WAHM Blog

A WHAM With A Plan

Work at Home Moms are used to juggling naptime with deadlines, writing with lunch, and laundry with social networking.

However, no matter how much of a Super Woman you are (and we know you are!) you need a plan.

Just as you have dreams for your children, you need to have a dream for where you want your business, or telecommuting job, or even your blogging career to be in five years. That goal, even if it is just a dream and a hope you hold close to your heart, is what keeps you sane during the hard times and stops you from giving up when it seems like you won’t succeed.

I know you’re busy, I’m not suggesting you create a twenty page monster of a business plan. Just take a few minutes during bath time or naptime to think about where you want what you are doing today to lead you five years from now.

You know what, five years is too far away.

How about this…decide where you would like to be six months from now. What baby steps can you take today or tomorrow to make you more successful in six months? Success doesn’t have to mean money, either. Here are four questions to ask in order to form a basic plan:

1. Do you want to have a better grasp of balancing your kids with your work?
2. Do you want to have office hours in six months?
3. How much can you realistically plan your day based on your children’s ages right now?
4. Are you looking for a different opportunity in the next six months or do you want more clients doing what you do right now?

Once you answer the questions above, you’ll find you have a greater sense of clarity about what you’re doing now and what you want to be doing in six months. Once you have that down, then you can start to think about your five-year plan.

You’ll be ready - trust me.

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About Jennifer

Jennifer Gniadecki has been a WAHM for over four years. She has been a Virtual Assistant, an Internet Marketer, and a graphic designer… but her one true love is writing and that is what she’s settled in to do for the long haul. She is a freelance writer and blogger and her work has been featured on Reuters.com as well as the Chicago Sun Times Online. You can find her mommyblog at http://www.beyondmom.com

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And the winner is…

After a very close race, the votes are in and you have chosen a winner! Congratulations to Linda Braun for her great design.

Visit Linda’s website at: www.lindabraun.com.

Thank you everyone who submitted their logo and all that voted.

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My Introduction to WAHM.com

Well, my first experience with WAHM.com was online survey research. I had heard about doing surveys and I ended up here checking out some threads on what companies were profitable. That was my first work at home endeavor, to make money doing surveys. I chose it mostly because it was simple to do whenever I had time here or there with young children around.

Can it be done? Yes it can. It was great, my own hours, free products to test, from shampoo to a fancy coffee pot, a good day was when you received a survey that your child could participate in, like review a show or test a new candy flavor. Sorry, can’t disclose the product info to you but we’ve had some fun. So much fun we did have to declare it on our taxes last year. It may not have been as much money as many of the other dedicated ladies here were pulling in but enough to splurge here and there on a few things.

I would have been interested in mystery shopping but it seems more trouble than it is worth to cart a few kids around. Although when I visited the mystery shopping forum it seemed incredibly enticing. Who doesn’t like to shop?

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About Violette

I’m previously a working mom (marketing database developer/manager) and stay-at-home mom (child care developer/manager); and now a work-at-home mom (juggler); incorporating writing back into my life. I’m fortunate enough to spend time freelancing, writing for children and writing on various topics for you. And, all of this because of the WAHM community for which I am grateful for. Look for me daily at my women’s interest blog, BigShoes.

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Hang In There

I know there are many, many moms who cherish the blessing to be able to raise their families from home and also contribute to the family budget. That is the primary reason WAHM.com is so successful. However, the opportunities to find quality work at home jobs seem so rare. The struggle to find good, honest work from home employment while holding the household together almost seems insurmountable, even to the point to where it doesn’t seem worth it.

It could be easy to pack it in, pack a lunch and pack up your dreams of being a WAHM, then take it on down the road to the nearest corporate cubicle. Don’t give up so easily.

Why? Not because it’s easier or a way to avoid ‘real work’ and hang out at home all day, eating the proverbial bon bon. A mom who manages the family and holds down a job from home is on duty 24/7. There is no day off or sick days. She can’t call in to the boss. If she picks up the phone to request a break, who’s on the other end? 911? Reporting to a job at a certain time and leaving a job at a certain time has to be easier than being on-call around the clock.

