Thinking of Starting a Home-based Business? Careful.

If you've been entertaining this thought, chances are you've met various women who sell Arbonne, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Creative Memories, to name a few home-based businesses targeted at SAHMs and WAHMs. These are all great businesses--I personally know and/or have coached women in these kinds of direct sales businesses who love their work. But is direct sales for you?

There are as many possibilities for self-employment as you can imagine. But to start with, what compels you to want to work? Is it something you need to do, want to do, feel you should do, or a combination? And what do you need from your work--flexibility, time off, high income potential, low investment, security, working by yourself or as part of a team...?

You can sign up for any of a huge number of home-based businesses geared towards SAHMs, but if you want to be happy, satisfied, and successful, you should probably start by figuring out what it is you want. Not just what job you want, but what that job would get you, such as: a break from mommyhood, some spending money, an outlet for your creativity or self-expression, the opportunity to contribute to the family, some adult interaction, financial security, etc.

Once you know what you want (i.e., what motivates you), it will narrow down your choices and help you choose a business that meets your conditions of satisfaction. Make sure that the work you choose to do fits in with your family values and supports your commitments to your spouse/significant other. Otherwise, you could create some issues in a part of your life that might not already exist.

Motherhood is a fulltime job, and yet focusing our energy and brainpower on something other than diapers, Disney and the whims of the little humans we brought into this world can be very satisfying. By clearly understanding the reasons you're compelled to work you can choose a business that recharges you while you raise your family.