Inside Job: Women and Home-Based Work

Home-Based Work for Her

Had enough of the rat race? Maybe it's time to start your own business -- and many people have had success opening shop from within their homes. In our Inside Job special feature, we've gathered information you can use to learn the ins and outs of doing a home-based business right.

Karen Steede-Terry , author of "Full-Time Woman, Part-Time Career" (CMS Press, 2005), is an expert on helping women find ways to combine work and motherhood, among other things. She was online to help readers find ways to balance their personal and professional lives.

For more on entrepreneurism, visit last year's Small Business 101 special feature. And there is plenty more information on jobs and careers in our online Jobs section .

The transcript follows below.

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Washington, D.C.: I would like to work from home or have a home-based business. I know that working from home is out of the question in my current career. I'm willing to make the transition. Where is a good place to start looking?

Karen Steede-Terry: What is your current career and what kind of skills do you have?

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Lusby, Md.: Hi, Karen. Two questions: where is the best place to search for jobs that let you work at home? two, what careers are most likely to allow you to be "virtual?" Thanks.

Karen Steede-Terry: Hello! Thank you for participating in the chat. In my book "Full-Time Woman, Part-Time Career," I have a list of Web sites that have work from home opportunities. You can also search on Google, or on monster.com, which is a good source. What are your skills? There are many careers you can do "virtually," including consulting, freelance writing, coaching, and many marketing services. Depending on your skills, you may be able to do something related to your profession, or something slightly different within your field. For example, I know two lawyers who give seminars and provide consulting to other law firms, rather than actually practice law. Many people can make a transition to something related to their field, depending on their skillset.

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Snellville, Ga.: How can you assist me in finding a legitimate home business as I have been trying to find one for the longest time that doesn't have a high start up cost.

Karen Steede-Terry: There are many Web sites that offer home-based businesses. Most are selling products from well-known companies. I don't usually endorse one Web site over another, however I like www.hbwm.com (home-based working moms), which offers legitimate opportunities.

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Norcross, Ga.: I am underpaid since 2001, only about $900 a month. My credit is poor, marriage suffering, and children hurting, because I wasted so much money on trying to get ahead. I would love to work at home if there is a legitimate business out there with little or no up front money.

Karen Steede-Terry: Dear Norcross: What do you do? My approach is to help women begin working from home in their existing field, rather than try to set up a home-based business selling products. If you have skills to offer (such as writing, marketing, or public speaking), you can go out on your own, working from home. The start-up costs are minimal, because you don't have to buy products (cosmetics, kitchen accessories). To start out, you need business tools, such as a computer, FAX machine, letterhead, business cards, etc.

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College Park, Md.: What are the common mistakes people make when they decide to work from home?

Karen Steede-Terry: One thing about working from home is that you can be very isolated. It is very hard, especially if you are used to working in an office with a lot of people. You do not have the social interaction with co-workers, and for women especially, it is difficult not having anyone to talk to.

One thing that can help with this is to "switch" your social interaction from day to night. If you are alone all day, join some evening social groups -- dinner clubs, tennis leagues, book clubs, whatever appeals to you.

The second thing is the tendency not to separate work from home life. This is a big one, especially when you have family around. Be sure to have dedicated work time AND space. If you have a dedicated work area (a home office), this will help you be in the mental mode to work. One of the things that I have found hard is to get others to respect the fact that you are working. It helps to establish some boundaries and guidelines up-front.

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Russellville, Ark.: Is there a general salary range for home-based working opportunities?

Karen Steede-Terry: Hello! Thank you for your question. In my book "Full-Time Woman, Part-Time Career," I talk extensively about pay ranges and setting rates for new consultants. When you go out on your own, you need to decide how much you are worth, and how much you are willing to work for. There are six case studies in the book, and most talk about their pay and what to expect when you are just starting out.

Here is a good review of my book on BlogHer.com: http://blogher.org/node/10241

Scroll down and you will see a text box that quotes one of my case studies (Leita Hart) and what she has to say when setting your rates and deciding what to make when starting out.

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Florida: Do you know much about affiliate programs where you make money linking to other sites or products or serving ads on your Web site? And if so, what would be the top three places you recommend to learn the best information about how to find the best affiliate programs?

There is so much HYPE! And it seems the only people making money are the people hyping up their own e-books and membership sites -- those folks really know how to sell their own stuff and toot their own horns. I really don't want to be like that -- I want to join top quality, high-income producing affiliate programs that are going to be around for the long haul.

Or am I dreaming?

Can you point me in the right direction(s)? Thanks so much for your advice.

Karen Steede-Terry: I just read an excellent article about affiliate programs and viral marketing by Cory Threlfall. I don't have the link, but you can do a Google search on the author. Affiliate programs are good if you list a product on your web site, but you don't necessarily want to sell it on your site (in other words you don't want to handle the financial transaction yourself by setting up a merchant account). These programs provide you with an opportunity to still make a little bit of money from the fact that you "referred" the business to their web site (kind of like a referral fee). Notice I said "a little bit" of money - you won't get rich from these programs unless you have a whole bunch of Affiliate Links and you have a lot of people who visit your site (what these people you are describing do).

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Cheverly, Md.: Hi Karen,

I work for the federal government as a FOIA officer. I like the flexibility of my job but that's about it. I am a wife and a mother of three kids ages 10, 8, and 4, and I have not been able to strike a balance without feeling burnt out. Currently, I do work from home on Mondays but that's not enough. I lack passion for what I do and that also bothers me.

I know I want to work from home but I am not sure what my passion is and how to go about finding it. I forgot to mention that I am the bread winner in the house so I feel like I really can't search for my dream job with out a financial hardship.

