Managing your life can be difficult at any time. But as soon as children enter the picture, you’ll quickly find that you have a hectic schedule and can begin to feel overwhelmed. When you try to combine childcare, the school run, commuting, strict working hours, tight deadlines, major projects, after school clubs, hobbies, seeing friends and family and more, you can find that different areas begin to become neglected. At some point, something needs to give. But this is if you decide to follow a more traditional route with your career – being an employee, building someone else’s fortune on their behalf and having to do as you’re told. What many people are finding, however, is that a less common career path better suits them. By becoming your own boss, you can gain back control over your working pattern and create a better work-life balance!
Freelancing
One option you have is freelancing. When you are a freelancer, you will work for yourself. This involves finding and building relationships with different clients. You will complete projects on their behalf for an agreed fee, which they will pay you once the work has been submitted and approved. This works extremely well for people with young children, as you get to choose your own working pattern. You get to choose where you work from, what hours you work and your day can be a lot more flexible. If you need to take half an hour to drop the kids to school, attend a doctor’s appointment or anything else, you can simply go and do it and pick back up where you left off as soon as you’re ready. You also gain control over who you work with, what kind of projects you work on and more. This greater sense of satisfaction can create less stress and a better home environment too!
Setting Up Your Own Business
A second option that will likely take more work, but can pay off more in the long run, is starting your own business. When you set up your own business, you choose a product or service you want to sell and bring it to life. You will create a brand and you can quickly grow, expand and make major profits if you experience success. This will be a large learning curve. You’ll need to know the basics of everything from product development to market research, multiple solutions for revops team, order fulfilment and so much more. But as you begin to grow and make profits, you can start to outsource work, take on employees and more.
Negotiating Employment Contracts
Of course, working for yourself isn’t the only way to have a good work-life balance. There are ways to make employment work well alongside family life too. Talk with your employer to see what agreement you can reach. Some will be happy to offer flexible working hours, part time roles and more.
The options outlined above are just a few examples you might want to take into consideration when balancing your family and work life. Hopefully, some of the information will help!
