4 Skills You Should Learn Before You Become a WAHM

After I had my third child, I was intent on being a WAHM.  When I quit my full-time job 14 months after my daughter was born, I had some regular freelance jobs lined up, but I still had A LOT to learn.  What I should have done during my maternity leave was learn skills that would help me grow my work-at-home job when it became my sole source of income.

If you're contemplating becoming a WAHM, take the time to start getting clients and to learn some important business skills before you quit your day  job, and your business will likely flourish.   Make the leap to working at home without any preparation, and you will likely find yourself struggling and perhaps even going back to work.

These four skills are beneficial ones to learn before you make the leap to working for yourself:

Time Management

If you work a traditional 9 to 5 job, you are able to focus on work while you're at work.  When you work from home, this all changes.  You may have young children at home with you while you're working.  You'll have friends and family who call or stop by.  (After all, you're working at home, so you should have the flexibility to take a break and talk to them, right?) 

You'll face many more distractions at home than you face at work.  Before you become a WAHM, learn when your most productive work time is and take advantage of that time.   Determine how many hours you'll spend a week working and how many hours a week you'll spend time with family.  Read books and blogs to learn how other moms juggle working from home with child care and other household responsibilities.

Self-Motivation

Are you self-motivated?  If the answer is no, you'll need to determine how to motivate yourself.  (If you're unable to motivate yourself, a WAHM job may not be for you.  That's okay.  These types of jobs aren't for everyone.)

If you work from home, your boss is likely yourself or your client.  If you miss deadlines, you'll affect your professional reputation and lose jobs.  Self-motivation goes hand-in-hand with time management skills. 

If self-motivation is difficult, consider rewarding yourself.  For instance, you'll work for 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute social media break or you'll work all morning long and then take the afternoon to volunteer at your child's school.

Basic Bookkeeping

Of course, you can always hire a bookkeeper, but if you can learn basic bookkeeping, you can save yourself a chunk of money every year.  To learn basic bookkeeping, consider taking a college course, or hiring a bookkeeper to spend a few hours showing you what you'll need to do every month to maintain your financial records.

Basic Marketing

This is one area that is most neglected.  If you want to continue working at home indefinitely, you need to be able to market yourself and your business.  Marketing must be built into your work week.  Luckily, there are many conferences, blogs, and books that will help teach you how to market your business.

What skills would you recommend someone learn before taking the leap to work from home?