Work at home opportunities fall in 2 categories: the work from home jobs and the businesses operated from home. If you desire to join other work at home mums and begin making money from home, you must consider which option is more likely to suit you.

With a work from home job, you continue to work for somebody else. Your employer is permitting you to be based at home, but you’re still getting paid for the hours you put in and the work you were employed to complete. With a home business suited for mums, you’re your own boss, you make decisions on the work you want to execute, and you make profits for the results you generate – therefore you don’t receive payment for the time you spend working, you get rewarded for results, and that means that if you can produce great results, even in a short amount of time, you can make an unlimited income as a work at home mum and business owner.

There are a few aspects for mums to think about when selecting a work from home opportunity, between a job and a home business. Also, inside the home business category, you’ve got some options: you can begin your own business based on a skill you have or a product you manufacture or make yourself (for example, personal assistant work, data entry or typing, craft, cooking, teaching, interior or graphic design, writing, clothing and fashion, and the list continues…), otherwise you can start a home business within an existing company, where the company typically provides you with the goods or services, the systems in place and the training and support you need to get your business up and running.

Firstly, you must consider your personality to determine which kind of work at home mum you want to be, employee or mumpreneur. If you’re someone who prefers to report to somebody else, doesn’t enjoy making decisions or being independent, who needs to be provided with a structure with deadlines, agendas, and a definite description of your role, your responsibilities and the activities you are required to do to get paid, then a work from home job might be for you. If you are somebody who is more autonomous, who likes to call the shots, who is self-motivated and self-reliant, who wants to decide how much they get paid and has a ton of determination to get it, then you can succeed with a home business for mums!

Another very relevant factor is how much it costs to work from home. If you choose to take on employment, you may need some money to line up your home office, and a number of your expenses could even be reimbursed by your employer. However, having a business usually costs more. While it varies between opportunities, you’ll have initial expenses in relation to a membership, using business systems or tools, buying or producing a product, and marketing your business. Keep in mind that in each case, you can benefit from tax deductions. Work at home mums who opt to start a business might have more expenses, but typically have a higher income potential.

Working from home can be very rewarding when you have kids. You can do activities throughout the week with your children, go to playgroup, the park, be present for after-school activities, meet-up with grand-parents or friends, give them flexibility around their sleeping routine and just enjoy being at home. It can be however a juggling act for work at home mums, just like it would be if you were to work in a company workplace because you would still need to juggle everything between work, daycare or school pick-ups and drop-offs, groceries, etc. It simply means that you can control the schedule so that it works for you and that you’ll have more flexibility around looking after your family and working. It just calls for discipline and organisation, like so many other things in life!

We hope this helps clarify options for work at home mums. Now all that is left to do is find the right work from home job or home business opportunity for mums!