Last Updated on Dec 20, 2019 by James W
Ask any parent how difficult it is to earn a steady wage and look after their children properly, and they will tell you “very”. But while many parents are in a position of luxury, where they can reduce their working hours, or give up work altogether, there are those who’ve decided to make the sacrifice and stay at home to look after their children full-time, while the other partner goes out and works. But these days, this isn’t going to result in a luxurious lifestyle. In order for most families to keep their head above water, both parents have to work. And if you are on the receiving end of mounting debt, and you are considering making the move to working full-time yourself, before you get to that point, let’s make a case for how you can earn money while still being a caring and attentive parent.
Firstly, What Are Your Passions?
Let’s face facts, if we’re so desperate for money, we’ll take any job that comes our way. But if you want to earn money, especially if you’re looking at developing a side hustle of sorts, you’ve got to nail down what your passions are. We’ve got to do this for the very simple reason that it won’t feel like work in comparison to most other soul-crushing jobs! It’s hard enough for most parents to go from being a parent full-time to working full-time, and if you want to navigate the balance just right, you will have to determine what you want to do. Passions aren’t the same as experience, so even if you’re thinking about setting up some sort of parent-oriented business, you may find that your work life and home life blur into one, this doesn’t give you an escape. Figuring out what it is isn’t something that happens overnight, but if you want to go into money-making, especially because you’re struggling financially at home, then it can’t feel like work, because you will only end up resenting the fact you’ve had to “leave” your child for this.
Figuring Out The Practicalities Of Work And Life
On the other hand, if we’re so desperate for work, but our children take up so much about time, we’ve got to be careful that we don’t run ourselves down. As they say, being a parent is a full-time job, but if you’ve got no choice but to earn money, there are ways for you to earn a steady wage by working at home. There are many industries offering work from home opportunities now, and it’s a very appealing prospect, especially for most parents.
The idea that you can get your work done in the comfort of your own home while still keeping an eye on your children is, unsurprisingly, something many devoted parents would leap at, but they’re not in a position to do so. Maybe they’ve already built up a career and they would think it’s foolish to throw it away. As you can find numerous possibilities to work from home this doesn’t necessarily mean that you can do the work as and when you want.
Some organizations require you to telecommute, meaning that if you’ve got children hanging off you while you’re in the middle of a Skype meeting, this can add to your stress. When picking a job, it’s vital that you find the opportunities that can help you to be a better parent, rather than you neglecting your children for the sake of a wage. This is where freelancing can come in handy.
The Numerous Benefits Of Freelancing
Freelancing is a potentially lucrative prospect, but the big appeal for many parents is that they can pick and choose their projects. There are numerous freelancing websites out there have long-term projects and short-term tasks. What can be very beneficial for many parents when they’ve got to juggle the home life, family life, and fitting work around this, is that many of these projects can give you the chance to plan when you’re going to do these things.
You don’t have to “clock on”, as it were. So if you are up in the morning to get your children to school, then you’ve got to run errands, complete essential life admin, as well as give the house a quick clean, imagine having to go and work a full-time job on an afternoon or evening shift afterward? It would be exhausting. But when you freelance, depending on the tasks, you can fit them in around your lifestyle.
Freelancing gives you the opportunities to pick and choose your projects. Granted, at the very beginning, it’s more a case of “beggars can’t be choosers”, but the more you highlight yourself to be reliable, the more projects you are given, and a steady wage soon follows. The other great thing about this setup is that if it all gets too much, you can just put on the brakes, and take it easy for a bit. Because when you earn a little bit of money, and it provides that buffer you’ve been after for so long, the temptation can be to keep it up, and very soon, you will begin to treat this as if it’s a job.
But this is about earning money while being a parent; you can’t forget this! But the one other wait for you to have complete control over your earnings, when you work and, essentially, be your own boss, is run a business.
Why So Many Parents Are Setting Up A Home Business
Apart from the fact that it’s a great way to have control over your life, a lot of parents are setting up their own business because they have no other option. It can seem like a daunting prospect, but there are ways for you to earn a regular wage by being in charge of your own company without it seeming like you have to acquire a degree to make any progress. A very good example is the Amazon FBA business approach.
You become a vendor and sell products through Amazon, but Amazon provides the vast majority of the service, from the packaging to distribution. It’s hardly a surprise that so many parents are setting up these types of businesses under the umbrella of bigger companies, because it is, in many ways, a hands-off approach. And when you’re a busy parent, and you struggle to keep track of so many different strands, it becomes a very appealing prospect.
But on the other hand, you may wish to go it alone, as so many people do. But regardless of the way you do it, you’ve got to be aware what you’re taking on. A home business sounds like an ideal setup because you don’t have to go far, but when you throw into the mix being a parent, you may find this turns into an evening job. This is why you’ve got to have a passion for it. If you end up resenting the role, that it’s taking you away from your children, it’s going to feel soul-crushing.
While any busy parent can earn money now, the question is: how you want to do it? Anybody can go and get a job that takes them away from their families and earns a good wage, but when you’ve got a family that no career will get in the way on, but you still need to earn money, you’ve got options! If you don’t want to mop floors in the middle of the night, empty trash in offices, or work in a late night convenience store, there are ways around this.
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