Job Wanted: Must suit mum with small children, can work from home, flexible, doesn’t cost a fortune to set up, earns decent income.
I wouldnât be the only mum whoâs looking for more flexibility in their work. Coming from a full-time position with 8-hour days work life balance is a joke. When I went back to work after my first, I was lucky enough to have my mum care for my son every day, but I still found the mental load of mum-life, work-life and homelife extremely heavy and draining. I was missing out on so many firsts with my son and when I was home, I was so tired I barely had energy to play. Now with two sons I have spent countless nights restless trying to come up with ideas that will allow me to work from home and be there for school drop offs and pickups. Iâm seeking a job that allows me to work the hours I want whilst earning the same amount I was whilst working full-time..how hard can it be?
Turns out thereâs a reason so many mums have to go back to work after babies. Establishing a business or income from home that provides enough income is bloody hard. Not to mention the fact that even entertaining an idea is extremely expensive. Setting up blogs, buying inventory/materials, marketing all comes with quite a substantial initial investment which sometimes isnât viable whilst youâre living on parental leave payments.
For example, I brainstormed the idea of having my own baby clothing website. I research suppliers who quickly pointed out how much in advance you have to buy stock, and that they wouldnât even consider selling to you until youâve set up a website. Enter in another cost factor, setting up proper websites with payment options, logos and hosting even on a budget is close to $1000 minimum. Then add the marketing needed and small business insurance, itâs quite the risk for a stay at home mum to take especially if money is tight. Even if you do take the plunge and invest in yourself the hours required initially take you away from your babies the very people you are fighting to spend more time with.
In the great quest to gain financial freedom and work for yourself you may find youâve ended up spending money and time instead.
Iâm not particularly crafty so making something to sell would be quite difficult for me, but again selling your own work may also require selling at markets on weekends again being away from your babies.
Alternatively you could study something that allow you to work from home such as Marketing or Design but again thereâs a large financial and time commitment to make before any income is made, and you may need to return to work whilst studying again taking you away from your babies.
As a teacher I could hope that my Principal offers me part-time work but itâs rare and still wouldnât allow me to do school drops offs or pickups. I could tutor but this involves working hours when the kids are home, normally around dinner and again defeats the purpose of me wanting to spend more time with them.
I donât mean to dishearten you or your ambitions to work from home. You have every chance of succeeding in whatever goal you set. Even Iâm not giving up yet Iâm still going to try for my family. I guess that shows the world just how great us Mumâs are. Even when weâre working as full time Mummaâs and managing the household weâre doing extra work on top, always trying to make life better for our families. We are the heroes of multitasking and through all the hard work weâre teaching our children vital skills for life. Not to settle, to work hard, chase your dreams, and that family is the most important thing.
Good luck in your endeavours Mummaâs, and if you do come up with a solution for me let me know!
Mumma Z xxx
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