What I've Learned About Working From Home

I remember being pregnant with my first son and crying alone in the bathroom (I think I might have been scrubbing the tub at the time) about the prospect of having to leave my baby at a daycare so I could work. My husband was working full-time and I had left my full-time job as a rental coordinator liason to find something I could do from home. I had tried Pampered Chef but my nausea made it difficult to work with food. I was working as a substitute teacher for the last months of my pregnancy- that is till I couldn't work anymore due to becoming high risk. I ended up with pre-eclampsia and toximia and delivered via c-section a preemie at 34 weeks.

Long story short...I've never had to reenter the work-force, except from home. Its been four and a half years and now with two children (both born at 34 weeks gestation due to my pre-eclampsia) I'm still working from home.

I didn't find "the goose that laid the golden egg" and in fact am still learning new ways to earn income. I haven't "arrived" yet...where ever THAT is. But I can say, I keep looking at my options and tweaking the ones that work. Here is my story and what works for me.

Soon after my first son was born I bought a vendor's license to sell at the flea market. I have a relative who bought and sold antiques and had a lot of stuff that he didn't want to deal with so hubby, baby and I would pack up and set up at the flea market maybe once a week. As it got closer to the cold weather I turned to providing childcare. I printed up a flyer with the specifics of what I was offering and mailed it to some women that I knew personally so that if they knew of anyone that needed childcare they'd know who to call. I think that is how I got my first long-term "client". I had some occasional jobs watching children too. Throw into the middle of all this the birth of my second son who also came early as with my pre-eclampsia and the inability for me to work.

But last year was a breakthrough year for me, in my opinion. Instead of going to the flea market, I started selling on Ebay. Soon after I got an Ebay store. Then, this year, I was tipped off on the virtues (I call it) of social networking and soon I was realizing there was a whole other world out there... internet marketing. I was blessed to find some quality ethical mentors out there who have surely saved me some major pitfalls and helped me find my way through this new world of marketing. As a result I am learning from and teaching myself how to be an "affiliate marketer". You can see who I'm learning from at my website.

Although I don't make a killing through my Ebay store -Tracy's Estate Sale or at my dropship business Hall of Fame Products...the money that I do make from Ebay has provided me with the money I've needed to get my main website Hall of Fame Affiliates up and running as well as pay my Ebay fees and more. I have a very good host who offers a very very affordable hosting plan and I've found a very good button/banner designer to do my header and ad banner.

I'm not currently watching anyone's children but I will keep that option open. My main focus now is to learn what I can about internet marketing, working my Ebay store, work on article submission and SEO for my sites. If you'd like to see the resources I've found check out my category "WAHM Business Resources" on my affiliates site. I hope to help other work from home mom's out there by providing relevant information at my website.

Bottom line, find what works for you and be careful where you spend your money... especially when you don't have it to spend! Learn as much as you can on your own and look ahead to paying for coaching or other expertise when you know better where you want to go. It took me some time to nail down the "affiliate" marketing niche and thats a broad niche. I do look forward to paying for some extra help and just recently I've been able to see where I might want to go with all this so that time for coaching may soon be here. At some point you just have to start doing something and then see where it goes. A car won't run until you turn the key and push the gas...and likewise...in life, sometimes the answers don't show up till you've driven a little farther downt that road. Best wishes to all of you who wish to stay home with your kids! There is a way...

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Tracy Zdelar www.HallofFameMoms.com Tracy Zdelar is simply a work-at-home mom with two young boys, a husband, two cats and whatever other little critters the family brings home. She offers something for both the stay-at-home mom and the work-at-home mom from money saving resources and info to spotlighting fellow work-at-home moms via interviews and product reviews at her website. Thats not all, stop by and visit today!

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