BW Online | August 23, 2000 | Help for Moms Who Want to Work at Home

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AUGUST 23, 2000

WORK & FAMILY
By Jill Hamburg Coplan

Help for Moms Who Want to Work at Home
With the right mindset — and discipline — you can establish a home-based business

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I wrote a recent column on how Web scam artists have begun laying traps for parents, dressing up their schemes as work-at-home opportunities (see BW Online, 8/09/00, "A Web of Work-At-Home Scams"). That inspired many readers to write and ask where the good jobs can be found. Most of them were moms who frankly weren't up for a major entrepreneurial venture but dream of a freelance lifestyle and wonder if it's possible.

It is -- especially if you're starting with a skill from your premotherhood days. You're in a great position if you've been a writer, software developer, accountant, engineer, or graphic designer. Have you worked in bookkeeping or as a travel agent? Moms have built consulting businesses using their experience in human resources, communications, training, and benefits. You might turn your specialized knowledge into a video or audiotape, seminar, newsletter, or guidebook. Your reputation as an author could help launch your consultancy.

RIGHT FOR YOU? Begin with an honest assessment of yourself. It's harder than pointing and clicking, but it's where the real work begins. Talk to your family about how much time you want to devote to work, and research every option thoroughly. (To keep your weekends free, for example, avoid retail and real estate.)

Be sure working at home suits your temperament. If being cooped up in the house makes you nauseous or you're easily distracted, think twice, says the American Women's Economic Development Corp., a New York nonprofit that has helped thousands of women with courses, counseling, capital, and free advice.

For some surprisingly warm guidance, good ideas, and practical resources, check out the U.S. Small Business Administration's women's office. See their state-by-state list of partners and organizations where you can get help in person. If it's nearby, attend a starting-out workshop at a Small Business Development Center (joint ventures between the SBA and community colleges), located in 47 states. The time invested is worth it to build something lasting.

For more inspiration, here's a sampling of Web sites catering to the working-at-home set with chats, advice, sample business plans, home-business ideas, and free computer "shareware":

Businessknowhow.com
Bizproweb.com
Home-Based Working Moms
Bizymoms.com
Business@Home
Workathomecareers.com
The American Association of Home-Based Businesses
Myjobsearch.com
Virtualassistant.com, a cooperative network of at-home-mom secretaries

Once you've figured out what's in demand that suits your talents and needs, it hardly matters whether you turn to online job ads, the professional press, or networking through trade or women's associations.

What's really key is mindset. To work alone, you've got to fire yourself up, set your own goals, follow your own plan, and be thorough, staying focused even though no one is cracking the whip. Even the staid SBA devotes a sizeable chunk of its site to helping you "commit yourself emotionally."

Once you've done the psychological work, it's time for due diligence on the technicalities. Don't assume you can write everything off as tax deductible. Check your state's laws, and get a free IRS Small Business Tax Kit (800 829-3676). See whether your locality has zoning or licensing regulations or restricts home production of some products. Explosives are obviously out, but in some places clothing and toys are, too.

Good luck! And please write to let me know how it's going.

Send your questions to frontierlife@businessweek.com.

Jill Hamburg Coplan has covered work, family, business, and finance for the past decade as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines, and wire services. She left Working Woman magazine, where she was senior editor, when her first child was born and now works solo from a home office in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Jill Hamburg Coplan has covered work, family, business, and finance for the past decade as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines, and wire services. She left Working Woman magazine, where she was senior editor, when her first child was born and now works solo from a home office in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can e-mail her at Jill Hamburg Coplan