What you can do when your find yourself out of your main source of income?

 

   As a single parent, life will surely test your will. With the all the activities surrounding school alone, this can become an daunting task. Trying to find time to be in your child’s life, while balancing work, furthering your own education or even some personal time while still pursuing your entrepreneur goals can become over bearing to say the least. 24hrs, in today’s fast paced society is simply not enough to truly complete all the days’ tasks. To bad there isn't a business plan for the families on the go, a family plan. LOL!

   However, with that thought, that’s exactly what single parents as well as two parent families need to incorporate into their daily lives. A family plan, just like a business plan. One should at the very least write down all tasks, appointments, who does what & when it is to be done. This can give yourself the foundation, a base to focus on the important issue that needs to be accomplished for that day. Not that life still won't be trying, but with a daily plan written down, this can give you a sense of organization, thereby affording you the insight to make adjustments as your time warrants.

   My personal struggle came in the form of proper child care for my 8yr old son. If I go to work early, I needed someone to get him to school, But, still needing to provide after-school care till I'm off work. Going to work later in the mornings allow me to get him to school but left me working later, which threw for most families who would care for my child, out of sync with their plans. Throw in over-time or a family that needs to be else where that evening. And I'm jeopardizing my job & not being productive in my teams’ process. To juggle 3-5 different caretakers and still miss days of work......well decisions had to be made.

   As a person who strongly believe in faith & that everything happens for a reason,. My foresight to be my own boss, to work from home, was put into place for a reason. I've learnt, worked hard over the last few years to build an environment that I could control. 

   Unfortunately & fortunately the time came where a decision on the direction I needed to go has now brought me home to work. I can't say that it’s the idea time but when would be the perfect time when your child’s well-being is at stake. My faith ensures me that I am not giving anything I can't handle. The work/studies that I put into my business over the course of these few years will surely test my wits. As I now focus on a positive outcome of recent decisions, I know that this is for a reason, that there is a bigger picture that will be painted. And the future is my canvass and I am the paint brush! Wish me well.

   So, what do you do,when you suddenly find yourself without your main source of income. I started my online business years ago so I could prepare myself for something like this. So I'm a bit ahead of the game. but I still need to supplement that income in order to stay ahead.........here are some suggestions.

Working from Home doesn't just mean working online......!

   A side note to these events.....is that even though I account for my own income now! Working from home as a single parent doesn't limit ones self to just working in the home. Entrepreneurs can also exercise they talents doing odd jobs that will fit into their schedule. This can help ease the burden of a lose of your main income source till finances build with your online endeavor. Everyone has at least one other skill that can be utilized to generate some income.

Options to consider while in-between jobs or till you are comfortable with the income from your business.......

• Baby Sitting –  If you enjoy kids and are good with them, this can be a fun and easy way to make a little cash.
• Bar-tending -
• Be a Mystery Shopper - Get paid to shop and share your opinion -
• Become a Pro Blogger - If you have a blog or you can just start one - (try WordPress or blogger.com). Good blogs draw in visitors, put some ads on them (your blog), say using Google's ad-sense or CafePress, those visitors will click on ads and you get paid. You can make decent money with few months of solid, committed effort 
• CashCrate - At Cashcrate.com complete the free offers. Try signing up for the affiliate program.. 
• Cleaning houses/offces –
• Collect Aluminum Cans - self-explanatory
• Delivering Pizzas - self-explanatory
• Drive the elderly to appointments or scheduled events –
• Freelance Writer -  There are sites looking for decent writers. –
• Have a Garage Sale  -  See the stuff you can’t sell online.
• Lawn Care – Raking leaves or shoveling snow.
• Look for freelance jobs online - Try doing a Google search for freelance jobs in your fields of expertise.
• Look for Odd Jobs - People in your town need your help and they will pay you for it. Seriously. The jobs are there on Craigslist.com 
• Paper Route - This job will likely take up only your early morning hours. You can also search for a paper that only comes out once a week.
• Pet Sitting – Take dog walking a step further and actually be paid to watch someone’s pet for a few hours or days. 
• Play Music in Church or at Weddings (Dj or live band) - Some churches don’t have volunteers for their music. A talented pianist can make pretty good money doing this on the weekends.
• Rent Out A Room – If you have an extra room in your home. Consider renting it out to a friend or relative.
• Sell a piece of you - Get your mind out the gutter, I’m talking about your plasma, hair, eggs, and sperm.
• Sell Stuff online -  Have a website and sell ads space. Sell Ad Space Online Ebay.com, Craigslist.org etc.,
• Sell Your Baked Goods  Are you skilled at a few special recipes? Contract your items out for parties, meetings, etc.
• Sign up for online quick answer sites - You can get paid for answering questions. There are sites online where people ask you questions and you answer with either short text answers or by email. 
• Start an Online Store - Setting up an online store is really easy with sites like Amazon, Ebay, and CafePress. Learn how to market your site and bring in some cash.
• Take surveys - Surveys are all the buzz these days
• Tutor - Great in certain subject and live near a college or teach Basic English to foreigner. Offer your expertise and teaching skills for some quick cash. Young school kids need help too, some parents pay better than college students. 
• Waiting tables –
• Walk Dogs - If you love animals and live in an urban area then consider this job.
• Write an eBook - eBook by themselves usually doesn’t make money, but can generate sales lead to one of your other online businesses. 
• Write Reviews -  There are many websites that will pay you a little cash to write product reviews.  

       

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