Sewing Business Blog

How To Stay Motivated While Working Your Home Business

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Family and friends can be the biggest motivation robber to those starting or trying to maintain a home business.  They probably don’t even realize what they are doing to your motivation and business momentum.

Because you are at home and not at an office downtown, people have the idea that you are not really working, and therefore are available for neighborhood coffee get togethers, available to babysit the sick grandchildren so their mother can “go to work”, as well as chit chat on the phone half the morning.

I learned many years ago that the only way to let people know that I was at home because I was WORKING, was to learn the word NO!  I’d explain that I wouldn’t be available to go shopping because I was over my head with a project and was on a time table to get it done, or that I was behind on getting craft items ready for the next craft show, therefore had to buckle down and keep with my schedule of WORK that I’d set up for the day.

You will find that those people who have the opinion that just because you’re at home, you’re not really working will make comments like “what do you mean, working? You’re at HOME, aren’t you?”  That’s the time to inform them that you are indeed working at home; that you run a business from your home and that your working hours are such and such.  If you make yourself a regular work schedule and insist that people, including family members, respect your work schedule, they will realize that you do mean business with your home business!

You can also cause your own lack of motivation by picking up small, but deadly, non-work habits.  That second cup of coffee and reading the paper for 30 minutes can be a great time waster. Running back and forth to the kitchen to refill your tea glass or realize you hadn’t cleaned off the breakfast table so rush out to take care of that will waste more time than you think.

Take care of the kitchen table and prepare a large drinking cup of tea or water BEFORE going into the office area to work, then stay in the workshop/office once you’re there and WORK.

There’s a simple strategy you can use to keep most of this from happening. It’s to make the important project you’ve been procrastinating on a priority and working on it first thing every morning. The whole process starts the night before. Before you call it a day, sit down and make a simple plan for what you want to get done the next day. Identify the three most important tasks. These will be things that start to move the needle. Maybe they are all focused on one main project, maybe it’s several things you know you should be getting done.

The greatest statement about working at home is that you can “work in your jammies all day”.  Some people can indeed work in their pajamas, while for other people the idea of being in pajamas doesn’t give the feeling of work, but of relaxation.  In that case get the jammies off, take a shower and put on REAL clothes so you can get the feeling of WORK, not rest and relaxation.  By creating a feeling of work you will find yourself getting into the schedule you have set up and sticking with the program until you get finished what you’d set out to do that particular day.

A jet leaves a vapor trail in the sky as it completes its work – what kind of mark are you leaving so others can readily see that your home business is working?  To tell others you are working at home means there must be visable signs of accomplishment that others can see.

Working At Home ——- With Children

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The very sound of “working at home” is music to the ears of so many people nowdays — with gas prices soaring, costs of daycare, food, clothing and every necessity going higher and higher it’s no wonder the idea of working at home is something we would all love to do.  In addition, with cut backs and layoffs at many work locations, finding something to do as a work at home job may be the only alternative.

OK, so you’ve been sewing for years and years and you can now finally start a sewing business of some kind at home.  Perhaps you’ve been into crafting and creating unique items is your specialty.  Perhaps your children are a little on the plump side, so you can say that you’ve been sewing for plus size children all the years you’ve sewn for your own children, or you’ve been taking home clothing alteration work from fellow employees where you used to work, so you already have a little “business on the side” going.

Another highlight in working from home is the prospect of being able to spend more time with your children.

HOLD ON!  Are you planning to “work” at home, or “spend more time with the children”, which means not much work will be done.

The very FIRST thing that needs to be done is to set a schedule and stick to it!  The children and spouse have to realize that you’ll be needing time to get your work done – whether you’re sewing, doing alterations, making crafts, whatever it is, will take time to get completed.

My daughter has 2 1/2 year old quadruplets, and an older son who is 3 1/2 (gonna be 4 next month).  She has a very strict schedule for them — babies (quadruplets) take a nap at 9:30 in the morning — sometimes they sleep, sometimes they play for an hour, but they are in their rooms.  Then at 1:30 all five of the children are down for a nap.  They sleep until 4:30 or 5:00, which is her “quiet baby time” as well as WORK time.  After naps comes supper, playtime outside, bath, snacks and the babies are in bed at 8 pm; the older brother in bed at 9.  There is never a squabble or fight – it has been this way since the babies turned 6 months old.   She then can work from 9 pm until around midnight. I’m constantly amazed at the amount of work she gets done during those seemingly small periods of time.

If you have older children, plan to do your work while they are in school, then work out summer camps, etc for during the summer months when they aren’t in school.  If they are old enough to be able to help you, give them some little “jobs” to do, otherwise perhaps you can have a small desk on one side of the room where they can be coloring, reading, etc while you’re working.

