Dream Merchant • 2309 Torrance Blvd. #104, Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 328-1925 
email: Jkm316@aol.com
   
   PARENTING AND RUNNING 
A HOME-BASED BUSINESS
   
   Balancing Family Life With a Home Business is 
Often a Challenge. Here's How to Make it Work for You.
   
   By Sue and Chuck DeFiore
©2004 DeFiore Enterprises

An Ann Landers column, "Parenthood Is Not a Job For the Weak at Heart," caught our attention. Let's look at it.

Job Description for a Parent

Position: Parent

Job Description: Long-term player needed for challenging, permanent work in chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work evenings and weekends and frequent 24-hour shifts. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed.

Responsibilities: Must keep this job for the rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule. Must be willing to tackle stimulating technical challenges such as small gadget repair, sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must handle assembly and product safety testing, as well as floor maintenance and janitorial work. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and levels of mentality. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute and an embarrassment the next. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of end project.

Advancement and Promotion: There is no possibility of either. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

Previous Experience: None required, but on-the-job training is offered on a continually exhausting basis.

Wages: None. In fact, you must pay those in charge, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 and attend college. When you die, you give them whatever income you have left.

Benefits: There is no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options. However, the job offers limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life. 

This article is of special interest to those of us with home-based businesses. Seeing this column made me think about why so many of us wanted to work out of our homes. One of the big reasons was to spend more time with our families. Balancing a family life and a home business can be delicate, especially when you look at all the duties we have as parents. Truthfully, it's amazing we get anything done at all.

Here are some good rules to help you balance family and business.

Rule #1--Set Limits. This is one of the most important rules. Yes, this is your home, but it's also your office. What that means is the things you use in your business (like a computer, files, fax machine, business phone, supplies, etc.) are off limits to family.

Rule #2--Set office hours. This lets your family members and friends know when your day is done and when it's okay to disturb you. This will prevent them from taking you away from your work.

Rule #3--Restrict the Phone. No one but you answers your business line, and if your office is in part of the house, there is to be quiet when you're on the phone. Sometimes pandemonium does break loose. On those occasions, don't answer the phone. Let it go into voice mail and call back as soon as you can get away or get the situation under control. Almost all phones today have a mute button. Use it, especially with young children that cry and scream.

Rule #4--Establish Rituals. Just like when you worked an outside job, you dropped kids off at the daycare or their bus stop or school. Such rituals are important. Even if you don't leave the house, when you're ready to go into your office, tell them goodbye. When you're done for the day, say "I'm home," or if you take a break say, "I'm back for a bit," but be sure to tell them when you leave again, so they know you can't be interrupted.

Rule #5--Follow the Other Rules. Be sure that the above rules are followed. This is critical. Rules not only help you, they help your kids, family and friends draw the line between your work and your home day.

Additional Tips:

* Keep a stash of kid stuff in your office. Get a variety of things like paper, stickers, crayons and games, in case your children are in your office and you need to take a call.

* Get a cordless phone as an extension to your business line. When you enter the "home" part of your house, take the phone with you. If it rings, answer it and walk back to your "work space." Let your children, family and friends know that when this happens, they should try to be quiet until you're out of earshot. Or you can ask the person to hold, and press your hold or mute button until you're back in your "work area" or quiet space.

* Understand that it may not be easy, but if you train your children, family and friends to respect your time, space and need for concentration, both your work and family life will be easier.

Interested in having your own successful, home-based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue DeFiore have been helping folks start successful home-based businesses for over 19 years, and they can help you, too! To see how, visit:

http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com

Look for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home-based business. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to the "how-to" Home Business Solutions Digest. It's like having your own personal coach.

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