There is a lot of fun stuff in my work at home venture! I mean A LOT. And I want to be OK with that…

In my own work at home venture, I also offer the opportunity to join my team and be mentored in the development of your own home-based business. And I’ve probably sounded, at time, like a bandwagon master myself! But, something I’ve come to realize is that if you do jump on a bandwagon, there is always another parade…and it may be a glitzier, bigger parade. What if you’re on the wrong wagon?!?!

All this is to say, there are some basic fundamentals that should go into making a work at home decision, and we would probably all be well served to pay attention to them. If you think about it, you’re making a decision that will impact your entire life in many ways, and (hopefully) for a long time. In making a decision of that caliber, you owe it to yourself to do your “due diligence” in researching your work at home options.

So, what do you research? Well, I’m talking primarily here about opportunities to represent companies or use online systems through your own home-based business that is affiliated with an established “parent company”. Here are some things to consider:

• Market potential – looking to the future, how well-positioned is the parent company in terms of what it offers?
• Time commitment – is the amount of time you’re asked to invest commiserate with the return you will receive (heed that old adage, if it sounds too good to be true….it probably is!)?
• Product Quality – is there independent, trustworthy proof that the product(s) and/or service being offered are as good as they are claimed to be?
• Success rate of other workers at home affiliated with this company – are there actual people who have achieved what you’re being told it’s possible to achieve?
• Monetary Investment – are you asked to invest an appropriate amount of money to begin your home-based business? And what does that investment get you? (Either too much or too little initial investment engenders suspicion.)
• Parent company history – how long has the company been in business and how secure is it financially?
• Income Potential – how do the numbers compare with other options in terms of your income potential, both in the short term and in the long term?
• Parent company philosophy – is the company committed to values that resonate with your own values?

How do you get answers to these questions? The online presence of the parent company may (and should!) address many of them. And beyond that, there should be a person to ask, either from the parent company or a fellow home-based business owner affiliated with the same company.

So, what if these sources give the same “pitch” that you’re trying to discern? Well, then it becomes incumbent upon you to sort hype from fact. It may be a simple matter of your impression of your info source. If you make a grounded, thorough assessment, I bet you’ll be able to know what is a good fit for you.

In the long run, you’ll be very happy you took the time to consider things like these before “jumping”. By all means, join the work at home parade. Just take your time in selecting the right wagon!

• More women than men have received a graduate education and women’s gains in educational attainment have significantly outpaced those of men.

• Yet the pay gap between men and women persists, with women earning about 75% of their equally educated male counterparts.

• Female-headed familes have the lowest family earnings of all family types.

• Women are more likely than men to be in poverty.

The right work at home arrangement can be a terrific way to address these realities for women!  As an entrepreneur with her own home-based business, a woman can be equally rewarded for her professional aptitude. At the same time, she can experience greater flexibility to achieve the balance that we women are often looking to create in our lives!!

*From:Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being. U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration; Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget; White House Council on Women and Girls. March 2011.

And then I came to a “Fraud Fact” listing that discredited the entire brochure. I couldn’t believe it. This is what I read: “Be cautious of work at home job offers.”

What?! Doesn’t the federal government know that upwards of 60% of Americans want to have a home business?!

Should you act with discretion in aligning yourself with a work at home company? Sure! Are you wise to exercise due diligence in evaluating work at home programs? Yes! Are there some out there who market work at home jobs that are not valid? Of course! But it’s not the work at home element that makes these suspicious.

I would have thought the USPS would have a little more savvy than that. At first, I was thinking of this is a fraudulent fraud alert, but then I decided that may be a little too strong. But a fallacious fraud alert for sure. We’ve come a long way in accepting the growing emergence of the U.S. home-based business. But apparently we still have a ways to go.

- a number of industries have free “Mastermind” groups, where a number of business owners from across the country get together, either by phone, or in person, to support one another and brainstorm

- some blogs and forums whose subject matters are not at all specific to this topic have “communities” specifically for those who work at home; this can be a good place to meet with other workers at home with whom you share something else in common as well

- there may be business networking groups (like BNI) in your area that at least indirectly support those with home-based businesses (alongside the more traditional business people)

- consider general conferences, workshops and inspirational speakers, even if they are not specific to your industry

- And, of course, allow work at home mom blogs to provide information, encouragement and inspiration .

This is the time of year when we reflect, assess, and often commit to changes. Those New Year’s Resolutions often reflect our desire to spend more time with family, align our priorities, and/or honor our deep internal desires to make a difference, to do something different. And from those reflections can come new entrepreneurial ventures.

Coupled with that natural seasonal timing is the economic timing of the state of our nation. An employer’s market gives the potential employee motivation to at least consider an entrepreneurial undertaking.

A blog I frequent had a post today referencing financial guru Dave Ramsey’s advice not to participate in the recession. Author Mary Kochan comments:

While a job loss can be a kick in the teeth for a lot of people, for some, it is the kick in the pants that gets them out and moving. Over and over again I hear people say, “When I got fired I thought it was the end of the world, but it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me.”

The entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and well in this country and is one of the greatest cultural assets of this nation.

Is your entrepreneurism shining?

I certainly have a lot to be thankful for, and working at home is right up there on the list! Happy Thanksgiving!

What I’ve realized, though, is that my home-based business model offers these same benefits without the expensive fees! Because it has been in business for over 50 years, the company I have partnered with enjoys positive brand recognition. It has business training programs in place. And it offers a 500 million dollar infrastructure of corporate support. It’s like a franchise, but with no franchise costs or fees! A perfect combination for the work at home mom .

Which is why it is important to surround yourself with encouraging people. As a work at home mom, you need a support team that will encourage and inspire you. People who will help you remember those advantages and benefits of your situation, when the going gets rough.

I’m blessed to have encouraging people inherent in my home-based business model, as I am in business for myself as a work at home mom, but not by myself. My business support “team” is all things encouraging. Other places to find encouraging people: trusted family members and friends, blogs like this (!), business networking groups, other work at home moms in your community. They’re out there — persevere until you have found encouraging people with whom to surround yourself. And stay connected to them in order to keep the encouragement flowing! It will help you succeed as a work at home mom.