work at home

Top 7 Tips For Stay at Home Moms and Dads to Earn Online
By Haze Spehar

I used to get up every morning, get my kids ready for school or the babysitter, and then try and get myself ready for work. I could only work minimum wage jobs, so I was making about a dollar or two an hour, after childcare, gas, uniforms, etc. You know what I mean. I often wondered why I was even going to work, I was losing quality time with my children. Do you know that heart-wrenching feeling you get when your babysitter tells you that your baby took his first step? Or said his first word? I know it all too well, and that is why I made it a point to be able to work from home, so I could be here to watch my children grow.

I am not going to tell you it's easy, or you're going to get rich in a day or week. That is not humanly possible. Well, maybe if you hit the lottery it would be, but let's be realistic here. I don't know your current situation, but I have told you mine. I assume you are struggling with the same issues that I was. You have to work to pay the bills, but you want to be a mom or dad to your kids, too. And, after paying everyone else, there was barely any money left for bills. I am about to tell you a few things that may change your life, and make you much, much happier!

#1: Work at home Parenting: You DO have to set special time aside for work, and work alone. If your kids are in school, that would be the perfect time. If you have very young children, a good time would be nap time, and bedtime. Although you're going to be tired yourself, stay up for an extra hour or two. It is well worth it.

#2: Keep all of your work papers organized, and in an out-of-reach place. I didn't do this when I started, and it was a disaster! I wrote notes and ideas in a notebook that I kept at my computer, and when I tried to look up something, there was scribble all over the place. I bought a 3-ring binder, and put it on top of my fridge. Ever since, it has been smooth sailing!

#3: If you are thinking of having your own business, make sure to tell your customers that you have children. This will make things much smoother. When I started, I never even thought of telling anyone. A few of my customers were getting annoyed because I would be trying to talk to them, but they couldn't hear me over my kids! (you know that even when your kids are out of the room, and behaving, as soon as you pick up that telephone, it sound like world war 3 started in your house!) After I started to tell my customers that I had children, and I apologized for any inconvenience BEFORE I spoke with the customer, I didn't get anymore bad reactions from them.

#4: There are lots of ways to make money online, and I have found that I can make more money from just working on my computer than I was when I went to work at a brick-and-mortar store. And it's all mine! No gas, uniforms, babysitters, etc. Not to mention that since I have no college education, I can't have a 'career', I can only work at fast-food places. Which, you may already know, REALLY wears you down fast. Then you have to come home and take care of your kids, and try to get in a whole day's work in about an hour. It just doesn't work. There are so many choices for you online: paid surveys, affiliate marketing, online auctions, and more!

#5: Research: You HAVE to research all of your different options before you start working online. Read what other people have to say about certain fields. What works for one person doesn't work for everyone.

#6: Keep with it. When I first started, it was hard. I didn't have a balance between my home life and my work-at-home life. You have to find your own way to even these out, or you're going to go crazy. The way I do it is I get up, get the kids off to school, come home and work online for an hour or two. Then I do some housework, get the kids from school, eat dinner, and when they are done with their homework, when they are watching tv, I usually have an hour then. If not, it's no big deal, I spend an hour or two online after they go to bed.

#7 Do what you love, and love what you do. This is so very, very important. Work is work. But when you find something that interests you, you are so much better at it. You are more devoted to it, you are willing to learn more about it, and it won't feel so much like work. You have to be excited about earning an income online, it is very easy to just say 'I don't feel like working today.' But that one day leads to the next, and so on, then when it is payday and you have a check for 0.00, you're going to wonder why. I know, I've done it!

So now you have an idea of what it would be like to work from home. It is still work, but YOU are the boss, and YOU keep your money. No babysitters to pay, no uniforms or career clothes to buy, heck-you can work in your PJ's all day! I have done that many times myself. You have to have the strength to hang in there when the going gets tough, because it will. But it will also get better, and probably much better than you had imagined. So now, find something you love, and get to it! In a month from now, you can tell me how much nicer life is, and less strenuous!

There ARE legitimate ways to make money from home, some easier than others. And different types of programs will work for different people. But NOTHING will work unless YOU actually SIT DOWN and DO IT. The easiest of all are paid surveys and affiliate marketing Start now and start making money this week, or wait and regret the fact that you haven't started earlier!

PS) Paid surveys very rarely bring in enough money for a substantial income, but they DO bring in extra money. With Affiliate marketing (don't let those words scare you, it's really not that hard!), the income potential is enormous. I have friends that are millionaires, and I also have friends that make a few hundred dollars a month, and are happy with that.

Honestly, your income level depends on YOU. How much you work, the avenue of work you take, etc. And when people laugh at you when you tell them what you're doing, just hang in there.... my husband did, at first. Now he can't stop telling people about what I do!