WFMW: Working From Home

I’m linking up to this series:

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The year before Coach & I got married, I worked as a nanny for a NASCAR driver’s family.  My schedule was unpredictable and the woman that I worked for thought she owned me.  I didn’t know hour-to-hour if I had to work and she became terribly annoyed if I phoned her to see if she needed me.  Planning things in advance became impossible and I had to ask for permission to travel over Thanksgiving weekend.  Three months before my wedding day, she told me that she “paid me too much and just wasn’t going to do it anymore.”  Turns out, they were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.  Getting fired was the best thing that happened to me — I was able to collect unemployment long enough to regroup and begin working from home. 

With a dual degree in Early Childhood & Elementary Education and experience as a classroom teacher, pianist, & tutor, it was time to put my talents & expertise to work!  I made business cards and called and emailed people that I knew.  Word spread quickly and soon I was tutoring & teaching piano lessons every afternoon.  The summer before Babycakes was born, I received so many phone calls from interested parents.  The first time I had to say “no” was difficult — this mother wanted lessons so badly that she offered to bring her children over after dinner & watch my baby.  If you work from home, you need to set limits and learn when to say no or you’ll feel like you’re working for someone else!  At the beginning of each school year, I look at my calendar and block off my work hours.  If I can’t accommodate someone, it’s unfortunate but I have to keep a healthy perspective – I’m not performing life saving heart surgery.  It’s piano lessons. 

It’s not always easy working from home especially with a little one at your feet.  I’ve considered hiring a mother’s helper to assist me in the afternoons, but decided that ‘Cakes is just part of the package with lessons at The Football House.  So is the dog begging for belly rubs on the piano bench – his comical antics often look like he’s conducting.  I keep my rates lower than the competition, which makes me feel okay about the occasional interruption to refill a sippy cup.   

This school year, our schedule will be VERY different.  In addition to teaching piano lessons, I’m teaching preschool two mornings a week AT OUR HOUSE!  Babycakes is 28 days too young to go to a toddler program and since she’s allergic to weird stuff, I thought it would be nice to host something that includes her.  Beginning in two weeks, I’ll have a group of four almost-two-year-olds coming to the house for preschool.  Again, I never advertised — I just told the right friend who told a friend who then told another friend.  This is how ideas can become a source of income.  Think of what you’d like to do, plan & commit, tell people that you know, and be passionate! 

Working from home — it works for me!