Now that I've been in the workplace for a number of years, I am finding that I'm ready for a change in pace and that I'd rather work at home. For the past 4 years I've taken steps to be able to work from home, but first I had to decide what I wanted to do and then I had to figure out how to do it. I knew it would have to be something I love to do, because I knew I'd have to look forward to getting up each day to go about my chosen work. I thought about it for a long time and made a list of my marketable skills. My list consisted of writing, editing, accounting, and computers. The last three things I had already been doing successfully in the workplace for quite some time. Writing was something I loved to do but I had never written anything except in college. It took a lot of courage for me to put my fears aside and start writing professionally when I had no idea how people would respond to my writing.

I started out doing freelance technical editing, because this is what I know best. I quickly realized that doing this all day every day and then freelancing on the side was just not going to work. It did not pay well enough to justify all of the lost sleep. I thought about doing bookkeeping at home, but faced the same dilemma. I eventually decided to start a newsletter to share my family's knowledge of homemaking skills with others. I chose a subject that was near and dear to my heart. Our family's financial struggles were first and foremost in my thoughts and in our daily lives, and I needed more motivation to stay on track and to keep finding ways to save money in every area of our lives. Well, the idea worked. I have spent only a relatively limited amount of time in the pursuit of this new business, and it is already paying off. In addition, the feedback I've received from my newsletter so far has shown me how many other families so desperately need this kind of information too and how much people appreciate what I'm doing.

You may wonder how successful my home business has been. To be completely honest, it isn't making me any money yet, but I can say that it isn't losing me any money either. I am, however, getting more and more subscribers every day, and I'm hoping in a few years that I will be able to begin to work at home full time. I plan to do more freelance writing also. For the mean time, I am working full time outside the home as a technical editor as well as working on two different newsletters and several books in my spare time. In effect, I've just created more work for myself, but my dream of working at home will never become a reality unless I work hard at both jobs each and every day. You may wonder how my home life has been affected by my decisions. My husband is being very supportive because he wants me to be happy, and my daughter benefits from the example I am setting for her. She is growing up to be a very self-motivated, goal-oriented person just like her mother (she has started her own newsletter to raise money for the Humane Society). She has not learned this from my words, but from my example. I don't have to ask her to do her homework or make her go to school. She has a lot of expectations for herself and carries them out in her everyday life. We spend a lot of quality time together and talk a lot about her hopes and dreams. She knows she can do or be anything she wants when she grows up. She's already expressed to me that she thinks what I do is boring and that she wants a different career for herself. That's fine with me, and I look forward to seeing what she ends up deciding to do with her life.

There's a lot involved in making the decision to work or not to work, or to work outside the home or in the home. It's not easy for anyone to make this choice. I personally needed the opportunity to experience the workplace and to have a successful career outside the home. I am coming to a point in my life now, however, where this isn't so important to me anymore, and I'm now taking the steps to be able to work at home hopefully sometime in the near future. The key is to be empowered with the resources you need to make your own choice. I've put together some links I have found helpful, and I hope they will also help you with these life-changing decisions.

A good resource for moms who work outside the home is the Working Moms' Internet Refuge, I have found several great web sites for moms and/or dads who want to work from home. These web sites include Work at Home Parents, WAHM, and the Mom's Network Exchange. These sites include a lot of great resources like discussion groups, chat rooms, e-mail newsletters, bookstores, and many links to other sites that might be of interest to you. The more you can network with other parents, the more information you can get to help you figure out what's right for you. It's also good to have other parents to talk to when you need a helping hand or a shoulder to lean on. I have in the past been involved in discussion groups at both WAHM and the Mom's Network Exchange, and found them both to be very helpful. Good luck!

Rachel is the editor/publisher of Creative Homemaking, the Family Guide to Household Hints and Money-Saving Ideas. For a sample issue send $2 to Creative Homemaking, 6407 Haag St., W. Richland, WA 99353. $12/yr. (6 issues). Web site:

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