Ok, then why? It’s certainly not financially rewarding to raise a family on one full-time income. Those with husbands, who stand united with you in your desire to raise the kids with mom at home, be thankful because single moms with no outside support face tougher odds to be able to work from home than a mom with help does. It takes serious diligence for a single mom to accomplish it, but that is the point of this post, it’s possible. As I stated earlier, the jobs worthy of a wahm’s talents and dedication aren’t just popping out of thin air, but they do exist. Diligence and consistency are the words of the day.

Ok, we’re getting closer, but why stay at home? Becoming a social misfit is definitely not a reason to stay at home. Heaven knows to mostly isolate yourself from the rest of the world and have your kids as your main source of communication, is not the best way to make new friends or stay abreast of the world around us. Actually, that’s a form of madness.

With all of the obstacles seemingly in the way of accomplishing the goal of raising the kids from home, why in the world should you do it? Why go to all of the trouble?

Well, from the day the little ones arrived, for some even before they were conceived, you had a vision of what type of person they would come to be. Your children are mold in your hands and you are the potter. That’s tremendous influence over their lives. You hold the blueprint for your kids’ futures in many ways. Just as an architect hires only the best project managers to carryout the plans he’s drawn up for his new baby, his creation, who better to carryout the plans for your little one? Can you think of a better project manager for your kids’ blueprint than you? Probably not, and that’s why you go to all of the trouble to be with them as much as possible.

We are living in challenging times. Whatever your goals are for your family, don’t give up on reaching them. The ideal situation is waiting for you to find it, just plug at it a little deeper. Remember, diligence and consistency, are the words of the day.

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Secola’s Bio

I’m a single mom of twins, who are soon to become adults, that chose writing as my second career after motherhood.

I am an active member of my church and I enjoy sports, especially tennis, which I play competitively.  I follow the financial markets and current news events.

You can read more of my thoughts on my blog, Secola’s Space.

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Vote for WAHM.com’s new logo!

It is down to the favorite five designs. I thank everyone who took the time to submit their design, they were all wonderful and it was a very hard choice. The poll will be up until 2pm (PST) Friday, July 25th.

Please vote for the new logo at http://www.wahm.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=588686&FID=1&PR=3

I am so excited to see what you all choose. Please only vote one time and please keep your opinions about each design to yourself during the voting period. We would like the logos to be chosen because of their great design, not because you like the person who designed it.

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Shout Outs to WAHM.COM!

When you venture into something new, especially at the tender age of 40, there is always the nagging feeling that the project may not work out as you hope, especially when the success of said venture may depend (may heavily depend) on the views of others (both literally and figuratively).

Blogging is one such venture.  I decided to try this seemingly new phenomenon in American society to see what it’s about.  Questions in my mind were abound:  Isn’t blogging for the Ultra-Techie or political junkie? How does it work?  How does one get a blog?  How would I get people to read it?  Can I turn blogging into a job, a career, even?

My quest for truth, justice and the American Way as it relates to blogging led me to a reliable source, the online magazine, Work At Home Moms dot com, or www.wahm.com, for short.  There I discovered a whole new language is being spoken.  Terms like wordpress, blogger, RSS, feeds, twitter (or tweet, you choose), Squiddoo (are you kidding me?) are REAL terms with REAL meaning to a whole community of people who have found their voices, through their blogs.  Some have found a way to jump start a writing career.  Some have found a passion.  Some have found their sanctity.  Some have found blogging is a heck of a lot cheaper, and a lot more effective than the local therapist.  The more I was exposed to blogging, the more I realized I had to be a part of this movement!

I searched forums and threads for posts that would give me direction.  Armed with enough information but not as much confidence, I published Secola’s Space on June 15.  Nothing like on the job training.  In just a couple of weeks, I had graduated from total newbie to a vet who was contributing to the conversation, imparting my new found knowledge and not just taking from it.

