It was 2011 when I made the big decision to resign from my teaching job to stay home with my three-year-old daughter.
It wasn't the first move I'd made in that direction. When she was born, I was the lead teacher for English for Speakers of Other Languages in our district. I was proud of the work I was doing and the mark I had made on our department, but knew I needed a different kind of schedule as a new mom. So back then I had stepped down from that job to one with fewer leadership responsibilities and "only" 30 hours a week.. My work meant so much to me, and I wanted to try to do both.
Three years later, I knew the time had come to step down. We had been through a harrowing two years marked by medical issues and the losses of three babies during pregnancy. It had been a year since our last loss, and I was now in my forties with no signs of having another baby. I had begun to accept the idea that perhaps our daughter would be an only child, and I wanted to make the most of her childhood, including homeschooling her when she hit kindergarten. Resigning now would give me a year to figure that out. I had no doubts when I sat down with my boss to tell her the news, and coworker after coworker told me how happy they were for me.
By the summer, two things had changed. First, we found out that I was expecting - with a baby who seemed determined to stick around this time. And second, my supervisor asked me to come back, not as a full time teacher, but as an ESOL consultant helping to train both new ESOL teachers and content area teachers to work with English language learners.
Since then, my "stay-at-home-mom" life has always included a "work-from-home" component. In the past seven years, I've worked as the ESOL consultant, a tutor for Classical Conversations, and as a small business owner - the latter in my role as a Director for Classical Conversations, as a blogger, and as an Independent Stylist for Lilla Rose. And while I love it, there are a few things I wish I had known before I started. If you work from home, perhaps this will resonate with you? And if you are considering it, here are some things to keep in mind.
It wasn't the first move I'd made in that direction. When she was born, I was the lead teacher for English for Speakers of Other Languages in our district. I was proud of the work I was doing and the mark I had made on our department, but knew I needed a different kind of schedule as a new mom. So back then I had stepped down from that job to one with fewer leadership responsibilities and "only" 30 hours a week.. My work meant so much to me, and I wanted to try to do both.
Three years later, I knew the time had come to step down. We had been through a harrowing two years marked by medical issues and the losses of three babies during pregnancy. It had been a year since our last loss, and I was now in my forties with no signs of having another baby. I had begun to accept the idea that perhaps our daughter would be an only child, and I wanted to make the most of her childhood, including homeschooling her when she hit kindergarten. Resigning now would give me a year to figure that out. I had no doubts when I sat down with my boss to tell her the news, and coworker after coworker told me how happy they were for me.
By the summer, two things had changed. First, we found out that I was expecting - with a baby who seemed determined to stick around this time. And second, my supervisor asked me to come back, not as a full time teacher, but as an ESOL consultant helping to train both new ESOL teachers and content area teachers to work with English language learners.
Since then, my "stay-at-home-mom" life has always included a "work-from-home" component. In the past seven years, I've worked as the ESOL consultant, a tutor for Classical Conversations, and as a small business owner - the latter in my role as a Director for Classical Conversations, as a blogger, and as an Independent Stylist for Lilla Rose. And while I love it, there are a few things I wish I had known before I started. If you work from home, perhaps this will resonate with you? And if you are considering it, here are some things to keep in mind.
How to manage my time
This is SO hard for me! The trap I fall into is trying to mutli-task, which makes me incredibly inefficient. What I am learning is that I get the most done when my attention is not divided. I need to set aside for work when my kids are doing something else - which is not easy as a homeschool mom. I also need to work in chunks of time, not moments here and there. I'm also learning that I need a calendar to keep track of my deadlines - deadlines to meets, meetings to schedule, orders to place, articles to write. I thought I left a work schedule behind when I came home, but I'm discovering how much I need one at home!
How to keep good records
Especially as a small business owner, I'm learning a lot about keeping track of expenses, inventory, paychecks, taxes - all of which was new to me! I'm discovering, too, that there are a lot of ways to learn all that online. It is far better to start right on this than to fix shoddy records later!!
How to market myself
I hate talking about myself or "selling" myself, but I've been learning a lot about how to share what I am doing with others. I try to do it without being pushy or salesy, and part of that is learning how to share what I am offering as a solution to someone else's problem - whether that is a supportive homeschool community, or an easier morning hair routine, or encouragement. I'm also learning a TON about the possibilities and limitations of social media in this task.
How to lead others
I thought that leaving work meant leaving my position of influence, but I'm discovering that the leadership skills I learned in my job are just as important at home. I have so many circles of influence - over my children, the parents and children in our CC community, my Lilla Rose team members, the women who work alongside me in our Naomi's Circle ministry. In all these areas, I need to be a servant leader, looking to how to meet their needs, and not my own.
How to provide excellent customer service
After seven years of working from home, I have a much greater appreciation for good customer service. It's not always easy to give it! But whether I am providing a homeschool community or standing behind my hair accessory products, my concern needs to be for how I am taking care of the people who are trusting me with their business.
How to be content without comparing
It's SO easy to fall into the comparison trap. This blogger is more popular than me. This CC community is bigger than mine. This Lilla Rose Stylist has advanced faster than me. But God calls us each to follow our own path, the one HE has for us. I don't need to compare my journey with that of someone else, just to check it with my faithfulness to God's calling in my life.
How to keep first things first
This is, undoubtedly, the most important lesson of all. My first responsibility is my relationships with the Lord, my husband, and my children, and to caring for them. My other activities, no matter how beneficial or enjoyable, take a backseat to those. We have had some hard times as a family recently where other thing have just had to be put aside for a time. Even day to day, I MUST give my family my first and best attention and energy, not only the leftovers. It is a lesson I am still working to put into practice.
It’s never too late to learn
These are all lessons I would have liked to have learned before I started working from home, but it is never too late. I’m learning these now, from fellow bloggers, from the free training I get through Classical Conversations and Lilla Rose, and from low-cost online classes.
What would you add to this list? Share below!
What would you add to this list? Share below!
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