How to go from SAHM to WAHM: Part 1

So I mentioned in my last post that I'm going to let go of the safety-net that I've been holding on to by resigning from my position as a teacher here in Toronto.  I'm a little SCARED, but it's the kind of fear that MOTIVATES me, not the kind that IMMOBILIZES me.  You know what I meant?

And yes, I'm going to be launching a business this spring.  I've been taking a couple of courses for the past 4 months and I have learned SO MUCH and I will soon be ready to take the plunge and put myself and my ideas OUT THERE for everybody to see and talk about... and BUY, presumably.

I know that many of my readers are WAHM-wannabes.  You love being home with your kid(s) but you also really want to contribute to the family income.  You know there are things that you are good at, but you don't know how to market your skills and knowledge to make some money.

Well, lucky you!  Because I'm going to share with you some of what I've been learning.  Of course, it might mean more to you to hear it from someone who has actually MADE MONEY already working from home!  But perhaps you'll benefit from hearing about my journey so far...

1. Know WHY you want to make money.  You want to pay for private school for your child.  Or you want to move to a better neighbourhood.  Or you want to buy a farm.  Or you want your partner to be able to retire (that's my reason!).  Keeping your REASON really clear will help you to stay focussed and not give up.  It is NOT materialistic or immoral to want more money so that you can provide a better life for your family and so that you can all live up to your full potentials and be who you were born to be.  
2. Begin with ONE idea.  Examples:  You want to empower moms who have suffered post-partum depression because you've been through it and you know what really helps.  You want to make and sell gender-neutral baby clothes so that parents don't have to buy two different wardrobes for their boy-and-girl children.  You want to sell the totally awesome homeschool package on Geography for 4-8 year olds that you created last year for your own family.   You want to help parents whose children aren't being served by the one-size-fits-all model of public education.   (Yup, that's my idea.)
3. Start somewhere.  You don't have to have lots of products and a whole marketing program in place to launch a business.  You only have NOW, so use it.  Don't put enormous pressure on yourself because it is really hard to focus and to attract the right kind of customer when you are coming from a place of desperation.
4. Make sure your partner is on board.  If you are spending a lot of time at the computer or at the sewing machine or with your nose in a book, it really helps your partner to want to help you carve out time to do those things if he understands that you are moving towards an income.  
5. Get help to learn what you don't know.

I enrolled in a business course in the fall and it has been, without a trace of irony, the best learning experience of my life.  This course teaches not only how to get online and market and create drip-campaigns and search engine optimization and freemiums (yeah, seriously!), it also teaches how to clear your negative energy about selling to people or about not believing that you are good enough or smart enough or deserving enough to really make money using your skill or knowledge.  It's awesome.  I am a totally changed woman from everything I have learned in this course.

Just FYI:  it costs $497 to enrol, and then $97/month after that for as long as you want.  Once you enrol, you have access to ALL the recordings of all the training calls since October and all the PDF files for templates and additional training.  The coach's name is Heather Madder, and you can find her information and some free downloads by clicking on the graphic above.  (Email me if you want to find out how to get your enrolment for FREE!)

Tomorrow I'm going to tell you how I find time to work on starting a business, take a course and be a mom to 4 unschooled kids under the age of 7 while also making all our food from scratch and not letting the house turn into a pigsty.  Yup, it's possible, and you can do it too!