Parental Home Workers
Working from home as a parent.
I so often hear agents tell me that they have chosen to work from home so that they can raise their own children and avoid the day-care or after school care scenario. I applaud their choice and while one might typically think this is just a “mom thing” this could not be further from the truth. So many men have chosen to be stay at home dads and we even have stay at home mom and dads in the home-based travel agency world. Perhaps both parties are full time agents who are able to work from home or perhaps one of the two has another position that allows them to be a telecommuter too.
This is really a great situation but as in all good things there are a few internal management challenges to overcome. The ultimate goal is to have a loving family environment and a productive work environment all rolled up into one. You can have both with some simple ground rules as long as you stick to them. I have had the tremendous benefit of getting to know so many of our NACTA members personally throughout the years that I have led the association. Not only do I value these relationships as dear friends but I have also learned so much from them. They share their tips and their challenges and how they have worked through the peeks and valleys of being a home-based travel professional while being great parents. I thought it might be fun to share some of these tips with our readers this month.
Establish a “Family Plan” and don’t waiver.
I think in some ways we all like routine. Children certainly need their parents to establish the guidelines because routines do not come naturally to them. However even adults need established plans and routines to keep them focused and on track. If you have set hours that you can establish with your children and explain the reasoning for such, it is likely they will learn to work around the time frame and establish their own routine during that time. Maybe you can help them do this by having their own working time during the same time that you are working. Think about setting up a little office for them and watch them learn the ground rules of office work early on. If they are very little simply time to color and read could be part of the plan. The important thing to do is get creative and make it fun for them. You should find the interruptions to be far less with a plan that everyone understands and buys into.
The “Fun Family Plan
It's too easy to get wrapped up the new project or the new client and put off spending time with the children. Remember, that you made this choice to work from home so you could enjoy them. Give yourself the time to do this and remember that they are only young once. I recently attended an event where Dondra Ritzenthaler, Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Celebrity and Azamara Cruises shared a person story about her children during her motivational presentation. It hit home with I think everyone in the audience and it had nothing to do with being home based but instead not stressing out about the little things realizing as a parent that someday those little things they do as children are so sorely missed as they grow up. Celebrate the little things and my thanks to Dondra for reminding the audience how important that is to do!
You know the cliché about tomorrow and how disappointing it can be for a child when tomorrow never arrives. Scheduling daily time with the children will help you remember that your children are just as important as your home-based business activities.
Establish and talk about the ground rules
Your children need to be aware that you operate a home-based business and know how to act accordingly. Set out basic rules that will allow you to operate your home-based business as professionally as possible, such as how to answer the telephone, how to answer the door, and how to act when clients are around. Include rules that will help make the time you spend working on your home-based business more productive, such as not touching Mom and Dad’s work things or not interrupting Mom and or Dad while they are working unless it is an emergency. It is really helpful to establish a separate office for yourself for so many reasons but not certainly one of the best reasons is so that your children respect your work space.
Include your children in your home-based travel business.
There is always something your children can do, and making your children a part of your home-based business can be a great opportunity for you to spend more time with them and teach them things such as handling a business. I remember early on in our son Andy’s life that he would fold, stuff and lick envelopes for our mailings. He even graduated to sorting the bulk mail packages, lucky him!
If your children are working in your home-based business, I believe you should compensate them. This is not only a great way to teach your children the value of labor, but can be a business tax deduction for you as well. Talk to your tax specialist about this possibility.
Enjoy the blessings
Having a successful home-based travel business and children is possible and being successfully accomplished by so many NACTA members. The trick is to create a balance between your work life and your personal life that you're comfortable with, so you feel that neither your business, your children nor you personally are neglected.
Think of all the working people with full-time jobs and often long commutes. One of the great things about running a home-based business is that you have so many more opportunities to be with your children, and be there for your children, than they do. Running a home-based business means that you not only get to work at home, but live there, too.