The Idea of Working From Home

The past month has been a little bit difficult for me.  The business that my husband and I have started is not taking off as well as I thought it would.  We get orders each month, but not enough to substitute my income.  I think there gets to be a point when you wonder how much more energy you should put into something.  The truth is, however, that I really enjoy making the baskets, and it is not something that I want to totally stop doing.  The reality is that the business alone right now is not going to be enough to financially support us, and honestly I do better at the business and enjoy it more when there is not all of the financial pressure. 

So then I was left with the question of what now? Do I go back to working in the mental health field which I know is not a good fit for me? Do I try to find a full time job doing something else at probably lesser pay? Do I continue in school?

I thought very seriously about going back into the mental health field, and then my husband said to me that he hated the idea of me going back to work at something I was so miserable at.  He said that he saw how each night I would come home from work and be so drained, and I never could just relax.  He validated what I already knew, but needed someone else to understand. 

By the start of last week, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do career wise. I made a decison, however, on Mother's Day that I wanted to be healthy enough by next Mother's Day to start trying to have a family of our own.  My husband and I decided to mostly cut out eating out, to start exercising more, and to really see where in our budget we could make cuts.  I got up the next morning and made breakfast.  We then went walking, and I made lunch. We started this great morning routine, and both of us have enjoyed it so much.  We have been swiming most days, and so much more quality time together. 

I shared that to say that it made me realize what I really wanted. I wanted time and flexibility.  I want to be able to get up every morning fix breakfast, exercise,spend time with my husband, eat lunch together, and even have time to clean on a consistent basis.

So I have decided to officially give working from a home a shot.  I have decided to stay in school. I have switched my major to accounting and I am going to work towards being able to sit for my CPA exam,so eventually I can prepare people's taxes at home.  I have also done a lot of research on legitimate at home jobs.  There are actually a lot of companies that hire people to work at home. 

Recently I have started doing some mystery shopping, and I have even tried some of the sites that pay people to take surveys. I wasn't sure how that would work out, but I got my first check in the mail last week for $26.00. That is not a lot,, but I didn't spend a lot of time feeling out surveys. 

I know that there are probably a lot of other people out there that want to work from home, earn some extra income, or just have some more flexibility. I am going to blog each week on what I am finding that works or doesn't work.  Let me know if you have any ideas or have found out anything that works for you.   I am super excited to see what all is out there. 

Remaining in discomfort

I set a goal last year of being able to work from home in 2012.  In February, with the support of my wonderful husband, I was able to quit my job.  Also in 2011, my husband and I started You Get Me Gifts a gift basket business specializing in custom gift baskets.  It has definitely been an interesting year.  My husband and I have this dream of both being able to work from home and raise a family.  It was our plan for me to stop working at my job, and then gradually build up our business or other sources of income from home. 

So here I am now beginning month four of working from home, and I am in that uncomfortable spot.  I feel like we are making progress, but I have no idea how far away I am from our destination.  The part of me that wants to know certainty wants to abandon ship and swim as quickly back to what I know which is an every two week paycheck.  But that also means swimming back to the life I didn’t really enjoy and when I get tired of it again (which I am sure I will) it means starting over. 

I am the type of person that likes to fast forward to the end of the movie before I watch the beginning.  If it is going to end sad, I would rather not watch it at all.  I am not the type of person that does well with situations that I could give a 110 percent, and in the end it still may not work out.  Or should I say not work out the way I want or expected it too.  So right now I look at my life and I see a lot of ???? and unknowns. 

The one thing I do know is that I don’t want to look back at my life and have a bunch of regrets.  I want to know that I went after the things that I really wanted, and didn’t quit when it got tough.  I honestly don’t know what the next year holds or even the next month, but I am going to swim around a little more and who knows  where I will end up. 

I just jumped in and the water feels good :)

    Last Friday I left my job to begin a new chapter in my life.  A chapter that I have been waiting on for quite some time.  I remember as a kid I dreamed of being a chef and opening my own restaurant.  As I grew older the type of place I wanted changed, but I always wanted to be my own boss.  If you had asked me several years ago if I saw myself having a gift basket business, I would have said no quickly.  Sometimes things unfold in front of us in a way we never would have expected.
   I know that some would say it is crazy to leave a job when your business has not yet taken off the ground, but sometimes waiting for the sign to jump is a few minutes too late.  I keep thinking about the swim class I took in college.  I could do every swim stroke, not perfectly by any means, but still I could do it, and I could float without any problems.  I made a C in that class, however, because I wouldn't jump.  I knew I would float to the top, but I was so scared of letting my feet leave the ground.  I wouldn't take the risk. Now at 33 I don't know if I would still jump in a pool unless maybe out of necessity, but I didn't want to let my life pass by without taking this risk. 
   So I have six months to make this happen.  Six months to build the business to the point that it will support my income. I know it won't be easy, but I am ready to take the risk.  I plan on blogging two-three times a week to share my progress and to pass on any tidbits I find out in regards to starting our (my husband and mine) own business.  So if your interested tag along :)