Thus far, I know one thing for sure and that is I don't want to wait 30 years to retire from a job. I want to enjoy my family now and later and provide a secure future as possible for the years to come.

How do I start my journey?

Karen Steede-Terry: Hello. Thank you for writing to me. Your situation is similar to a lot of women. They are working for the income, many are the sole breadwinner, as you mention, and they would like to leave the corporate world, (or in your case, the government) but they don't know how. If you have skills (writing, coaching, technical, financial), you can go out on your own. My book is a roadmap for how to do it.

I also highly recommend www.integratedmother.com, founded by Michele Dortch, for the emotional/passion/living side of things. Michele's entire mission reflects what you said in your last paragraph -- to help women find the passion in their lives, and build an integrated life so they can enjoy their families now. I agree with her philosophy, as it is so important to cherish the time you have with your kids, now (not in 30 years, as you say), before they are all grown up! Check out her site. I think she has some resources that will help you.

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Kingston, Jamaica: Karen,

I'm happy that your column has international reach, perhaps you can shed some light on my situation.

I am a lawyer/anthropologist specializing in development. Since returning to the Caribbean (in 2003) I've been working from home as an independent consultant, and I'm really enjoying the freedom and flexibility.

Recently, I've ventured into creative writing/film making and am traveling more as new opportunities arise. Although I am living my dream, these activities take me away from paid work.

For some time, I've been contemplating starting a firm, fielding responsibilities to partners/associates and reducing my involvement in projects. However, I have major concerns with:

1. How to find the right people to bring in (creative, independent, experienced, but team oriented)? I've thought of a loose structure where people are brought on for specific projects but this leads to high turnover. On the other hand if I take on staff, the issue is how to retain them between projects? And then there are the challenges of managing people and their expectations

2. How to best capitalize on my strengths (research, project formulation, troubleshooting and evaluation) without getting involved in day to day project management.

3. How to make the transition smoothly? In five years I want to dedicate my time entirely to creative endeavors and having a family.

I'd love your perspectives on this.

Thanks.

Karen Steede-Terry: Hello! Thank you for writing (and for reading my column on www.msfinancialsavvy.com) -- do you blog on BlogHer.com? I am half-joking, there was a similar story posted from the Caribbean recently . . .

Your question about staff is never easy: "how to find the right people to work with?" As you know, sometimes you really click with people and sometimes you don't. What has been helpful to me is using subcontractors. In my case, I am a software instructor, and these were other women looking for flexibility in their lives, because most were new moms. I did get references from them first. I called their clients, and looked at their course evaluations to see how they were received. I explained what I expected up-front, and I had a positive experience. You might try using someone as a subcontractor first, and then hiring them if it works out. Do you have any professional groups (as an attorney, I would think there would be many!) where you can look for people?

Combining travel with creative writing sounds like a dream come true to most people! I understand about having two careers and when you are trying to get the second career off of the ground, it does take you away from your paid work. Is there any way for you to balance this out?

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Anonymous: What services do you offer to assist women in finding opportunities?

Karen Steede-Terry: Hello and thank you for asking. I do offer coaching on an hourly basis. However, my services are confined to helping women who want to go out on their own, using their existing professional skills, rather than trying to find a suitable home-based business for someone.

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Washington, D.C.: I have spent a career developing and implementing financial and regulatory policy. For health reasons I now need to work from home. There are no options with my former employer. Do you have an resources that I might explore in this area?

Karen Steede-Terry: How long have you been in your field? If you have been in a specific field (in your case, financial) for five or more years, chances are that you have some pretty good contacts and/or a pretty good network. What I would do is make calls to your network, to people you know in your field, and I would ask them if they know of any contract or consulting opportunities. You can always go to monster.com, and look for contract work, but you have a much better shot at getting a job with someone you know, because they already know you, and thus you have credibility. Many times, one contract job can lead to another, and then another, etc.

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Landover, Md.: What would be a good home-based business for someone who has experience in the administrative assistant field, and how would I get started? Also, what online resources are available?

Karen Steede-Terry: Have you thought about becoming a Virtual Assistant?

This is a relatively new job area, where one person has several clients who want a web presence, but who don't want to maintain it. You update Web sites, maintain client databases, put together and then send out e-mail newsletters (known as e-zines), etc. Does this sound like a good fit for someone with your background?

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New York: "...for women especially, it is difficult not having anyone to talk to."

This is as true for SOME women as it is UNTRUE for other women. Please help us avoid perpetuating the women-talk-to-much stereotype.

Karen Steede-Terry: Point taken.

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Loudoun County, Va.: Even in this county just 50-70 miles west of Washington, D.C., home to AOL, and recently declared the "richest" county in the U.S., the level of computer services varies greatly. If you're lucky enough to be in a village in the western part, you may get high-speed or wireless. If you're in a town and VERY lucky, you may get fiber optic. But many still rely on dial-up in the rural areas where the commutes to jobs in Washington, D.C. can be two hours each way. How critical is a high-speed Internet connection to the most recently emerging home-based businesses? And do you know of any communities that have addressed this issue of ensuring high-speed or wireless options to all of their residents?

Karen Steede-Terry: Hello. To answer your question, it depends on what you are doing from home. If the work you are doing is independent of the Internet (such as writing articles or marketing pieces for other companies), then the speed of your Internet connection shouldn't really matter. I work with one graphic artist who lives in a rural area outside of Atlanta. She works on the marketing pieces, and then sends them to her clients over e-mail, so the end client really has no idea what speed her connection is, but they LOVE the end result (the work she does for them).

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Karen Steede-Terry: Thank you to everyone who submitted a question to me today. There were so many, that I was unable to get to them all, and if I did not answer yours, I apologize. Feel free to contact me directly at www.fulltimewoman.com.

I wish you all the best and I hope our time today was beneficial for you.

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