Now, more than ever, people are tired of the 9-5 grind. I especially was! Job security is out the window and more people are looking for other options to work from home, be their own boss, hit the alarm clock when they want, stay at home with their kids and travel freely. Today, the American spirit of free enterprise is on the rise and with the access of online resources, the options are just about endless.
Related: Work from home and be your own boss. Start a blog and learn how here: Blogging for beginners: How To Start Your Own Blog.
If you are a new mom, the idea of staying at home and giving your new baby endless kisses (witnessing their first smile, laugh, word, steps…) may sound better than being at work.
My husband and I prepared ahead of time in order to give me the choice of staying home or being an employee when the time came.
Here’s how I was able to work form home and raise our baby:
Dig your well before you’re thirsty
We started a savings plan before we decided to have kids. Even $10 here or there added up. When the time came to start having kids, I got on the phone with our insurance and the hospital to calculate the cost of delivery and prenatal appointments. Now that I had a goal number to hit, we got on a strict budget and split my entire salary three ways: baby savings, savings and paying off debt. We wanted to get as much debt out of the way as possible, save the rest of what we needed for the cost of having our baby and build up a few months worth of my salary in savings.
Related: The first step towards achieving your financial dreams is creating a budget. Get on the right track: Budget + Free Printable, For Beginners
Have a plan B – ALWAYS
In addition to a savings plan, we started a side stream of income outside of our jobs (a plan B) before we got pregnant.
Here’s an interesting story for you: shortly after my husband and I were married, the company we were working for stopped giving us paychecks, we found other jobs and I landed an awesome opportunity for my career in Denver, CO. After spending every penny we had on the move and leaving our families behind, they let me go three months later due to lack of funds; last one in, first one out. Almost the exact same situation happened to my husband at two other agencies he worked for shortly after.
After the fourth teary phone call, we decided that depending on someone else for our income was not the way to go. We wanted to be financially stable now and set for retirement, so we looked for other options. We did our research on many, many options and got fully educated before deciding on our course of action. We kept our goals in the forefront as we made our decisions. I was skeptical about everything because the norm was getting a good education, getting a job, buying a house, going into debt, and retiring if possible. That’s what we were trying to do but it wasn’t working for us and I desperately wanted a plan B.
There are many options out there of side hustles, alternative means of income, work from home jobs etc. All you have to do is Google or Pinterest your way through them. I was shocked at the alternative options to the 9-5. You really do have your pick! We could have chosen from many but we landed on an MLM business, and on the side…side, I started a blog and Thomas flips products via ebay for fun. MLM stands for multi-level marketing. I am not going to go into all the details about MLMs (because there are so many out there!) but they can be an incredible turn-key business opportunity like franchising without the huge financial portfolio and investments required. Do your research if you plan to look into a MLM! Find a company that has been around for a LONG time, offers a variety of products (not just a few genre-specific miracle things), has a great incentive package (compare them to others), the sponsor does not profit from your sign-up, and most importantly, has easily (daily) accessible, personal mentors (who are where you want to be) focused authentically for your success.
Get mentorship from others who have success
Whatever you choose to do, the biggest thing I learned is to take advice and get mentorship from others who were successful in doing what I wanted to do. Everybody had an opinion but one of the biggest keys to our success was listening only to those who were where we wanted to be.
There are so many amazing resources out there. Decide what you want to do. Decide how you want to live. Look for people who live that lifestyle and do what you want to do. Learn from them in any way you can. If you want to work from home and earn X income, find those who have done it. Consume the information you find.
For example, now I run a blog on the side and every day I read up on how other bloggers (who make thousands each month minimum) do what they do. I take classes online of those bloggers who have been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Yes, I have friends and relatives (who don’t even have blogs) give me advice. Do I listen? Yes. I respect them as human beings but I only DO what those who have been successful before me have done.
Put in the work
“I just don’t have time for that.” This is the most common excuse I hear from solo plan A people even if they say they may be interested in having a plan B and eventually working for themselves.
Here’s the deal. You probably do have time. You can achieve your goal, if you really want it. Everyone has 24 hours in a day and there is a reason why some people are more successful than others. Cut the TV out, get up two hours early, put in time over your lunch break, make your goal a priority over wine night with the girls and keep doing it day in and day out till you reach your goal.
Have goals. Know where you are going and don’t be afraid to put in the work. When you are so frustrated that you want to throw in the towel and scream aloud on your balcony so all the world can hear, push through and welcome yourself to success. It does get easier but only for those who put in the work, aren’t afraid to live out of their comfort zone, welcome failure, learn with all of their might and push for their goals.
How to be a work-from-home success
There are three things that will allow you to achieve your goal:
- Have a big why: this is the goal you are reaching for. Have the idea of staying at home and seeing your baby take their first steps motivate you. Whatever will push you to get up at 5 am when you hate to or put in the hours to achieve that goal. If you don’t have a big why, you will lack the motivation to get you through the hurdles that come from any entrepreneurial endeavor.
