The Home Team

House with dollar sign to portray a home based business (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Attitudes and behaviors can be contagious and that is true both at home and on the job.  As part of a four-generation direct-selling family I know the line between the two can sometimes get a little blurred.

In addition to being a great source of additional income many people choose a home-based business opportunity to find a better balance between work and home.  Sometimes, there’s a struggle to create boundaries that serve both: how do you decide what’s flexible enough for “home” but professional enough for business?

When coaching direct sellers I often hear that “others” don’t take the business seriously, making  difficult to keep a schedule and achieve goals.  In addition, lots of parents seem to feel apologetic toward their families for the “time away” from them instead of focusing on the flexibility, ability to grow the business and, in many cases, the lack of a commute!

Perhaps there’s something else at play.  It’s easy for people working from home to become isolated and start believing their own thoughts.  They may question their choices and  struggle with confidence.  With no obvious place to share those worries it can become easier to say “other people don’t take my business seriously” than “I’m letting self-doubt  (aka “my inner critic”) undermine me professionally.”

You  chose to start a business for your own reasons — often to give more options to the people you love.  In the tough times it can be easier to focus on the things that are difficult rather than everything that works.  But kids learn from what we do even more than what we say.

Children of entrepreneurs can learn lessons about choices, empowerment, problem-solving and choosing an attitude. Everyone needs support and our family members cannot be expected to read minds.  When focused on the benefits of working from home it becomes easier to be specific about ways the entire family can be involved… with both the work and the rewards.

Some say that summer is a “bad time” in the direct sales world.  I’m not convinced there’s ever a bad time to work on ways to enhance your family’s freedom.

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