Before I start today’s post, I want to say something important.  Being a stay at home mom is enough.  There are enough dishes to wash, clothes to fold, ironing to do, toilets to scrub, stories to read and noses to wipe to keep a mother busy all day.  Adding a home business will add to the stress and some things won’t get done as well as if mom was only mom.  If a home executive is good at her job, the money she saves her family is easily worth 6 figures a year.   But there are times when saving money isn’t enough.  There has to be an income to save and when Dad is maxed out on his time and energy, there are things a Mom can do to help.  It should be a joint decision, because Mom in business will make things harder for everyone.  Sit down together and discuss the best and worst case scenerios and decide if it’s worth it before you jump in.  If you choose to make your only career a home executive, that’s not a choice to feel guilty about.  Do your job well and you’ll be worth your weight in gold!

For those of you convinced that a home business is the best for you, there are many options available to you.  You can start a business designed by someone else (commonly known as direct marketing–like Mary Kay, Tupperware, or Thirty-One.)  You can work from home in a generally recognized field that requires a degree or certificate (like Medical Transcriptioning, Architecture, or Graphic Design.)  Or you can create your own business from scratch centered around the qualities that make you shine.  We’ll discuss the previous two types of businesses later on in the month.  This week, I’d like to walk you through some simple steps to start a business based on YOU.

First,  make a list brainstorming all of the things you enjoy doing.  They could be hobbies like scrapbooking, chores like cooking or cleaning, or office type activities like typing or graphic design.  Perhaps you like home decorating, organizing, inventing, fitness or business management.  Star the ones on your list that you would be doing whether or not you were in business. 

I love my Grocery Shrink business, because most of it is what I would do anyway.  My children can be involved in the process and help with recipe testing, cooking, photography, and filming.  There are still things I have to do without them (like writing the blog and developing new books.)  And sometimes those parts of the business can become overwhelming.  The nice part about my job is I can take a break anytime I want to, and no one will fire me.  When I’m ready, I can pick up where I left off.

Can you build a business around something you already do?  Perhaps it is an idea resource for scrapbooking, or a site to purchase instant downloadable curriculum that you developed and tested with your own children?   Whatever you choose, make it something you are an expert at, or something that you care so deeply about that you are willing to invest a lot of time learning to become an expert. 

Great areas to consider are ones that the average person like you, is concerned enough about that they would pay money for it.  For example, would you pay someone to give you the secret for raising neat and orderly children?  How excited would you be about finally finding a routine that gives you the energy and body that you’ve always wanted?   How much would you pay someone to turn your picky eaters into healthy food lovers?  How about the secret to gently stopping terrible toddler tantrums within a few days?   Would you love it if someone planned nightly Christian devotions geared toward your young family, complete with a simple downloadable craft, game and snack that all reinforced the lesson?  If you are interested in it, chances are there are a lot of other people who are too.

It’s important to know who else out there is building a business in the same area you are interested in.  Just because there are a lot, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.  There is always room for a new face to climb to the top.  You just have to do it better (with your own unique twist) than anyone else out there.

Your Homework:  Narrow your list of interests down to 1-3 things that you enjoy enough to create a business.  And meet me back here tomorrow for the next step.

In each area of business, there are a multitude of ways to make them earn money, and to allow you to step back and share the workload, either with a team, or with a computer automated system.  We’ll look into some of those tomorrow.