Working From Home With Kids? Here’s How!
If you’ve been thinking of going self-employed and working from home, there might be one thing that’s putting you off. And that could be your kids! Many people think that they won’t be able to work from home if they have kids. Especially if their kids are still very young and aren’t yet at school. They can cause many distractions and also cause problems in other areas. Not sure if you can manage to be self-employed while the kids are still at home? Sure you can! Here’s how.
Don’t Worry About Money
Many new freelancers often worry about money. In their first few months of trading, they can often experience a reduced wage than what they were on while they were in full-time employment. And that’s because it can take a while to build up your new client base. However, once you get over this initial setup bump, it’ll be plain sailing. But you might have a few extra worries if you have kids. However, there are some changes you can make to your life that will help you afford your new lifestyle. Now that you are at home all the time, you don’t need to pay so much for childcare. Plus, you won’t have to commute to the office every day now that you work from home. That will save you a few extra pennies!
Get Some Funding
One of the most important ways to afford your new business is to find some funding. Once you have an investor or business loan, you will be able to relax a bit more with money. And you will also benefit from not having to use your personal finances to help fund your company. There are loads of options when it comes to looking for funding. Business Lender Match is a firm that you can use to find a suitable business loan for your company. Using one of these kinds of companies can be easier than visiting your bank about a loan. That’s because the process to get a bank loan can be extremely drawn out and long winded. If you are in need of money, read these tips for getting payday loan, which can be applied for online and approved immediately.
Looking After Kids
Just because you are at home more often now doesn’t mean you will always be able to look after the kids. After all, you will hopefully be super busy with work! If your partner is also home, you could get him to help you out by looking after the kids for an hour or two. That gives you plenty of time to get through most of your work. If your partner works full-time, you will have to see if any friends or relatives can help out and take the kids some days. If not, you can always hire a nanny or childminder. This may be expensive, but you can always use it as a business expense which will bring your tax down at the end of the year.
Work-Life Balance
Just because you are at home all the time doesn’t mean you are spending this time with the family. Your work time isn’t quality family time! One thing you need to make sure of is that you get your work-life balance just right. You need to spend enough time working to make sure you are earning enough money. If possible, stick to a daily routine. To do this, you need to plan out your work hours. If you have a period when you are very busy, it is perfectly fine to extend your working hours for a week or so. But you shouldn’t get into the habit of doing so. It is also important that you take the whole weekend off every week. This will give you plenty of chance to catch up with your friends and family so that you can finally spend some quality time with them.
Share Household Chores
Just because you are at home more often doesn’t mean you have more time for chores and household jobs. You will still need to juggle them with your professional workload. If you had a schedule that you and your partner used when you were working full-time, try and stick to this as much as possible. But once your kids get older, don’t let them get off completely scot-free. They should help you out wherever possible! Young kids can do simple jobs like bring their dirty clothes down to the washing machine. You can also get them to do small jobs in the kitchen to help you prepare meals. Older kids can have a bit more responsibility around the house and won’t need to be supervised. You can put them in charge of their bedrooms so that they have to keep them clean and the beds made. Teenagers can start ironing their own clothes and cooking dinner on some days.
Create A Quiet Workspace
Sometimes, when your partner is playing with the kids, things can get loud and rowdy. Which isn’t so good if you need to concentrate on something tricky in your work! One of the best ways to make sure you can work somewhere completely free from distractions is to create your very own home office. If you have a spare bedroom, you should convert this into your private workspace. You can keep your office simple. All you need are a few basics, such as a desk, computer, and printer. But if you need to print large scale prints, then you may consider investing in printers for sale like uv flatbed printers. Keep the decor relaxed and use pastel shades. Don’t have a spare room to turn into an office? No problem. How about converting your loft space or basement into another room? If this isn’t an option, you can also just place a desk in the corner of your living room or bedroom. Just make sure the whole family knows that this room is out of bounds while you are busy at work!
So, as you can see, working from home with kids is still perfectly possible. It just takes a bit of organization and careful planning. Once you get it all right, though, you will certainly feel the benefits of working as a freelancer. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!