The second item of importance is to have a designated work area.  The location is up to you – it might be setting up an office or work area in the garage, or in a spare bedroom.  Wherever the work area is, the children must be taught that it is indeed a work area, and they are not to go in and rummage around unless they have permission from you.  In addition, they must not disturb you while you are working unless there is an emergency.

Working from home with children in the house can be very tricky, however it CAN BE DONE!  I’m sure there are thousands of “work at home” moms that have figured this out, and I’m also sure there are many more that are struggling every day trying to get work done in order to get some money in to help pay the bills.

If you are just now contemplating working at home, make a tentative schedule ahead of time and make sure you, your spouse and your children are prepared for the adjustment.  It may take some getting used to, and the original planned schedule may need to be altered a little, but with patience and perseverance it can be worked out.

Advantages of Working From Home

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There are a lot of reasons that people are looking at working “home” businesses, rather than the 9-5 rat race.  Perhaps this economy is forcing many people to look for things to do from their home because of job layoffs and the cutback in their hours.  Some people just want to do “their own thing” rather than have to report to a boss every day.

Well, the reasons are many, and the lifestyles are so different among all of us, that each person has to map out his/her own “reasons” and desires regarding the work at home strategy.

I would venture to say that many of our readers, and those needing extra money, are in the “baby boomer” category just like me.  Or perhaps mothers with small children or children in school, but still want to be able to do something from home.

My biggest advantage of being able to work from home is that I can get my work done and still be able to interact with my 4 year old quadruplet grandbabies and their big 5 year old brother.  The little ones stay at our house about 2 days each week, just to give the parents some “breathing” room.  Hmmmmm, what kind of a “job” would I have to have in order to get 2 days a week vacation? None! 

I normally get up around 4:30 or 5 in the mornings, so can easily get some of my work done before they start getting up around 6:30 or so.   Then there is nap time, which gives me another hour or two of working, and they go to bed at 8:00, which gives me another hour or two  of work time, and still have the majority of my daytime “free” to do things with the kids.

I will have to admit that the work “hours” while the little ones are here is not a schedule that would work every day of the week for me, but the main thing is that I can STILL get some work done while they’re at our house.  If I had a regular 9-5 job, they would not be able to come to our house at all during the week.

Then there are the special days like “Grandparents eat lunch” at the school with our 5 year old kindergartner – something else I wouldn’t be able to do if working a regular full time job.

Assess your own situation and see what kind of home business would work out for you.  Are there ways you can get work done in order to make some extra dollars while working around your busy schedule?  It does take some time management and a strong desire to make it work.  However, once you’ve carved out some time each day for “family”, “work” and “self”, make up your mind that it WILL work, then stick with the plan.  You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish once you have a workable schedule set up.

Seven Ways To Jumpstart Your Mornings

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With fall in the air and cooler weather outside, it is sooooo tempting to not only hit the snooze button on the alarm clock, but to just shut it off and stay snuggled up in the bed.  And, unless you have children to get off to school, forcing you to get out of bed, the temptation is sometimes too great to ignore.

With home businesses to tend to, unless you’re actually sick, here are a few tips to help you get out of bed and get going in the mornings.

** NEVER turn on the tv in the bedroom while still in bed!  It is amazing how many minutes (perhaps an hour or more?) go by while you’re watching the morning shows, weather or news.

** Make a list the night before of what you need to work on in the morning.  The early morning “foggy” brain sometimes can’t quite sort out what is the high priority work items, so it becomes easier to just do nothing until the brain “clears” and you feel like working.

** If you are a daily paper reader, get up and do the early morning routine, then get your coffee / breakfast and read the paper.  Allow yourself a certain amount of time to do the paper reading and breakfast/coffee time frame, then clean up the breakfast area and head on into the work room or office.

** Get your extra coffee / water / coke ready BEFORE heading to the office or work area — if you don’t do this step, you’ll find yourself wandering back and forth to the kitchen to get more coffee, then take the coffee cup back to the kitchen, etc.

** Once in the workroom or office, plan on STAYING there for at least 2-3 hours getting some work done before you leave to do any “extra” things that may have popped into your head while working.

** If you MUST run to the store for materials for projects you’re working on, make a list and don’t go after you’ve been working those 2-3 hours; then you can run to the store as a “break”, then come back and get right back to work.

** Most importantly, don’t let neighbors, friends or relatives pop in on you for an early morning “visit”.  Simply let them know you’re not available for chit chat and you’ll call them back later (AFTER you get the work completed that’s on your list for the morning).