Becoming a Work-At-Home Mom: Introduction

As you probably know if you've read here with any consistency, my husband and I tend to be out-of-the-box thinkers. We don't like to be confined by the status quo.

Many people think of an 8-5 job as their family's primary or only source of income. We, on the other hand, only see Jesse's job as an attorney as one of our sources of income. And since the time we've been married, we've been on the lookout for additional creative ways to increase our income.

When first started trying to come up with things we could on the side, we really had no idea where to start. Neither of us had much experience or training and we racked our brains to come up with ideas. We read a lot of books, researched many different things online, spent much time learning from those who were much more experienced, and started trying things. We had a number of total flops and a number of business attempts which will forever be listed in our "hall of shame" (most of these were my bizarre ideas!).

By the grace of God, though, we refused to give up--in spite of failure. Little by little, we started finding things which actually worked and we began to see some fruit from all of our labor. Over time--and with lots of research and effort!--we've found quite a few things which really can contribute a significant source to our income every month. These side incomes have not only allowed me to be able to be a stay-at-home mom, but they have also enabled us to be able to save a significant portion of money towards paying cash for a home.

I often receive emails from women who feel in a desperate situation financially. My heart goes out to you as I well remember how hard those beans-and-rice days were. But the things I've learned over the past six years of have my own businesses have taught me one thing: no matter what situation you are in--even if it seems very dire financially--you can get creative and find some simple ways to decrease your outgo and increase your income.

When there's a will, there's a way. Don't give up hope! It's a whole lot of work, but it can be every bit worth it!

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I've received many, many requests on the subject of earning money from home recently so beginning next week, I'm going to share my own personal journey to becoming a work-at-home mom in a series here. I'll be talking about things I've learned along the way, and will also share a plethora of ideas of things you can do to earn from home. I hope it can be an inspiration and help for those of you who are interested in working from home.

As part of this series, I'd also like to include guest posts from those of you who are work-at-home moms. If you are interested in being featured as part of this series, please email me for further details.

Do you have any specific questions you'd like to see addressed in a series on working from home? If so, please email me or leave a comment on this post. I can't guarantee I'll be able to answer it, but I'll do my best to address it in this series.

Comments

[audra pawelek]

sounds great. can't wait to read. i love your post.

[Olathe mom]

I, for one, would love to hear a humor post on some of the failed ideas. ;)

[Wendy]

This is great!!! I'm excited and cannot wait to read your posts!!!

[Milk Donor Mama]

I do some freelancing at home for ehow.com in addition to working a full time job and I have a DD who's almost 3 and hope for another soon (I just had a miscarriage).

My questions about transitioning to full time work from home:
1. how to manage time while also caring for the kids and not running yourself ragged?
2. How to prepare for the taxes- do you prepay quarterly? Are you incorporated?

[Stefanie]

I recently lost my job and am a "play-at-home" mom now. We do ok on hubby's salary, especially with me now being a Coupon Queen lol. I will be looking very forward to this series, as I have been racking my brains trying to think of something I could do on the side. So in advance, Thanks!! I know it will be a great series!

[emily holweger]

This couldn't be more timely as I just finished praying for God's will on this very topic!

[Carmella Dennin]

Very excited to hear more!

[BrownThumbMama]

Can't wait to learn from your experience. We have a plan, but it means I'll be working until the house is paid for...could be 10 more years! That's way too long.

[Marrisa]

Thank you so much for starting this series. I know there are a lot of us stay at home moms out there that are looking for way to work at home. I look forward to future posts!

[Rachel]

thanks for your post! my husband and i are maybe a bit like you and your husband in that we dont want to fit into a mold. my husband is starting a law practice soon and i would love some thrifty ideas for advertising. 100's to 1000's of dollars a month to advertise in the phone book really disheartened me. maybe other readers might have some ideas worth trying out.

[Savanda Hodge]

Thank you for sharing...can't wait to get inspired!

[Cari Griffin]

I am very anxious to read your series! Thanks for taking the time to post about it!

