Cereal,Mom,Cereal,MomBy,Sharon DIY Cereal Mom
When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in
Cereal MomBy Sharon DavisI recently heard a woman say that being called a "work at home mom" was professionally demeaning. Being one myself, my initial reaction was to agree with her. "Thats right, Im a professional, Im not just a bored housewife dabbling with a hobby here," I said to myself.Upon reflection however, I came to realize that I disagree. Deeply.Working out of your home while caring for children makes for some unique (and comical) situations. If you cant have a sense of humor about these things, then maybe a field job is more your style. But lets face it, just how professional can you be when much of your work is done with a toddler on your lap? And that is, after all, one of the great benefits of working at home; you can consult with clients wearing bunny slippers if you like. Whos to know? Sometimes we just need to keep things in perspective. I know that the work that I do is top quality, and I dont sweat what others think of my work environment.But I do wonder how that woman deals with some of those little challenges that comewith being a work-at-home parent. For example, maybe she feels that going out of the house with soggy Cheerios stuck to her behind would be professionally demeaning. She must have found a way to avoid this. I should call her...Not being able to locate a pen because theyre all in use fishing Barbie clothes out of the toilet. This might be seen as unprofessional.Or, while trying to convince a potential client how you would be the best choice if hes looking for quality, professional results your 2-year-old is proclaiming proudly, "I went poo-poo Mommy!" over and over.I've known others who have tried to mask their true work environments using some creative metaphors. For example:"As soon as my colleague completes his current assignment" really means..."As soon as my 5-year-old is done with his Mr. Potato Head CDRom""We'll be outsourcing the finishing work" really means..."My teenaged daughter will be earning her allowance by collating and stapling your reports""I have an urgent matter to attend to" really means..."My 3-year-old has been awfully quiet for the past few minutes and she was recently asking for a haircut"Does this mean I should lock my kids in their rooms while Im on the phone? While that can at times seem like a perfectly sensible idea, usually basic time management helps toavoid these situations. My view is that if a client thinks that the quality of my work will be less just because I have children, he can look elsewhere. Maybe Im shutting the door on some business, but I refuse to have my children feel that they come second. And I do, in fact, think of myself as a Mom first, and a business owner second. Besides, I think that the day is getting nearer that people really wont mind their projects delivered with a few soggy Cheerios on them.
Cereal,Mom,Cereal,MomBy,Sharon