WORKING FROM HOME

When I first became a Mom I was so excited (and a little nervous) to stay home and raise my daughter.  I didn’t want to send her off to daycare and just see her in the evenings and weekends.  I was also fortunate enough to have a husband completely on board with it and able to support us on his salary alone.  Not everyone is this fortune and I do count that as a major blessing in my life.

My plans were never to work from home.  We were comfortable financially and I loved it!  We began homeschooling and added our second daughter to our family and of course, our spending increased.  We were still good but getting a little tighter.

By the time my oldest was 7 years old, we had lived in 6 states, started homeschooling, gave her a sister, and entered the world of competitive dance.  To say our spending increased is an understatement.  Life had changed.  The economy had changed.  Our family had changed.  So…Finding a way to work from home became a necessity.  That’s the tricky part – I needed it to fit my crazy schedule.  Here are some of the ways I have done it so far.

Entering the Blogging World

I entered the world of blogging with this glorious idea of sharing my life (the good and the bad) and making so much money that I would retire my husband and we would begin traveling the world while homeschooling and blogging about it.  Well, I live in Kentucky and I have yet to have a need for a passport.

It’s funny how we can have such grand ideas yet still be totally happy with how things work out when they don’t materialize the way we dreamed them to.  The amount of time and money you truly need to sink in to grow your blog that way is just not something that has ever been that important to me.  I enjoy my life with my family and I don’t want to miss a thing with them.  So my “blog life” only happens around my family life.  I do have an income from it it’s just not sending us around the world.

Becoming a Virtual Assistant

Along with blogging comes the world of social media – whether you like it or not.  Some truly dislike social media, I, however, have grown to love it.  We have moved so often that it’s wonderful for keeping up with friends and family I don’t get to see otherwise.  But using social media for business was all new to me so I began studying (like any good homeschool mama).  Soon I was comfortable enough to venture out and do this for others and I created my company Sweet Chix Virtual Assistants.

I have truly loved getting to know my clients and helping them grow their businesses.  It’s been a crazy wonderful ride so far and I don’t see it slowing down any time soon.  Mamas, helping others with their blogs, social media or creating images can be a fantastic job to work around your homeschool and family schedule.

Becoming an Independent Consultant

This is a recent one for me.  I used to look at these companies as ladies who had to have party after party after party.  I thought you would work harder not smarter.  But after finally deciding to take the plunge when I fell in love with a product I can tell you it is all up to you!  You decide how you are going to run your business.  Some do have tons of parties.  Others (like me) choose not to.

My 2 businesses, Mary & Martha and Young Living are incredibly flexible in that way.  You don’t have a quota to meet but you do have massive incentives for those go-getters.  I fell in love with essential oils from Young Living and their cleaning products. I’m now building a business and my income is growing wonderfully.  But if oils aren’t something you can see yourself becoming passionate about Mary & Martha is a beautiful inspirational line of home decor and so so much more.  These would be wonderful companies for any homeschool Mama.

I hope this helps you if you’re in need of an extra income for your homeschool family.  I know these options have all been a blessing for us.  If you have any questions about any of this or maybe just want more info please don’t hesitate to email me or comment below.  This is just a quick overview of how I have been able to financially help my family from home around our homeschool dancer lifestyle.  I’m more than happy to dig deeper into any of this for you!

Love Life, Love God, and Live For HIM…