Thanks to the rising costs of daycare and transportation and the desire to have a parent home with the children, today many moms choose to work from home. This arrangement is sometimes called “telecommuting”, and it allows parents the opportunity to set up a workspace in their homes to earn a living instead of having to leave the home daily.

They might also choose to start their own businesses, instead of working for another company. Working from home is rising popularity and the Internet is offering many different types of careers and business opportunities to moms. And for proof that the work at home dream is possible, be sure to check out the success tips from moms just like you in the Full Time WAHM eBook.

So how can you start a work at home career? This is a frequently asked question that can lead to a lot of confusion about on where to start. Here are just some of the work from home careers currently available to moms:

· Party Consultant (beauty, health, jewelry, home decor, adult, etc.) We all know about companies like Avon and Tupperware, but there are so many more opportunities for moms and they are still a popular way to earn an income. From home and garden products, to jewelry and makeup and even adult novelties, home party plans are great ways for moms to work from home. Earnings vary by company and commission schedule.

· Virtual Office Service. Are you a people person who likes to do customer service and to provide other office services? Then a client service job might be perfect for you. Many large firms are hiring Mom’s to work from home answering customer calls and providing other office support virtually. These jobs can pay between $8-12+ an hour. You can also start you own business providing customer service directly to clients and increase the amount you charge per hour.

· Selling on Auction Sites or Craft Boards. Many Moms sell their unwanted items on auction sites like eBay.com or sell their crafts on boards like Etsy.com for a source of income. If you are a creative person who enjoys making beautiful things or you want to earn a little extra money for the clothes your kids outgrow, why not sell them!

· Starting on Online Business. The Internet offers the chance for you to create just about any type of business they desire. Whether it’s creating an information-packed website that helps others (and earns money through advertising and selling products for commissions), creating your own products or selling products at wholesale, the choice is yours.

There are any number of opportunities just waiting to be tried by enterprising Moms looking for fulfillment and extra money.

Recommended Additional Resource:

Working from home doesn’t come without it’s challenges. Learn from 21 moms just like you have been there, done that. Full Time WAHM provides practical mom-to-mom advice on who to balance work & home and how to turn into a work at home success.

By Aurelia Williams, author of Balancing Work and Family

The trend of moms working from home to be near their children has grown in the last couple of years. Now that they have found jobs or businesses to run, they’re starting to realize that working from home is not as easy as they thought it would be. The work they do is hard to separate form their personal lives, which makes it hard to schedule time for work responsibilities and home duties.

The workspace these moms use to do their jobs at ends up being a part of their household, so that makes dividing work and home life even more difficult to do – and one of the motivating reasons for creating my Balancing Work and Family guide. Imagine that your office is a part of the dining room, which also happens to be the room where you eat your meals as a family. How easy is it going to be for you to leave your work life to be with your family when the office is 5 feet away from the dinner table?

The realities of dividing work and personal life can get smudged for work at home moms. When that happens, one’s stress level is sure to rise, which could jeopardize one’s sanity. To prevent your sanity from leaving, you should find ways to ensure that separation takes place between your job/business and your family life.

Assess the current situation. Try to find an area, within your home, to have your office so that it won’t interfere with your family life. The home office needs a room with a door where you can be apart from the rest of the house. A den or a garage can be converted into office space that is exclusive to your business. Some people have resorted to placing their office in the laundry room, just because it has a door! When that is not an option, set up shop in your bedroom to keep it away from the family areas.

Organization is the next step. A messy desk can be a huge distraction when trying to work. Everything needs to have its place. If you worked in an office, your boss would not stand for a messy work space. There’s no difference when you’re office is at home and not at the worksite.

Use inexpensive organizing items, such as baskets with separate compartments to help organize the odds and ends on your desk. You can keep rubber stamps, letters, invoices, pens, pencils, and the like in here. Organization makes finding things much easier, which results in a more relaxed work day.

Keep your business phone separate from the family phone line. When using the same line, you run the risk of your children answering business calls or picking up the phone during a conference call. This causes your professionalism to fly right out the window and takes your customers or employers along with it.

The same goes for the computer. It’s best to keep your business computer separate from what the other family members use, but budgets don’t always allow for this. In that case, make sure that the business/job files and documents can’t be easily accessed by anyone but you. This will help prevent some of the stress that could be brought on by family members stumbling on a client’s important document and accidentally deleting them.

Be sure to use calendars or planners as they are very helpful when trying to keep track of business appointments or deadlines and family appointments. This will lessen the stress of setting up family appointments when you’ve forgotten about business deadlines you have.

Consider hiring a sitter on days you have a lot of work to do. Being a work at home mom gives you the benefit of controlling your own schedule. Having a sitter keeps the kids away from your office and gives you quiet time to focus on your work and gives your kids a chance to have fun without you feeling too guilty.

Mixing business with family in the home setting can be a major source of stress. Keeping the business side of your life organized and separate is crucial to success in keeping your stress levels down and your sanity intact.

Get More Help:

Working at home can be extremely rewarding, but it’s challenging. Get the help you need with Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family. It’s your practical guide to tracking your time, setting priorities, learning to say no and achieving that balance you strive for.