[Julia]

Just what I have been looking for! I have looked into some of the "work-at-home" stuff online, but all of them have seemed like scams. So I haven't tried any of them, not knowing who to trust. Knowing that you have been through the Dave Ramsey seminars and that you are christians, I think you are the REAL deal. Thanks for all your hard work. I look forward to reading and researching what you've found works. Thanks again!

[Sarah O'Neill]

I am looking forward to hearing about your journey. I too have always looked for creative way to make money, and/or save it for my family. I enjoy staying home with my children, and hope to be able to do so for many years to come and not have to worry about money.

[Cortney]

i'm definetly looking forward to this series. If you could incorporate it in this series or in the future write a little about balancing working at home, being a wife, mother, and also a homeschool teacher amoung other things I would love that. Thanks!

[amy]

I'd love to see you address how you schedule your computer time. I am able to work from home, part time for the company that I worked for full time before my son was born (3 years ago). I'm expecting another baby in December and just feel like I'm not balancing my computer time with the rest of my "home-work" responsibilities.

While the extra income is nice, I'm not sure at what point I decide that its not worth it. The new baby coming REALLY has me considering this a lot!

I don't know how you do it with three. :)

[Erica]

Ooooooh! I am so very excited!

[Shelby]

I'm so excited. I've always wondered - do you have more than 2 substantial streams of income - coming from your husband's job as an attorney and your blogging? I can't wait to read whatever you have to say on the topic. You know what your talking about.

[Holli Justice]

I have worked from home with a well known direct sale company for 2 years. It has allowed me to continue to be a stay-at-home mom. Yes, it is work. It isn't just a "sign up and you'll be successful" fix. But I love it and am actually making enough money to pay for the groceries and pay down some debt. It has been a blessing from God for our family.

[Amy Ellen]

Hi Crystal,

I think this series is a great idea. I wonder, since you will be homeschooling more and more as the years progress (and, possibly, as the number of children in your family increase)... do you forsee having to scale back on business? Would you mind sharing your long term business goals with us? As in, will you take breaks or curb your business efforts? Or do you have plans to balance it all?

Thanks, Amy Ellen

[Jennifer]

My husband & I are trying to transition into this mode and I can't wait to here some ideas from home. We are following Dave Ramsey and are trying to get our debt paid up so anything would be a great help towards that goal.

[shannon]

I also can't wait to read this series. I was laid off from a teaching job in May, six days before I had my first baby. My husband makes less than I did teaching, so needless to say, on just his salary and with a new baby (and living in a major East Coast city), times are very tough. I have been investigating working from home, but like Julia above, I am scared of scams so that has prevented me from acting. I have put out ads for tutoring but no one has responded... I think times are tough for a lot of people! I am looking forward to hearing some ideas for working at home that are practical and realistic! Thanks!

[Meagan]

I'm getting into teaching online. Most schools offer Associates degree programs and several larger schools don't require a teaching degree; just significant experience in your field. It's a great idea for someone who is recently laid off. They do require a Masters degree to teach at the Associates level. It is time-consuming, but gets easier as you usually teach the same courses over and over. It's fun, though, and I like being a part of the online schooling "movement," mostly because I feel as if I'm really helping people who want to better themselves through education.

[Gena Layton]

I am really excited about this series!! I KNOW it will inspire many moms and you are helping so many families--good job and thanks so much for all your hard work to help all of us!!

[Mandi Gurnsey]

I am really excited to read your series. I am a work-at-home mom too and was always trying this and that to get our standard of living more comfortable. Three years ago we felt led to start a new venture and now we are well on our way to total freedom (we only have our mortgage left, and only 9 years at that, if we can keep ahead!). Dave Ramsey has been a source of great wisdom and practical advise for us too, and we are livin' like nobody else now, so we can live like nobody else later! lol! We live way out in the boonies so there are no regular walmart (3hrs away), target(2.5 hrs away), and walgreens(3 hrs away) trips to help get free and discounted items. But I have learned some secrets about small town living that make it possible to live on a $20-40/week grocery budget, too! Thanks for what you do to inspire us moms to go above and beyond the extra mile!

