Advice for an aspiring SAHM

[mnolen82]

Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I am a mom to a 3, almost 4 year old boy. Ever since before he was born, I have had the desire to be a SAHM with him. My husband stayed at home with him briefly but it didn't work out due to my husband's poor ability to budget and his desire to work outside the home. I am the primary breadwinner but I still feel a desire tugging at my heart to be at home with my son, homeschool him, and perhaps have more children. I have been looking into jobs where I can work at home or opportunities to start a home based business. I guess I just have fear of taking the "leap" so to speak. I have had other people try to talk me into MLM businesses but I don't see the sustainability of these businesses. I have some small business ideas but they do require some start-up. I was wanting to start part-time and keep my other full-time job for now until I can get the business up and going. I'm afraid if I do this though that I will wear myself thin! Has anyone else gone through this? Any advice for me? Am I crazy? I've been praying and praying and praying about this!

 

[CelticRose]

Can you take paid holiday time while you start up from home & see if you can make things work? It will take 6~12 months for a small home business to really get up & running. We run an eBay business that was begun for my husband who became unemployed due to ill health. Three years later we do quite well with it but it did take quite some time to establish.

 

[Follower3]

Hope you find a solution, if you do please share XD
I don't know of a lot of home based businesses, the only ones i know of require constant talking on the phone which doesnt leave much time for you, and your son.

 

[ex-pat]

First advice...see if you can talk to someone from SCORE (service corps of retired executives) about options, angles, and niches for your business, and for advice for compiling a business plan, including how much money, realistically, you will need to cover expenses and make a profit. With a professional business plan and solid advice, you can then begin to apply for grants for small business start-ups, women in business start-ups, and others.

 

[ciaomamma]

I think it's natural for a mum to want to be with her child/ren and you seem to be very realistic about doing so in a way that will work for your family.
I was never even close to being the bread winner and losing my income has been felt (since I became a sahm) so I think it's a good thing that you're looking to have an income however if you want to be a sahm an have a home business you might find that you'll be just as busy just in a different way.
Could you perhaps commit to budgeting and living off your husband's wage for a period of time and see how you go? Maybe save your wages for your business or for when you're at home SAHMimg?
It think its too much expectation for you to be at home AND to have an income... Something is probably going to have to give.
Honestly tho we've made sacrifices since I've been sahm but because I have more time I also 'save' more money, I bake from scratch and I've learned skills like sewing, I research ways to save like frugal cooking and cleaning. I also have more time to chase a deal if I need something ill research a good deal or buy used instead of just going to the nearest store out of convenience...
Anyway I'm rambling now so good luck and hope things work out for you!

 

[akmom]

Everyone I know who had their own business described it as very time-consuming. Business owners tend to put in much more hours than traditional employees. Even if you were able to work AT home, I'm not sure you'd really be available to your son in a meaningful way. I work part-time for a company, and some of the prep work has to be done at home. Not a lot of it, but some of it. I have to set aside time to work on these things, whether it is during the kids' nap times, or having them watch a movie, or putting them in another room with my husband. Basically I can't get much done with interruptions. When I imagine "working from home" now, I stress about how in the world I could keep my kids occupied while I got it done. (And then, what's the value of being home?) So personally, I know not to pursue it myself. But the dynamics of each family are different, so do your research and talk to others who have pursued the same business, and decide if it's a viable option (both financially and time-wise).

Ciaomamma also has some good points. There is a lot of cost-cutting that you can achieve as a stay-at-home mom. Is it enough to make up for a full-time income? You'd have to figure that out yourself. I imagine childcare and transportation would be a huge chunk of that savings, increasing with the number of pre-school age children you have. With only one kid, the other parent doing the childcare, and your income being the family's main one... I'd be skeptical about those savings making the difference.