My mom recently asked me if I would ever consider going back to work for someone else once my boys were grown and off to high school.The answer....a resounding NEVER!
She was worried that I was too isolated working at home, by myself with no adult interaction. I attempted to explain that I have lots of adult interaction online and offline. I love it this way!
When I started my business in 2000, I worked at home. Alone. I had previously been working for a company with several other employees and I enjoyed the interaction. But I did not enjoy the insecurity of working for someone else; someone who did not respect his employees and whose business was failing.
It was hard being alone at home as a new mom. My son was less than a year old and entrepreneurship and motherhood were both very new to me.
I was lonely. I desperately wanted to interact with other women who were experiencing something similar. I searched...but could not find anyone.
My business quickly grew, I added six employees, and I moved my office out of the house and into a traditional office setting.
Within two years I was miserable.
Coming back home to work for myself was one of the best business decisions I have ever made.
A recent survey conducted by Gather and Mom Central Consulting of more than 1,300 moms revealed that the majority (60%) feel lonely and unsupported in their day-to-day lives and have turned online – to social networking sites, community forums and chat rooms – to make new friends.
Their survey revealed some other interesting facts:
- 71% of moms are connecting online because of shared interests
- over 60% of moms reported making a new friend online in the past year
- 70% of moms talk to other moms online in forums and communities
- 1 in 3 moms who’ve made friends online tell their online friends things they don’t share with offline friends
I explained to my mom that I loved working for myself and that going back to a traditional work setting would not interest me.
I tried to show her how I connect with hundreds of like-minded women everyday through The Mom Entrepreneur Online Support Group, but she comes from a generation of women who did not connect this way when she was my age. Therefore she did not understand.
In addition to connecting online I:
- go out with my husband a few times a month for date night
- meet other women at the gym
- belong to a local mom group that gets together several times a month
- get involved with activities at my kid's schools
I feel very content and no longer disconnected from other women as I once did when I started my business almost 10 years ago.
Work-at-home moms do you feel isolated? What do you do to connect with other women who share the same interests?
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