Do You Have Enough Time to Work at Home?

When I started my home business I didn’t have any plans to quit my day job, I just wanted to make extra money so that I could keep my electicity from being turned off – again.

When I considered my options as a single mom with one eleven year old son I knew that picking up a part time job outside of the home would be more trouble than the tiny extra paycheck was worth.  I’d have to find someone to hang out with Sean and it would disrupt his routine and put a big dent into the time I had to spend with him.

So I looked to the internet.

I got home from my day job by 4pm each day.  I worked Monday through Friday and had regular events and responsibilities a few nights a week and on some weekends.  Realistically, I had about 15 hours a week available to explore a web based business – but I often pushed the clock by staying up late and squeezing in internet time during breaks and lunch at work.

It worked for me.  I managed to start and grow an online business while working full time and spending quality time with my son.

As time passed my day job became more and more flexible.  I probably could not have created the business I did without having some freedom built into my schedule.

Many times other new WAHMs asked me how I found time to do it all and to be honest, I never felt like I was doing all that much.  Between parenting, business and work – I still had time to enjoy myself.  I was very plugged in socially, went to women’s conferences often and enjoyed visits with family.

The moms who marveled at my accomplishments had very different family situations.  Most were married – and face it – men take time!  Also, most of them had more than one child – or their children were far younger than my young teen, requiring more effort and time overall.  And then add a job for some and I wondered how any of them found time to check email every day, let alone work at starting an online business.

I’ve worked with several young moms recently who have pretty full lives.  Husband, kids, job and extended family commitments fill their schedules – yet they dream of finding a way to work at home and be their own boss.

Oh how I wish that these moms could simply quit the day job and get a clean start with a home based business!  Sadly, that’s not usually possible.  Their family budget depends on their regular paycheck.

We’ve discussed whether you can build a business on a super tight schedule before here at WAHM 2.0.  The consensus is that it’s a very tall order.  Not impossible – but very challenging.

As I’ve thought about it lately, I think there is a minimum amount of time that a mom really must have available to devote to learning and building in order to have a chance at getting anywhere and I’m going to put my neck out there and say that that minimum is 15 hours a week.

How you spend those 15 hours depends on your business choice and learning curve.  In the beginning the time will be devoted to learning and networking.  As time passes you’ll spend less time learning and more time doing but you’ll always have to carve out a certain amount of time for networking and staying in the loop with your market and industry.

Everyone I’ve worked with who had less than 15 hours available on a consistent basis have floundered and experienced a lot of disappointment.  And most focused business moms I’ve seen who have been able to commit at least 15 hours have made consistent progress.

What are your thoughts?

How much time have you had to work on your new business and how has that effected your progress?