[LeAnne]

I am really excited for this series! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Our plan is for me to be a stay at home mom when we start having children. We're thinking about starting that process within this next year so I'm very curious to hear ideas of being home and bringing in some additional income.

[Jen@Balancing Beauty and Bedlam]

Wow - look at the response you're receiving within minutes of posting. This will be what many women need to hear.

Working at home on and off for the last ten years, it has been a journey, for sure. I have some of those "hall of shame" stories and the fact you mentioned that cracks me up. But any good business person will tell you that needs to happen to really make yourself into a seasoned entrepreneur. Don't "they" recommended 4-5 different streams of income? We've been talking about that a lot as well with in my extended family - all entrepreneurs who've made a killing and then lost it...made a killing and then lost it. Hopefully, we're all on the upside of that now. :)

[Summer]

I wouldn't mind contributing. I run a self taught blog design business, sell things on etsy and ebay and receive many items for free for doing blog reviews.

[Lynette Bledsoe]

I too am interested in what you have to say and am looking forward to your posts. I work part time as Christian Counselor and my husband works full-time outside the home. We have four children, three of them being teen boys who eat everything and then some. I am looking for something to supplement my income and would enjoy working from home.

[Gena Smith]

This is an answered prayer. I really need to make money from home. I've tried several home based businesses, but it was difficult to do because I had to do "parties". I would love to be able to work directly from home. Thanks for doing this. Your blog is a blessing and I can't wait to read more.

[Patty]

Please write ASAP.. I used to work before my son was born, hes 7 months now. My husband just was laid off and is working whatever he can. God bless him but baby full time is not something he can handle right now. I would really like to do something at home but dont want to get caught in scams and such. Cant wait to read what really works! and doesnt :( Thanks for saving my family so much money these last few months...

[Penny]

I am excited to see this. Newly wed, and new baby on the way, I am not stoked about the idea of finding affordable/quality daycare (that will also have the routine I'd like for my child in infancy as far as sleeping and eating scheduling), but we're a couple hundred short each month (thanks to healthcare) if I quit working. *sigh*

Anywho--hope you'll show me a new approach to try!

[Jessica]

Crystal - this sounds like a great series. I am always interested in the information that you share with us readers. And - I think you must feel great ALL the time to be able to pull off all the many things that you do!

[Kathryn Buntyn]

I'm really looking forward to this! We have a work-at-home idea in the works for me, so hearing from you about the "yay's" and the "oops" of home based businesses should be great!

Thanks!

[Julie]

I work from home as a direct seller (Tupperware) and would love to write a guest post about direct selling.

I'm really looking forward to this series!

[Kari]

Like the others posted before me, I am really looking forward to this series. Hubby and I are trying to transition me into being a stay-at-home (I've got 87 more days) and I'm really looking forward to it, but I would love to bring money into the house as well - feel as though I were contributing in a more monetary fashion.

Thanks in advance! I know I'm going to learn a LOT from you.

[julie]

I'm looking forward to this series. Before our son was born, my husband and I decided I would not go back to work until our son was in school full-time. I was a teacher, so if I go back to that kind of job, I will be home when our son is home. That's two years away, and I don't have any desire to return to the regular work force. A work at home situation sounds great.

[Erin]

I'm excited about this series! I'm a huge proponent of multiple sources of income for a family. My husband and I have a business I work from home, and he has a day job. Both incomes our a huge blessing to our family. We are praying for God to open some other doors and give us new ideas for a new business so we can start saving and giving more money.

I've never commented on you page before so I just wanted to say thanks for being such a blessing to me and my family. You have taught me so much this past year!!

