Having a successful home-based business and kids is possible. The trick is to create a balance between your work life and your personal life that you're comfortable with, so you feel that neither your home- based business nor your kids are neglected.
4) Set business ground rules and share them with your kids.
Your kids need to be aware that you operate a home-based business and know how to act accordingly. Set out basic rules that will allow you to operate your home-based business as professionally as possible, such as how to answer the telephone, how to answer the door, and how to act when clients are around. Include rules that will help make the time you spend working on your home-based business more productive, such as not touching Mommy's desk or not interrupting Mommy while she's in her office.
5) Include your kids in your home-based business.
No matter what kind of home-based business you run, there's something your kids can do, and making your kids a part of your home-based business can be a great opportunity for you to spend more time with them and teach them things such as handling money. For instance, one home-based business owner I know takes her age 7 and 9-year-old kids with her when she goes around replacing the products in dispensing machines, and has them count and organize change.
If your kids are working in your home-based business, I believe you should pay them. This is not only a great way to teach your kids the value of labour, but can be a business tax deduction for you as well.(See "Income Tax Deductions Related To Employing Your Child Or Spouse" for more information about deducting the salary of a child on your taxes.)
6) Find creative ways to combine your home-based business and your kids.
If the client is agreeable, for example, you could hold a business meeting at MacDonald's, for instance, or some other restaurant that has a play area for kids. If a client is coming to meet with you in your home, perhaps she could bring her children so your kids could play together while you meet. Take your kids with you when you go to buy more office supplies or run other business-related errands.
7) Stop beating yourself up and count your blessings.
Think of all the working people with full-time jobs and often long commutes. One of the great things about running a home-based business is that you have so many more opportunities to be with your kids, and be there for your kids, than they do. Running a home-based business means that you not only get to work at home, but live there, too.
