Making Money with Donna

Enjoy these 10 Tips for WAHMs from my recent appearance on The Real WAHMs radio program:

10 Tips

Top 10 Ways to Balance Your Children and Your Business

1. Establish office hours Times you are—and are NOT—working. Have the children make the Mom Working sign and participate in the process of setting your working hours.

2. Work the night shift. When your spouse comes home from work, he or she can take the kids for bike rides, play games, read stories, and give them their nightly bath while you work. (However, make sure you later have Daddy and Mommy time, too!)

3. Understand that their sleep time equals your work time. Many women with small ventures find that simply staying up late or waking up early, plus working during naps, provides enough time for a home business. Remember, you can’t force your children to sleep during nap time, but you can require them to lie quietly on their beds.

4. Get some work-time toys. Purchase special toys or DVDs that can be used only while Mom works.

5. Use DVDs over TV – should never be used as a baby-sitter, but once in a while quality television is okay. Perhaps you can let your youngsters watch public television each morning while you work.

6. Create a chore chart. While you are working to get paid, your children can work for pay.

7. Utilize sibling care. If you have both preschool and school-age children, the older children can entertain the younger ones for a period of time each day.

8. Enlist friends and relatives. Summer is a great time for kids to spend with grandma, trusted aunts, cousins, etc.

9. Form playgroups or organize a baby-sitting co-op This can be formal or informal. One other mom…or 30 moms. Check out my ebook, Thriving—Not Just Surviving—As a Stay at Home Mom for lots more ideas.

10. Hire a mother’s helper. Pre-adolescent girls are often better than teens.

These tips are adapted from my book, Making Money From Home.  Order your copy today.