Work at Home Moms - Carol Topp CPA

Wanna Be a WAHM (Work at Home Mom)?

My article titled "The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Being a Work at Home Mom" was published in The Old Schoolhouse magazine in January 2008.

WAHM Article (in pdf format)

WAHM Ideas

These sites offer ideas on work at home jobs:

Bizymoms.com

Telecommiting Mommies

Christian Work at Home Moms

My Small Business Startup Guide

I share this 9 page guide with many of my clients that are interested in starting a business. Its short but sweet with information about basic record keeping, deductible expenses and even a sheet to summarize all their expenses at tax time!

Small Business Startup Guide

Wanna Be a WAHM Presentation

I've offered this presentation called Wanna Be a WAHM (Work at Home Mom)? to several homeschool groups. I hope you find it helpful.

Wanna Be a WAHM? presentation

A Business Plan

Every new business needs plan. The Small Business Administration has one that will get you started. SBA Business Plan

If you want something really simple. Grab a sheet paper and answer these questions:

Business Plan for WAHMs:

Idea: State in one brief sentence what you hope to do or sell. This is sometimes called an elevator pitch. If you cannot explain your idea within the time of a short elevator ride, you need to focus your “pitch”.
Market: Who will buy what you’re selling? How will you reach them?
Competition: Who is already out there selling? How are you unique?
Price: What will you charge? Make certain you can cover you direct costs, indirect costs, your labor and some profit.
Your qualifications: Do you need to learn more about any aspect of your business? Where will you go for help and information?
Obstacles to overcome: List everything that can go wrong and solutions

Pitfalls to Avoid

If you sell a product you'll have to deal with inventory and shipping or delivery. You can avoid inventory hassles by working for a company that warehouses inventory for you and ships directly to the customer like Pampered Chef and others.

If you sell your services you'll have to deal with limitations on your time. You can overcome this pitfall by hiring employees, training others to do what you do or sell information (books, article, etc) about what you do. Its like cloning yourself.

Avoiding WAHM Scams

from www.Bizymoms.com/scams.html

You know you're just about to get scammed by a work-at-home ad when...

* The very first line states you can make hundreds of dollars a week working from home.
* There is no experience needed.
* You can work just a few hours a week and still make a bundle of money.
There are lots of CAPITALIZATION’S AND !!!!!! used.
* You read an extremely vague ad. You haven’t a clue what the business is about, but boy, could you be making the bucks.
* You're asked to call a 900# for more information.
* For a fee, a company will send you a list of businesses that are looking for homeworkers.
* You are forced to make a decision immediately and are made to feel stupid if you say no to their offer.
* A friend, relative, acquaintance tells you to come to a meeting at their house. They can’t tell you what it's about until you get there.

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