top of page

Being Your Own Boss.. Pros & Cons

  • Dec 5, 2017
  • 5 min read

It can be a confusing time when you start to build your family.

Do you stay in the workforce? Or do you take time off to raise the littles?

Some of us need to continue to do both, or want to do both.

We've been hearing a lot of mixed information for a long time now... Go to college to get a desired career with benefits... Then as soon as you have that office job locked up, you are supposed to look for ways to "escape the 9-5"!

Are we just meant to always feel like we are not where we are supposed to be?

I would like to offer you my honest, heart felt opinion on the manner.

I spent 12 years in the pursuit of building a merchandising career. I started working in the mall as a sales associate, and worked my way up to purchasing for a high end boutique. When I found out I was going to be having my daughter, I was working in purchasing for an online/catalog company, with great benefits and a positive company culture. I was lucky enough to know that upper management would be totally understanding and flexible with my needs as a new mom. But, I couldn't bring myself to stay.

Now, I know that I was extremely lucky to make such a drastic decision to leave the security of my job.

But, I was not leaving blind and without a plan.

It was important to me to continue earning an income

I took classes and passed my licensing test to become a real estate agent.

With this career, I am able to work from home most days, and take my little daughter along when I can't find a babysitter.

It is work!

I like to refer to it as the Navy Seals of Real Estate.

Writing up a time sensitive contract and having a screaming baby grabbing at you is unlike any job pressure I have ever faced.

Luckily for me, I work for an awesome brokerage that offers incredible support to all of their agents.

(I helped this cute couple close on their first home just two days before going in to labor)

When you are a Work At Home Momma, you can't do it all!

Accept help wherever you can, and delegate tasks that can be easily handled by someone else.

So here are some of the harder parts (cons) about being your own boss:

1- You have to create a routine that allows you to focus on work and not be distracted by household chores. This is sometimes easier said than done.

2- Staying consistent and managing both marketing activities to produce future business and staying on top of current deadlines and obligations.

3- Giving yourself your own pat on the back. This is hard to remember to do. But some days you may feel like you are working in circles, and without an observant manager there to assure you they see your hard work, it is sometimes easy to feel discouraged.

4- Tracking your finances and keeping your personal spending and business spending separate. Since you are no longer working at an office where office supplies and other work essentials are provided, you do have to spend your own money to make money. Make sure to keep track of the receipts for these expenses!!

5- Feelings of isolation can set in every now and then. Your only co worker may be your babbling baby and you may start to long for a little chit chat! Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call your grandma, or snapchat a friend, or go for a walk to the post office (I always find someone in line that starts chatting to me about my little one).

6- Practicing patience!! You may not go right in to a work at home business and be making the same income you walked away from. Be patient with yourself and trust in the process of putting in the work every day.

Learning to budget wisely, make your coffee and lunch at home, and shopping for other necessities on cash back sites such as EBates (my personal fave), are nice ways to try to fill this initial pay gap.

7- Knowing when to turn work off! When you work from home, there is no distinction of ending work by leaving the office. Your phone or computer is always readily available, there are reminders of work to be done everywhere. But it is important to designate times where you are just with your family.

(This is my little Claire)

But with every hardship, there are great perks to working from home.

1- My personal fave is having my noisy, silly baby by my side. I may always have my hands full, but I l love being able to watch her grow and change. Right now, she is crying at me from her play pen. So, everything I do for work takes much longer, because it requires I pause and take care of her needs often. But I love it!

2- Your work from home business is a reflection of you! You have the autonomy to choose which activities I work on, how I work on them, and in which order. There are more tasks that you need to manage when working from home, but it is nice to not have someone micro managing and telling you exactly how to do every last thing.

3- The potential to grow your income as big as you want to! You are not stuck under a set salary or hourly wage. Your own efforts dictate the income you bring in. As I said before, patience and persistence is required to grow your income. You may see an initial drop in what you are bringing in, but don't give up hope.. Keep working, learning, and tweaking your strategy.

4- Building your business around something you care about or connect with!

I know we have all been told to live your passion or spend your time doing something that makes you happy, and yes, that would be awesome that as soon as you set out to work for yourself, you just felt motivated and insanely happy every moment of every day.. But it just simply does not work that way! Building your business requires work, upkeep, and other essential tasks that might not be your favorite and may cause stress just like any other job.

But when you are able to build your business around a specific cause, product, or idea that you care about, it helps you keep pushing forward to make a difference, even on the tough days!

5- The excitement to grow and push yourself! It is scary! It is unpredictable!

But there is so much to look forward to as you build yourself by learning new things every day.

(I donate a portion of all my AVON profits to house homeless pets.)

If you would like to learn more about how I became a work at home real estate agent, please email me at aivory@kw.com or if you would like to start a business venture following a set model with tools and training along the way, I would love to mentor you more and show you how to build a successful AVON business.

lots of love~ Amanda

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page