Yes, I know, work that fits around your kids! But let’s be a little more specific. Are you…
- Aiming to make some extra money to top up your family’s income?
- A stay-at-home-mum who has started a business because you were going crazy with nothing but nappies and finger-painting to keep your mind occupied?
- Aiming to build a business that will grow slowly as your children grow, but nevertheless will be a long-term source of income for you (and perhaps others) and you have no intention of going back to a job once your kids are older?
- Using your hobby or passion as a way of earning while you’re on a career break with your young children?
- Something else?
All are perfectly fine and you may even find yourself moving from one to another as your children grow, but it’s important to be honest with yourself about why you are running a business.
Why? Well, you need to approach each focus in a different way if you’re not going to be disappointed or frustrated. If you pick a business model that allows you to top up the family income, you may find you can’t easily grow it later on if you decide to do it long-term, for example. Some businesses take several years to get going, especially if you’re working part-time on them. This isn’t going to work for you if you’re taking a career-break for a few years because you won’t see results until after you’ve gone back to your career.
Perhaps you started your business a couple of years ago and you need to get back in touch with your focus? Perhaps your focus has changed and you need to reassess where you are now before you can decide what to do next?
It’s a good idea to reconnect with your reasons for running your business from time to time.
My own personal focus is on building a long-term business that will grow as my children get older and go to school. That’s because (if I set it up right) it’ll be more flexible than any job will ever be and I don’t want to work for anyone else! But we are all different and you need to build your business to suit you.
This article is taken from my new e-book Running a Business Around a Family: 9 Steps to Success’ which you can download when you sign up to my mailing list….
(You can find out more about my mailing list and the bonus e-book here)
photo credit: [nohide]Geoff Livingston[/nohide]