Sometimes I like to take a little time to think about what has changed from the time that I started my two home – based businesses a little over two years ago until now. Today, I realized that one major change that has occurred over that period of time is how I think about myself and my businesses. That has impacted the image that I present to others regarding not only myself, but my businesses as well. Believe it or not, I think that these changes are responsible from my transition from being not busy enough and looking for additional work to being as busy as my limited work schedule will allow.
When I first decided to become a home – based professional, I was a new mom who had not yet launched her legal career before starting a family. The pieces were partially in place – I had been admitted to the bar and had my license to practice and I was doing work here and there for other attorneys. Unfortunately, I was mostly earning money by working in the front office of a country inn. In fact, for quite some time after I decided to start both my own law office and my own writing business, I still worked at the inn two days a week. I kept my businesses “on the side” and I was fairly shy about talking about them with people because I feared that they would not take me or my little businesses seriously. I also did not believe that I could make as much on my own as I could at my regular job.
Eventually, I became increasingly dissatisfied with working at a job that I knew was not going to get me anything but the same old paycheck week after week. It was not a very big paycheck because it was two days a week, and I figured that I could find enough work to make up for it. I also knew that I was not working up to my potential. I left my two day a week job and became an entirely home – based professional. In conjunction with the change to working only for myself, I began to hold my head higher and speak more openly about what I do for work. When others ask me what I do, I tell them that I am a stay at home mom and I work from home part time. When they ask what kind of work I do from home, I proudly tell them that I have a very small private law practice and I am a freelance writer. I’m not ashamed of the small size of my businesses any more because they are as big as they can be while being compatible with my main occupation of being a mom. In short, I take my businesses much more seriously than I used to. I also convey to others by the things that I say about myself and my businesses that I do what I do by choice and that I am pleased with that choice.
Photo by rachjose on morguefile.com.