Resources for Working Moms
© Rachel Paxton
Now that I've been in the workplace for a number of years, I am finding that I'm ready for a change in pace and that I'd rather work at home. For the past 4 years I've taken steps to be able to work from home, but first I had to decide what I wanted to do and then I had to figure out how to do it. I knew it would have to be something I love to do, because I knew I'd have to look forward to getting up each day to go about my chosen work. I thought about it for a long time and made a list of my marketable skills. My list consisted of writing, editing, accounting, and computers. The last three things I had already been doing successfully in the workplace for quite some time. Writing was something I loved to do but I had never written anything except in college. It took a lot of courage for me to put my fears aside and start writing professionally when I had no idea how people would respond to my writing.
I started out doing freelance technical editing, because this is what I know best. I quickly realized that doing this all day every day and then freelancing on the side was just not going to work. It did not pay well enough to justify all of the lost sleep. I thought about doing bookkeeping at home, but faced the same dilemma. I eventually decided to start a newsletter to share my family's knowledge of homemaking skills with others. I chose a subject that was near and dear to my heart. Our family's financial struggles were first and foremost in my thoughts and in our daily lives, and I needed more motivation to stay on track and to keep finding ways to save money in every area of our lives. Well, the idea worked. I have spent only a relatively limited amount of time in the pursuit of this new business, and it is already paying off. In addition, the feedback I've received from my newsletter so far has shown me how many other families so desperately need this kind of information too and how much people appreciate what I'm doing.