- Learn. Learn. Learn. Follow others who have achieved what you want to achieve. Don’t be afraid to set big goals. Believe in yourself. Push yourself. Most importantly: be real with yourself. I’ve seen bloggers say to an e-course group, “I did everything the course told me to do. I’ve tried every trick in the books for the last six months. I’m ready to give up.” They received a slew of comments about all the things they weren’t doing on their blog that the course clearly laid out. Be real with yourself.
- Have a good work habit. Day in and day out, set goals and put in the work.
“Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive And Believe, It Can Achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
Alice at A Silver Lined Life
Leah says
I was also shocked when I started searching for “side hustles” and money-making gigs. There’s so much you can do, they truly just take time to get yourself started!
Jessica says
Hey Leah,
Agreed! It will certainly take time in the beginning, but getting to look at that precious little face everyday makes it worth the extra effort 😉
Rachel says
Thank you for sharing your strategies! I’m currently trying to get my blog up and running so I can stay home with my littles. I really appreciate you sharing your motivation!
Jessica says
Absolutely. Alice had some pretty awesome tips! Best of luck with your blog, I am sure that you will do great!
Alice Bolte says
No problem, Rachel! I have a couple posts written to help people who are starting a blog. Check them out on A Silver Lined Life. Hope they help!
Audrey says
This is some excellent advice. I think I would add to patience. Our goals don’t happen over night. They require a lot of hard work.
Jessica says
Audrey, agreed! Even myself, I have been blogging for a few years now and am just starting to get things moving now. It will be worth it though once you (and I) get there!
Alice Bolte says
So true!
Daynia says
Thank you so much for this, your baby is beautiful
Jessica says
Daynia, thank you so much. This post was from a guest blogger, Alice from A Silver Line Life! Go check out her blog, it is amazing!
Alice Bolte says
Hi Daynia,
Thank you!!! <3
Holly says
My husband and I are trying to find a way to stay home with our young daughter, but we live in a very expensive city and both work for a non-profit. I am trying to use all of my free time at night to blog and build a business. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Jessica says
Absolutely! This post was from a guest blogger, Alice from the blog, A Silver Line Life! I’m sure she has more helpful advice if you ask her 🙂
jackie says
wow! what a great story. I cannot believe you moved just be let go a few months later! That would be so hard. You are very strong for fighting your way through it all and finding what works for you! very inspiring. thank you for sharing! i am going to follow you on social media now and keep up with your blog, i really enjoyed this read!
-jackie BabyBearsMamaBear.com
jackie says
just a heads up the Facebook button and Bloglovin button did not work . =)
Jessica says
I will look into this! Thank you!
Jessica says
Thank you Jackie, you are so sweet! Thanks for following! This post was actually written by a guest blogger, Alice from A Silver Line Life. Go check out her blog, it is amazing!!!
Alice Bolte says
Thank you, Jackie! I’ll be sure to check out your blog as well!
Laura says
You sound so organized! My husband and I are just starting to live on a budget since he graduated in May and we have lots of student loans to pay back. We are so blessed by the Canadian health care system though, we never needed to save money in order to have our babies!
Jessica says
Laura, well that is always a plus!! I know it is so hard, but you are doing the right thing! Pay off your debt first- I’m a big advocate of that too! Starting a budget and keeping organized is key. Good for you, not a lot of people realize that!
Alice Bolte says
Hi Laura,
The Canadian health care system sounds bomb. That’s amazing!
Student loans are craziness. It definitely takes intentional living, perseverance and patience to get debt-free from a mountain of student loans! It’s awesome that you are budgeting and working towards getting debt-free. Good for you!!!
Brittany Putman says
I love this. I am 5 months pregnant with my first and I have been building my blog and freelancing for 2 years in hopes of staying home with my baby. I won’t be able to stay home right away or maybe ever, but it’s definitely something that I want to keep trying to do.
Jessica says
Britt, Keep trying! Never give up. You can do anything that you set your mind to! Best of luck =)
Alice Bolte says
You can do it! But it will take the right work and lots of work. If you want to make money with your blog, I strongly suggest Michelle’s course. She makes over 100,000 A MONTH. It helped me so much (I have made over $100 my first month blogging) that I became an affiliate. Here is the link! http://makingsenseofaffiliatemarketing.com/?affcode=57702_qjnzn7
Hope that helps!
Susannah says
I don’t work full time from home and I don’t make a full time income but it’s great to have a few side hustles that bring in added income to our house!
Alice says
So true!!! Good for you for doing side hustles!
Lacey Noland says
Amen Sister!! This is a great read – so very very true! 🙂
Alice says
Thanks Lacey! Glad it helped!
Terryn Winfield says
Your WHY is so important! If that isn’t strong enough, you will burn out quickly. I have been a sahm for 13 years now and have had to make sacrifices. But it has been beyond worth it and God has been so gracious to us. Your little one is adorable, Jess!
Jessica says
Agreed. I love that!! I am so glad you are able to stay home with your LO. So sweet! Thank you so much Terryn =)