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Why Do You Do It? (Confessions of Work at Home Parents) by Donna Schwartz Mills

Launching a home business is not easy. In the beginning, you deal with income that comes in erratically, expenses you didn't count on and hours you would have balked at if requested by an employer. So why would anyone *choose* this life?

We posed that question to the 21,000+ members of the ParentPreneur Club -- most of whom are moms and dads who work at home to be more available for their families. So it's not surprising that most of them cited their children as their number one reason for starting a home-based venture. But what struck us was the passion most of them have developed for their new lifestyle:

'I have started my business for one basic reason: I need something for me' says Shannon Jarives of < http://www.amomsjoy.com >. 'It's frustrating to be 'Kirk's wife' or 'Douglas's mom.' I needed something that was totally mine and this small business is just the ticket! I love being creative, sharing my thoughts through my writings and sharing them with others. I also love the fact that I can help other moms feel good about their roles!'

Teresa Whitacre of --- echoes the sentiment:

'Although my business is small right now (semi part time), it gives a sense of being in control and really needed. I also get to choose what I want to do when I want to do it. And, the money that I make goes to my sons's college fund, so that's ultimately worth it.'

Financial freedom was a subject that came up again and again in the responses we received from our readers. Colin Taylor put it succinctly when he cited 'Possible freedom, time freedom and financial freedom' as his reasons for launching a business of his own. 'With all the technologies most of us have in place it makes it easier then ever to run and operate a home based business,' he said.

Some of our respondents exhibited a little ambivalence about the work-at-home life, which is not surprising given the uncertainty they've traded for the security of their former jobs.

Cathi Hobbins left the workforce after she and her husband moved for the sixth time in 11 years. But even after deciding to give staying at home a try, she still found herself looking in the classifieds for job openings:

'Not because I wanted one,' she said. 'I just wanted to know if there were any opportunities. I found myself wanting to go back to work...sort of. I dreaded the idea of leaving my kids, I had gotten used to walking my 5 year old to Kindergarten and taking my 1 year old on playdates.'

'One day in the paper there was an ad... to do some presentation work for the local health unit. Presentations were one of my absolute favourite things to do at my last job,' she said.

So, she put in a bid and got the contract - at a higher rate than she had bid. 'It got me back into a daily routine, which I needed; it was still only part time so that I could work while my kids were in school and sleeping, and it was work I really enjoyed,' she said.

Cathi's experience led to the launch of her new business, Ida Zine Office Solutions < mailto:idazinesolutions@telusplanet.net >. She said, 'Business is great and I'm still here to get my daughter off to grade one and I'm here when she gets home from school. I'm able to take my 2 year old daughter to playdates during the morning and work in the afternoons; my husband comes home to have lunch with us most days and I'm getting to meet lots of new people in this new city.'

Which brings us back to the number one reason work at home parents decide to work at home: To be better parents. The love and dedication these 'parentpreneurs' feel for their families is nothing short of inspiring. As Vicki Haddon put it:

'The number one reason why I do this, is so I can see my youngest son get off the bus every day, look at the window and see me there waiting for him, and witness the complete look of happiness and abandon that comes over his face. Any doubts I ever have are dispelled in that single second, and I know that even though the money is tight right now, we have all we absolutely need to get by from day to day. And twenty years from now, it won't be the old car and slightly worn clothes I'll remember, it will be that smile. And then I'll know without a doubt that it was all worth it.'

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Donna Schwartz Mills is the work-at-home parent behind the ParentPreneur Club < http://parentpreneurclub.com/cgi-bin/art/pl.cgi?hd > Find out how we're getting healthy while earning a healthy living at home - < http://www.unitoday.net/socalmom >

Donna Schwartz Mills may be contacted at http://www.parentpreneurclub.com donna@parentpreneurclub.com. Click here to view more of their articles.
Donna Schwartz Mills is a writer, editor and researcher who has worked in both television and radio. She currently writes and edits the ParentPreneur Club, an online magazine targeted to parents with home-based businesses. Donna is a member of the Writers Guild of America and Meeting Professionals International. She lives in Southern California with her husband, Gareth, and daughter, Megan.

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