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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Working at Home When You Have Very Little Time or Money
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Guest Article - Kids And Chores - Make It Easy On Yourself!
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Moved the site again - don't worry, it's not becoming a habit or anything. It's just that I found out Dreamhost had limitations that are okay with most of my sites, but not with this one, another host booted me because I had a script on one of the sites I put on them go utterly bonkers and eat up 6 Gig of bandwidth in about 12 hours. I have no idea how - it's never done that before and is behaving perfectly now. Wasn't this site, it was another one. So I switched to Site5.
They're wonderful! I had a lot of trouble getting the discussion boards working because the version of MySQL was different, but I had no idea how to fix that. After going back and forth a bit, and none of my backups working for me, the wonderful tech support at Site5 got it working for me! Whatever they did wasn't an easy fix, either. It took the guy more than two hours from the time I sent him the information he needed until he got things working for me. All I can say is, I'm impressed.
I still have work to do. I switched out the script I use for the bookstore and haven't customized it completely yet. That will be probably a couple hours' work today. At least today is the day Ariel is with her grandparents, so I only have Gage to take care of, and it's easy to have him on my lap while working... not to mention all the naptime! It's been hard trying to do all the work involved with changing hosts, but I think I'll be able to stay with Site5 for a long time to come.
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Two of the major complaints people have about trying to work at home are that too many opportunities cost too much money and that they don’t have enough time. They are both very valid complaints, and should be one of the first things you recognize when you decide to work at home; working at home requires some sacrifice.
Now, no matter what you do, a work at home job or a home business opportunity, you’re going to have to spend some time on it. If you are like a lot of parents, you’re trying to get started on your work at home career while still working outside the home – if not, you are one of the fortunate ones. But the younger your children are, the more challenging it often is to work around their schedules.
The “easiest” time sacrifice for many work at home parents is to simply get less sleep. Get up earlier in the morning or stay up later at night. When the children are sleeping is the one time you know they aren’t likely to need your attention.
But this won’t work for every situation. Maybe you’re calling customers or have other reasons why your work must be done during the day. In that case, you have two basic options: work when there is someone else there to help with the kids or teach your children how to keep themselves busy during your work hours and when it’s okay to interrupt you.
There are many other ways of coping with a lack of time: trading babysitting, special toys and so forth, you just have to decide what works best for your family.
The money issue can be more difficult to cope with. If you are looking for a work at home job remember that you should never pay to apply for a job or to start one. Employers should pay you, just as in any other job.
Home businesses, however, will always have some sort of expense. Even the rare opportunity that does not itself charge you will need advertising, and that costs money. Yes, there are ways to advertise for free, but generally you will find things you need to pay for – business cards, flyers and so forth.
Money is very tight for most families when one parent decides to start working at home, so it may not be easy to fit even small costs into the budget. If you really want to run a home business and don’t think you can afford to, it’s time to start looking at sacrifices you can make. Do you really need cable or satellite TV? Any extra features on your phone? Are you good at shopping for bargains?
It may not be easy to find those extra dollars that could be put toward a business, but it must be done if you are serious about having a business.
But don’t choose a business opportunity only because it is cheap. If you don’t believe in it, you aren’t likely to succeed in it.
Remember, you don’t have to stick with the direct sales and party plan home businesses that are so popular. You can provide services in your area to other businesses. Your Yellow Pages can be a great resource. If you have a skill, whether bookkeeping, website design, organization and so forth, you might be just the person a local business needs. If you choose something that you already have all the equipment for, your startup costs can be minimized. You will need business cards and something detailing your services, but those don’t cost too much.
A little creativity can go a long way when you work at home. Think about what you need to achieve your goals. Whether it is more money or more time, you can find the way to successfully work at home.
Stephanie Foster is the owner of Home with the Kids, a resource that knows that there's more to staying home with your family than just business. For more stay at home tips, visit the site at http://www.homewiththekids.com/ and subscribe to the free newsletter.
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My neighbours' kid impressed me the other day.
I was busy painting the backyard fence, when their ten-year
old son came out with the vacuum cleaner. He opened the
front panel, removed the bag, and put it in the bin. Then he
took a replacement bag, fitted it, and went back indoors -
probably to get on with the vacuum cleaning!
Fifteen minutes later he came out with a large plastic
rubbish bag and put it in the bin too. The young kid was at
ease with his chores. He was his usual pleasant self and
there was no sign of moodiness or resentment.
Clearly his parents had taught their kids in a way which -
I have to admit!- my wife and I didn't teach ours.
When our family was growing we tended to do most of the
chores ourselves. We were keen - well, my wife was keen! -
to ensure that we shared the chores as a couple.
This approach backfired as the kids were growing. Since
there was no clearly defined 'chore chart' and since
requests for their help were only made occasionally, there
was a certain reluctance most of the time.
Even today there can be the odd dispute about who should
walk the dog - and loading the dishwasher, it seems, is one
of life's mysteries revealed only to parents.
So here's my advice:
Don't do what we did!
Be like our neighbours and start them young. Bring them up
to realise that if you live in a home, you contribute to the
home. If they grow into this routine, there's unlikely to be
resentment or ill-feeling - provided the chores are
allocated fairly, of course.
What about parents whose older kids who have got off
lightly?
Well, you could continue to slave after your charges - but
why not start a new regime?
One approach often suggested is that you appeal to the
teenager's sense of duty, highlighting their obligations to
themselves and others.
But psychologists tell us that approach is the LEAST likely
to work with teens.
It's a fact of human nature that people tend to respond more
when there's a clear benefit for themselves.
So why not stress the benefits of getting involved in the
household chores? Help them see it as an opportunity to
develop confidence and independence. When they go off to
college or move into a flat or apartment, how are they going
to feel if they can't cope?
How are they going to look in front of friends if they can't
cook, can't wash and iron their clothes, and can't tidy up
after themselves? If they learn these skills, they won't be
stranded!
If your kids are coming to household chores after years of
having things done for them, you may need to use a reward
system to help them over their inertia. No, not gold stars
and trips to the zoo!
Rather, 'Mow the lawn and you can have the car on Friday
night,' or, 'Let's see what you can do around the house and
we'll review your allowance.'
And remember to show them HOW it's done. You may want to
consider working with them the first few times, especially
if it's a task they've never attempted before.
This approach has worked well for my wife and I, who are
late-starters in the 'chores for kids' stakes.
Remember, if things are done out of a sense of 'duty',
people tend to be ambivalent. On the one hand they may feel
obliged to get on with it, but on the other they may resent
it - and that builds up ill-feeling.
Use rewards by all means, but it's better, I think, to help
our kids realise that doing the chores is part of their
development. That way they're more likely to do them
willingly.
This may be a tad idealistic, but this approach, when
blended with an attractive reward, can lead to a well-deserved, easier life for hard-pressed parents.
Happy parenting!
Frank McGinty's writes motivational books for both parents and teenagers. If you want to develop your parenting skills and encourage your kids to be all they can be, visit his web pages, http://www.frank-mcginty.com/peace-formula.html AND http://www.frank-mcginty.com/for-parents.html
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