One of the best parts of being a blogger (I’m a blogger!), is the community.  I appreciate the willingness of others to expose themselves to the world.  I enjoy reading the works of truly talented people.  I often let them know by dropping the occasional comment or two.  I hope there are others who view my offerings in the same light.

I’m certain that you’ll find the same dedication from those of us who are fortunate to contribute to the new WAHM Blog.  Be sure to check in often and by all means leave a note or two or three, it’s the fuel that keeps our creative juices flowing!

Feeling inspired?  By all means, put finger to keyboard and start today.  There is always room for one more in the blogging community.

See you in the comments section.

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About Secola

I’m a single mom of twins, who are soon to become adults, that chose writing as my second career after motherhood.

I am an active member of my church and I enjoy sports, especially tennis, which I play competitively.  I follow the financial markets and current news events.

You can read more of my thoughts on my blog, Secola’s Space.

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Hi WAHMers,

Welcome to my first post in the WAHM.com blog. I was excited to find this opportunity in the Bloggers folder, kinda hiding up in the header there. I’m going to have to pay more attention when I visit WAHM for those nifty little surprises because I’m happy to be writing for you.

I’ve been visiting WAHM since August 2007. Maybe I lurked occasionally prior to that. I hadn’t really considered becoming a work at home mom when I left work; it was more just to have a healthy baby since I was high risk due to my first being a preemie. So, rather than take a chance I left a job I loved… really, truly, ask my friends at work and they will tell you how much I loved my job! It was a boring analytical geeky job, high-stress production atmosphere, aggravating commute, ability to work more hours at home after to work and sometimes, on weekends… and I loved it all. It was my dream job outside of working at home.

Why? Because most women love good work. We also love socializing over a cup of coffee or lunch. I missed something… so I found myself here at WAHM. Okay, it wasn’t for the socialization at first. I was spying on you. Little did I know I’d soon become one of you.

Are you lurking at WAHM? Join today and tell the women (and men – yes we have some work at home dads here too) about yourself. You won’t regret it. Come on… fess up!

Violette

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About Violette

I’m previously a working mom (marketing database developer/manager) and stay-at-home mom (child care developer/manager); and now a work-at-home mom (juggler); incorporating writing back into my life. I’m fortunate enough to spend time freelancing, writing for children and writing on various topics for you. And, all of this because of the WAHM community for which I am grateful for. Look for me daily at my women’s interest blog, BigShoes.

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Inviting guest bloggers!

Do you blog? Do you want it seen by thousands of people? Why not become a guest blogger on WAHM.com? Share your story and experiences with fellow WAHMs and we will link back to your blog. We ask that you not make it an advertisement for your company or we may not be able to use it.

Blog away!

Jeanine

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Welcome to the WAHM.com Blog

Hello Fellow WAHMs!

Welcome to WAHM.com - The Online Magazine for Work at Home Moms. My name is Jeanine Haenel. I am here to help and guide you to your dream of working at home and spending more time with your children.

I can help you with anything from advertising on the site, to helping you decide what work at home company is a scam or legitimate, or with any administration on the forum, and much more!

WAHM.com has so much to offer!

• Chat and learn from other WAHMs, visit our forum at http://www.wahm.com/forum.
• View our daily job listings at http://www.wahm.com/jobs.html.
• Research and learn how to start your own business or even help with your children visit our articles section at http://www.wahm.com/articles.
• Advertise starting at just $5/month to get visitors to your site, email me at Jeanine@WAHM.com for banner information or place your text ads at http://www.wahm.com/opp_submit.html, http://www.wahm.com/ad_submit.html, http://www.wahm.com/list.html, http://www.wahm.com/submit.html or bid on our auctions at http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=wahm-ib.
• Find WAHMs in your area http://www.wahm.com/directory.html or find someone to purchase products or services http://www.wahm.com/business.html.

If at anytime you need help or have a question about anything just email me at Jeanine@WAHM.com.

Enjoy your visit on WAHM.com!

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