NOTE: This post is out of date. “Alice” starts Extended Day, the Montessori equivalent of full-day Kindergarten, in September 2011, which will make me available for semi full-time work.
When I am out and about with “Alice,” my 2-year-old daughter, I am often asked what I do for a living. I usually answer “communications consultant” rather than “work at home mom” (WAHM) or “mompreneur.” Some people seem to think WAHM and mompreneur are the new euphemisms for homemaker or that I must be selling Tupperware or something.
If the conversation continues, I explain, thanks to the Internet, I work from home when “Alice” is at Montessori school and napping or sleeping. That means I can easily work 25 to 30 hours a week or up to 40 in a pinch (with Jim’s childcare help). I try to work between 20 and 25 hours a week on average, but that can be hard because consulting is often feast or famine (you need good financial management and strategic planning skills to make it work). I don’t plan to work full-time again until “Alice” is at least 4 1/2 and in her Montessori school’s Extended Day program. I would consider a 20- to 32-hour-a-week office job before then—but only for the right opportunity and commute.
I’m lucky that most of my areas of expertise—strategic communications, web and new media, and print materials—can be done in small chunks of time remotely (alas, one of my most potentially lucrative job skills, U.S. federal government proposal writing, really can’t). I’m also lucky that my former employer has become my biggest client and that my supervisor there is a huge Montessori advocate and supports mothers spending time with their young children (from a non-sexist Montessori perspective).
I love being able to set my own hours and not have to ask for time off when I take “Alice” to the doctor, her Kindermusik class, or the library. My client sessions are primarily over the phone, so I don’t spend time commuting, freeing up upwards of 10 hours a week for work or family. Furthermore, not having to pay for gas, parking, restaurant lunches, expensive office attire, and frequent drycleaning saves me money. What do I tell people is the best part of being a communications consultant, WAHM, mompreneur, or whatever you want to call me? Being able to remain in the profession I love, get paid for it, and stay at home to watch “Alice”—and my career—grow!
What are your experiences as a WAHM or mompreneur?
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I find that a lot of people think since I am a mompreneur that I must be available for babysitting. First of all, babysitting isn’t anywhere near as lucrative as my interior design consulting business. Second of all, babysitting someone elses kids would make it harder for me to get any consulting work done!!!
I have had a few moms ask me to babysit their kids too, mostly in some sort of exchange arrangement. I took it as a compliment that they would trust me to take care of their children. It sounds like you’ve had people offer to pay you for babysitting. I think I’d be annoyed by that too. The going rate for babysitting around here is $12 to $15 per hour, which is significantly (to put it mildly) less than consulting.