[Aimee]

I am very lucky to have a work-at-home job in my profession. This allows me to use my college education and training and be home most of the time with my kids. Though I have been doing this for three years, I still have a hard time juggling work and the kids. Do you have any tips on getting your work done AND spending quality time with the kids when you are home? I try to spend some time with my husband in the evenings after the kids go to bed and sometimes have a hard time squeezing everything in.

[Christina]

Great idea! I would love to hear about taxes and health insurance (maybe from a guest poster who is self-insured). My husband is about to become self-employed, and our plan is for me to become a self-employed contractor next year (working with my current employer). Taxes and insurance are the big unknowns for us--how and when to report taxes, how/where to find insurance and what types of plans are best.

On the topic of insurance, I'd REALLY like to hear if any moms have had babies on individual plans? I'm having a hard time finding a policies that covers more than $2,000 of it, unless we're willing to go Kaiser.

[l p]

WOW WOW WOW !!! What a great idea! I am sooooo exited and can't wait to read it. Thank you so much and bless you.

[Melissa]

Can't wait to read this. I would love to know how you juggle your time. It seems to take most of my time to clean, cook and take care of the kids. It is hard to find time to also do a home business and have time to spend with my husband.

[Rhonda Devine]

We, too, have found many creative outlets for increasing income and keeping the outgo to a minimum. Women can be such a helpmeet in this area and encouragement to their husbands by making all he brings in go as far as it can and finding ways to make extra monies on the side~their are numerous possibilities.
With the jobless rate at almost 10%~wouldn't it be wise for women who are bringing in secondary incomes to be able to come home, find creative ways to stretch or create wealth from home, thereby opening up some of those jobs for primary "bread-winners". We have learned through a 35% paycut in the last year, that we can live on less and even prosper by changing the way we thing. You can do it!

[Heather]

I would love a stay at home job, so my question is what do you do, and where to you find real work instead of the rip offs that have you buys a package and basically don't help you are all!

[Rebekah]

I'd love to guest post. I work at home with one main, full time job, and a variety of other income sources. What I do would be appropriate for people with certain "marketable" skills (I have a teaching license and music background, but can apply it to other industries as well) or even people without the training (since I do some of the things open to anyone).

[Jaycie]

As a blogger, the one thing I'd love to learn more about is great ways to balance time blogging/working with time with family. This is always the hardest challenge it seems---keeping up with it all and not "dropping the ball" on anything. :)

You are a true blessing!! Looking forward to your series. I'm always looking for new ways to get our house paid off as soon as possible so we can just "live" and give back even more than we already do.

Jaycie

[Meghan]

I LOVE this aspect of your blog, this really seems to be one of your niche's and its quite useful to us who need some words of wisdom. Looking forward to it:)

[Amy Keenan]

I would just like to know where you find the time with three small children and all you do.

[Kim]

I've been a work from home mom working in direct sales/management for almost 5 years. I would be happy to share information on this type of business, the good and the bad, as well as how to evaluate whether or not this type of business is right for your family without promoting the company I work for. I'm a strong believer that this type of business can be a blessing for the right person at the right time of their life. Unfortunately too many people jump without looking and end up with a bad experience.

[Angela]

Some information for Christina who was asking about having babies with individual insurance plans...it can be done! My husband is a pastor and does carpentry on the side and so he has always been considered self-employed. We have five children ages 12 years down to 6 months. When we had our first born, we were in one of the "share" programs where members contribute to each other's medical bills. With the other four (and several other babies that we lost), we have been with Kaiser. Our portion has been anywhere from $3000 to $7000 with each baby. All I can say is that if the Lord allows a conception, He will provide for the baby. It has taken sacrifice on our part (we still live in a very small house, drive older cars, and buy second hand), but I wouldn't trade my precious children for all of the money in the world! Doctors and hospitals will set up payment plans for you and as long as you consistently pay each month, they are very understanding. We have about $200 left on our bills for our 6 month old's birth. (Yipee!) I know that individual policies are not ideal, but this is our family's only option and it is how the Lord has provided for our babies. Once you hold that little one in your arms, you don't care how much he costs--he is priceless! Hope this helps.