A while ago I wrote about my dilemma concerning Will not wanting to go to school full time. I ended up drastically reducing his school time, and now he goes to school three mornings a week. Two of those mornings I go to class, and one morning I volunteer in my daughers’ classes. Leaving me exactly zero minutes sans kid to get work done, or canvas for work. Needless to say, this isn’t what I imagined when I decided to freelance.
Next year he’ll be going to school half days, everyday, which doesn’t give me a whole heck of a lot more time to work on developing a client base, or to take all the money I’m making, spread out on the bed, and roll around in it, as I imagined I’d be doing in a year. Okay, maybe I’m a little more realistic than that, but I did think that I would have more than 9 freaking hours a week to devote to work, without hearing SpongBob in the background.
I don’t really know what to do. I’m sort of an all or nothing person, and it’s hard for me to say, sure, maybe I won’t have much time to devote to getting a business going this year, and maybe not much more time next year, but boy, come 2010, I’m all over it! I suppose I could think of it as a part time gig. There’s no shame in that, right? The reality is, that’s what it’s shaping up to be, no matter what delusions of grandeur I had in the beginning. When I first started out, I thought I’d start work right after the girls got on the bus at 7:00, and Aaron could get Will dressed and take him to school, so I’d have 7.5 beautiful, pristine, uninterrupted hours to work. I’d make 60 cold calls a week, heck, in a couple of years, I could be pulling in as much as my husband. Or not.
Maybe I need to look into hiring a mother’s helper. Can anyone give me any tips on websites or other resources I can use in finding some in home care? And how well does in home care really work, if mom is in the next room? Anyone, anyone? Bueller?
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Oh girl, I hear ya. First, I think we all think we’ll get more time, especially if we’re the main caregiver, but something ALWAYS comes up. I went from saying I’d get more work/make the business bigger in a matter of months to having to make it a long term goal and sketch it out a little more. Doesn’t help my instant gratification quota but it’s the big picture.
As for the mother’s helper DO IT DO IT DO IT. I split hours between two college students (craigslist, sorted through applicants, did lots of interviews, called lots of references). That way there is always back up if I need it. I also have a “mother’s helper” who started when she was 13 and is great. She lives really close so if I have to pick her up or drop her off it’s easy though her mom likes to do that. She gets paid much less than the older sitters but it’s b/c I tend to be around even more. When the sitters are here I’m in the office but I’m working. When the mother’s helper is here I tend to do laundry/house cleaning/yard work and have them all close by. The sitters are in charge and she’s here more for them to play with.
To cut the rambling short, do you know anyone with teens that might want to be a mother’s helper? Good luck!!
Mandy | October 24th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I thought my youngest would still be wrapped around my legs if we had someone to watch the girls while I was home, but the one time we tried it (as a try out for a new teenage sitter), it worked out great. She was in her lap playing a game within 10 minutes because she didn’t want to be left out from what the older “kids” were doing. I second using Craigslist!
kristie | October 24th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I don’t have any suggestions about the mother’s helper, but I can commiserate about the limitations of having only so many kid-free hours during which to work. I could have a much bigger client base if I only had more time — right now, working a few hours during the day and most evenings leaves me burnt out as it is. I am okay with keeping a limited number of clients until both my kids are in school all day. That’s still 2 and a half years away. At least it is postponing the pressure of growing my business!
Suzanne | October 24th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I would try craigslist in your area - we found one of our awesome nannies that way. And about in-home care - you know, I used to think it wasn’t going to work, but it’s possible. Do you have a separate room that is an office and where you can shut the door? If yes, I think it can help. If not, what about going to a coffee shop to work?
Nataly | October 25th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
We have found kid-care help on craigstlist, too.
When I work at home we tell my oldest (the one that wants to me with me all the time) that she may come into the room with me if she wants, but she may not talk to me. Sometimes she does, but most of the time she finds it more fun to go play with the other kids.
I think the hardest thing is letting the caregiver do the work. I have a tendency to want to come out and fix it if somebody’s crying or what have you and I had to learn to just disengage and know that if I weren’t home the sitter would handle it and that she can do so when I AM home, too.
If you hire someone with her own kid, it’s fun for your kid, you won’t have to pay her as much AND you can maybe split the time between her place and yours (our kids loved this because it meant they got out of the house sometimes, the sitter loved it because it meant that she could do laundry while she was working)
Jan | October 25th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Is there a college in your city that has an ECE program?
Hmmm… I think the nomenclature may be different between our countries. When I say “college”, I don’t mean “university”, I mean more of a trade school. (Is that your “junior college”?) “ECE” is Early Childhood Education — training to be daycare workers.
Anyway. If there is such a thing, you could try advertising through the student centre. This is what I’ve done when I’ve been looking for help with the daycare, and I’ve always been happy with the results.
MaryP | October 26th, 2007 at 1:22 am