Two Six-Month Vacations a Year? SAHM (P) or WAHM (P). . . .

Okay, so we all know being a stay-at-home or a work-at-home-mom (or parent, hence the "P") is NO vacation. Whether you have a business you are conducting while at home or you're just trying to keep up with the day-to-day activities of keeping the house livable, keeping relatively clean clothes on small and large backs, planning, shopping for, preparing, serving and cleaning up after meals, car maintenance, house maintenance, gardening, hobbies (what? What are those??), Lord knows we who don't "work outside of the home" keep ourselves plenty busy with the business of life!



Many people ask me how on earth I am able to juggle three, four or five at-home business with the five children and the dog, and a husband who also works more than one job. I had a great conversation today with one of my very good friends who has recently joined an MLM in order to begin establishing a residual, passive income for her future while she transitions out of her marriage and her current full-time job as a mortgage broker. She pointed out to me that it's really obvious that I'm absolutely passionate about health and fitness, and I realized that this is how I am able to "work" these businesses; these are my hobbies and what I get a tremendous amount of enjoyment from. It is critical to your your success as a WAHM that you choose a business that fits your lifestyle. If you can't match black with grey, haven't styled your hair in 2 years and wear nothing but a wedding band, it's probably a stretch for you to dive into a jewelry, makeup, or accessories business. If your husband works nights or you are a single parent, a party-based business is probably not the best choice for you.

On the flip side -- in my circumstance, for example -- if you love fitness and strive to make keeping yourself healthy and in-shape a number one priority in your life, then a fitness or weight-loss product is probably right up your alley. I also happen to love food and wine, so I also became involved in companies who provide extremely high-quality food and wine offerings so that I could partake in the great packages available at sign-up, as well as the discounts for distributors.

The most successful work-at-home business is going to be the one that YOU love. The company that speaks to YOU. The products that YOU use. Anybody and everybody can become wealthy and create a stream of passive residual income in a work-at-home business. The reason many people do not is that they do not LOVE what they do; they do not LOVE their product, they do not LOVE the method of selling for the company they got involved in.

Here are the features of a work-at-home business you should consider if you're considering transitioning from a SAHM to a WAHM:

• Are there a considerable number of people in my "warm market" (family and friends) who already represent this product?
• Do I agree with, believe in, and get excited about the mission of the company?
• Is this a product I currently use, or know that I will use, personally?
• Is this a consumable product (therefore resulting in an ongoing income stream)?
• Do I know and understand the compensation plan for this program?
• Is the team I am considering joining highly successful and full of leaders in the company from whom I can learn?
• (If you love to travel) Does the company offer incentive trips? Where to?
• (If you need a new vehicle) Does this company offer a car incentive program?
• Are there multiple income streams as a distributor besides SOLELY my personal sale of individual products?
• Is this a "party-based" business, or one that I can exclusively conduct from home?
• What is the month-to-month cost of maintaining "active" status?
  
• Is the amount of product I am required to purchase on a monthly basis reasonable for my personal or family use, or resaleable?

Of course there are many factors one should consider, including the amount of time it takes to become profitable and the start-up costs. These are additional considerations to any business opportunity you might be presented with. I personally believe the most important factor is whether you are, or can become, entirely PASSIONATE about what you are doing. It is important to look at the history of the company, its profitability and who the management team is, how long the company has been in business, etc., but if it's a product or a program that you truly LOVE, it probably makes sense for you to get involved.

And like anything and everything else in life that is worth anything, it will take time, patience, practice, and an investment of capital in almost all cases before you'll start to see the big dollars. Most businesses -- work-at-home or otherwise -- take 2 to 5 years before they are profitable. This is a seen as a downside to those who would choose a "traditional" 9 - 5 job over starting their own business because you get paid "right away" when you are employed by someone else. This fails, however, to take into consideration the investment of time and money you may have already made in an education, degree, or training in order to acquire that 9 - 5 position in the first place. If you've gone $50,000 into debt for a Bachelor's Degree to get a job that pays you $35,000 a year to start, you're going to be behind the 8-ball for quite a while in terms of showing a real profit at your J-O-B.

If you love the flexibility of making pancakes for the 3rd grade Mardi Gras party, being able to take a 2 pm nap with a sick toddler, and not having to pay others to watch your children while you work, transitioning from a 9-5 to a work-at-home business might be a great option for you to consider. Start investing your time and money into building that business while you and your children are relatively young, and you'd be surprised at what kind of income you might be earning by the time all of those babies are in school full-time, and what kind of enjoyment you might be able to glean out of the social and training aspects of the company you choose, and also the value you may get out of earning free or discounted products that you would be using or consuming anyway. This is where the two, 6-month vacations a year come into play!

Leave a comment or shoot me an email if you've got questions about any of the businesses or products you see here on the blog, or any others -- I have lots of friends in their own businesses and can point you in the right direction, wherever your interests may lie!