FAMILY FINANCES / KATHY M. KRISTOF : Moms Say Working at Home Is a Challenging Solution
Cathy Mears thought the best thing she could do after she had children was give up her career and become a stay-at-home mom. But she just couldn’t afford it.
“My husband and I looked at all kinds of things, trying to swing it,” she said. “Finally I said maybe I’ll just have to go back to work.”
However, Mears found some middle ground. Now the co-owner of B&C; Family Daycare in Vista, Calif., she works part time from home. She doesn’t earn a fortune: “It’s just the extra income that we need to make ends meet.”
Mears is by no means alone. Experts estimate that millions of American women do much the same thing, juggling part-time jobs and full-time homemaking in order to earn enough to maintain a scaled-down version of their pre-parent lifestyle.
More than 13 million women--roughly one of every four working women--are working part-time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, more than 7.8 million women work from home, says Bill Deming, a BLS economist.
While there are few comparative data, anecdotal evidence points to a booming trend, experts say.
“When I started doing this in 1984, working at home to take care of your children was a very weird idea,” said Georganne Fiumara, director of Mother’s Home Business Network in East Meadow, New York. Now Fiumara’s organization boasts membership of 6,500 mothers, who pay $35 annually for work-from-home advice. “It is certainly an idea that has gained acceptance.”
Christa McClure, president and founder of the Assn. of Enterprising Mothers in Vista, agrees.
“More and more moms are working, but they prefer to work in ways that are more accommodating to their families,” said McClure, a mother of two.
Though many wannabe work-at-home moms may envision a pastoral workplace where they calmly make business calls while their tots play quietly on the floor, that dream is a far cry from reality.
In the midst of important business conversations, children invariably yell, fall or experiment with loud musical instruments, working moms lament. And try concentrating when someone’s tugging at your sleeve or scaling the bookshelf.
“You have to do all your work at night or at nap time,” sighed Vicki Sassano-Shaw, a San Diego bookkeeper and mother of two toddlers. “It’s not as easy as it seems.”
Indeed, Gail Bartz, who runs a Fort Lauderdale-based production business, says she’s put her work on the back burner until her daughter gets settled in day care.
“For a while I was setting her up with videos and trying to make calls,” Bartz said. “But invariably, at the wrong time, she’ll let out a scream. I’m kind of demotivated.”
Fiumara, who says she worked from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. while her children were small, acknowledges that running a business from home is no easier--and probably harder--than running a business anywhere else. Still, she says, it’s possible.
“Yes, you can work while the kids are around. Yes, sometimes it’s difficult,” she said. “But nothing worthwhile is easy.”
Better yet, you can make a decent living at it, she says.
Often, mothers earn between $10,000 and $20,000 annually, working about half-time, says McClure. It takes time to get a rhythm--earning more than a pittance in the first year is a major accomplishment, the experts say.
The key to making it work is choosing a business that allows for odd hours and lots of interruptions, says McClure, who ranks business opportunities for stay-at-home moms. While computer consulting probably wouldn’t work, network marketing--selling anything from Tupperware to Discovery Toys--can. About 43% of McClure’s members are involved in network marketing, she says.
However, McClure believes that some of the better business opportunities are in bookkeeping, desktop publishing, public relations and secretarial services, she says. All these professions provide good profit potential and lots of flexibility. Network marketing does too, but McClure says many moms are unwilling or unable to do the aggressive marketing necessary to make money in direct sales.
Moms who have started successful enterprises say it’s a lot of work, but well worth it.
“Don’t give up looking for something,” advised Mears. “There is always some niche you can find to stay at home. And the benefits of working from home and spending the time with your kids so outweigh the costs.”
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Those searching for resources and advice can contact the two membership groups for moms working at home. They are:
Assn. of Enterprising Mothers, 914 S. Santa Fe Ave., Suite 297, Vista, CA 92084, (619) 598-9260.
Mother’s Home Business Network, P.O. Box 423, East Meadow, N.Y. 11554, (516) 997-7394
