Business Plans Can Be Helpful

Business plans may be overkill in certain situations where your plan is to build a small business to supplement your family income. But, if you find yourself wanting to take it to the next step a business plan can help to raise funds from family, friends, banks, or angel investors. More importantly, the process of putting together a business plan truly helps clear out the cobwebs and fantasies by forcing you to piece together a sensible plan for how you’re going to succeed in your business despite the many obstacles, which you’ll have to contemplate while writing your plan AND include in your plan.

Personally I’d rather go to see the dentist then write a business plan but, it truthfully is a worthwhile exercise for any entrepreneur seeking to do more then simply earn an extra few hundred dollars a month.Thanks to the internet there are more resources to help you out then ever before. Simply do a search on Yahoo! or Google using something like ‘pet sitting business plan’ or something similar and you’ll begin discovering useful resources to guide you along. Two sites worth sharing with you cover both the no-budget do-it-yourselfers to the more serious entrepreneurs that know just how difficult and time consuming it is to put together a quality business plan.

The first is MoreBusiness.com that has been offering hundreds of free business plans for years. Even if you don’t find the perfect fit for your unique business you can learn a lot from reviewing plans for similar and even the not-so-similar businesses.

The second site is Masterplans.com that that creates quality business plans for their clients. While I hate spending money as much as the next gal I believe this service is worth considering if the business you’re contemplating is going to be of significant importance to your family’s finances. Their fees range from $1650 to $5000 for most business plans. It takes several weeks from start to finish and I believe you’d end up with a plan good enough to convince those who need convincing that you’re competent AND that your business has a good shot at succeeding.

Is Working from Home Really Possible?

Submitted by: Barbara Murtaugh

I never thought of myself as a stay-at-home mom. I liked the direction my career was going and always thought that I would work outside the home, even after my children were born. And that’s exactly what happened . . . until my son Sean was 3 years old. That’s when little sister Melissa joined her big brother Sean.
After the birth of Melissa, my husband and I decided that with the stress of both of us working full time, never spending any time with our children, and the rising cost of daycare, it was time for me to come home. The question was, “Is working from home really a viable option?” Would it be possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom to my children, and have an income from a job that I enjoy and that is beneficial to our family, both personally and financially?

And so I began my search. We’ve all seen offers promising us loads of easy money with minimal investments of time and capital. Unfortunately, we don’t as often seem to personally know anyone who has succeeded at these schemes. No, the fact is, that you really can’t get something for nothing. However, that doesn’t mean that working from home will not work. In fact, we’re seeing trends of more and more people choosing to work from home.

The benefits of working from home are clear: ability to have quality family time, to be available for your children and spouse, the flexibility to arrange and re-arrange schedules, not to mention commuting and daycare cost savings. There are many benefits of having your own business, the key is to find something that you are passionate about. I have found a company that I believe in and stand behind.

So how do people do this successfully? According to a 2004 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics*, there are nearly seven million people in the United States who are currently self-employed and are successfully working from home. What is their secret? The answer is setting goals and being disciplined.

Working from home has its challenges. When you work for yourself, the term “self-motivation” takes on a whole new meaning. Suddenly you are both boss and employee. There is no supervisor handing out projects or offering reviews. It is up to you to see the work, and to make sure it gets finished. On the other hand, you never leave your office. The computer and the phone are always right there, calling you to just finish “one more thing.” The trick is to find balance. For many people, that means setting up “office hours” and sticking to them. If you decide you will work from 8am until noon, Monday through Friday, that means that you sit down and begin work at 8am and when the clock strikes noon, you stop, knowing that you will continue again tomorrow at 8am. For other people a less rigid schedule may be a better choice, where they discipline themselves to work a set number of hours each day, but are not as concerned about when they work those hours. The common denominator is that in each case, a successful work-at-home story begins with work. Just like a traditional job, you must work to be successful.

And, working from home offers its own challenges to office hours as well. You have other family commitments that require attention. Children need lunches, help with projects, etc. Not to mention friends and family who see you at home so think you will always be available for them. It takes discipline to continue to work the hours necessary.

The other secret of success…….setting goals. It is extremely important to have a specific, realistic, measurable goal, and then work to achieve it. In some industries, these goals take the form of deadlines, in others it’s sales quotas. Sometimes, it comes down to a personal goal you are working to achieve. The important thing is to continue to work toward that goal and keep going until you achieve it. This is not the time for New Year’s Resolutions that are tossed aside within a few weeks. Your goal must be something specific you are working toward, and there must be a reward for achieving it. Sometimes that reward is money (payment), other times it might be as simple as splurging on something special or taking a day off.

Soon you’ll find the benefits of being able to integrate both personal and professional goals while working from home. For example, after the birth of my children, I was determined to lose the weight I gained during pregnancy. While I worked a 9-5 job, I did not have the time or energy to focus on this goal. However, within the last six months, I have reached my objective. Working from home gave me both the motivation, and the time to achieve what I set out to do. I’ve learned both discipline in time management as well as enjoying the flexibility and extra free time provided by working from home to work out and focus on our eating habits as a family.

Of course, the most important key to being a success is making the commitment and then taking the next step to just do it. It is always scary to take the first step on a new adventure, but the rewards can far outweigh the risks. And, before long you’ll find that you really are making money from home. You have time for your children and their needs, while still bringing in a paycheck. And, you are growing and developing both personally and professionally as you continue to grow a business where you are the boss.

Since starting my own business, my family’s lives have changed. We spend quality time together as a family, and my husband and I are growing our relationship because of the time that we spend together as a couple. We are focused on our health and are teaching our children the importance of a healthy diet and exercise. And, I have the ability to show other career-oriented moms that they can have a professional career where they can not only contribute financially, but also be home with their children and enjoy the important things in life. It is not always about money, but building relationships and helping others. So the answer is an unqualified, yes. Working from home is a very realistic and viable option, and could be the secret to improving the quality of your life along with the lives of those around you.

* “Work at Home in 2004” released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/cps

Authored by: Barbara Murtaugh. Barbara is an independent consultant with Work at Home United where she is dedicated to improving the lives of those around her by teaching them about non-toxic (green) products and mentoring others who want to work from home. She can be reached through her website at Loving Work From Home.

The WAHMs Toolbox - 100 Links and Resources

This site, Bootstrapper, has assembled a nice list of web resources for mompreneurs and WAHMs. They’ve organized hundreds of quality sites into sections including; ‘articles’, ‘blogs’, ‘networks’, ‘business resources for women’, ‘parenting’, ‘work at home resources and ideas’, ‘time management’ and the ever useful ‘miscellaneous’. Check it out here: The WAHMs Toolbox - 100 Links and Resources.