

5. Product Development
If you have a creative streak and basic production know-how, you may want to launch your custom-made jewellery, haircare line or cloth diaper collection. With resources like eBay, Etsy, Pinterest and free blog spaces, your living-room could become the factory for your product line.

6. Child/Senior Care Service
You could open up your home to offer daycare and babysitting services, or you may want to run errands and be a shopping aide for the elderly in our community. Either way, you’d be putting your nurturing skills to work for you.

7. Support Service
Virtual assistants are just as popular as call centre agents, data entry clerks and social media managers. These positions allow you to provide customer support for major corporations or be the personal aide to busy executives.

8. Freelance Writing
Both students and journalists are in need of your skills in research and editing, and if you’re a gifted wordsmith, gigs as a copywriter or blogger will keep you busy. Plus, with the popularity of e-readers, ghostwriters for e-books are in demand.

9. Beauty/Wellness Practitioner
The hectic schedules and stressful lifestyles that are becoming the order of the day, make personal beauty and wellness services necessary luxuries. Whether it’s your hobby or you’re vocationally trained, the in-home services of a nail technician, reflexologist, loctician and masseuse are a special treat that many persons are willing to pay for.

10. Farming
The growing concerns we have about food quality, mean it’s time to put that green-thumb and extra yard space to use. You may choose to grow organic produce, raise free-range birds, build a nursery for potted herbs or design container gardens.

However, you slice it, the decision to stay-at-home doesn’t always mean living on one income or death to your career. We are mothers in the age when we have a chance to take back the reigns of home and family management. Our privilege is that we are raising children in a time when we can be there when they get home from school and still be freelancers, entrepreneurs and game-changers. Many have joined the ranks of the work-at-home-mommy. Will you?

Ladies, have you tried any of these jobs on the list? What would you add?

Didan Ashanta is a natural living enthusiast who blogs at DidanAshanta.com. A native of Jamaica, she currently lives in Tokyo with her husband and 9-month-old daughter.

Запись 10 Interesting and Meaningful Work-From-Home Jobs for Moms впервые появилась Baby & Blog | Celebrating Black Mommyhood.