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Donnie Raines
09-21-2004, 8:39 AM
My wife and I have two kids(girls). One is in school and the other is in the middle of the terrible 2's stage. My wife is a stay at home mom right now...and it is killing her. She is a very pro-active type person and she is looking to take on some type of "job" during the day for a little extra spending money. With our schedule...I work 50 hours a week plus lumber sales...soccer, cheerleading and tumbling classes....dinner and everything else some where in there. So working in the evening is really not an option...nor is the weekend(at least with set hours that is).

So my question is this: Does your spouse have an "at home job" that is challenging and makes a few bucks? May I ask what it is?...any suggestions on where to find ideas on something like this??...she is a college grad and trained in the medical field....so she is a smart girl. We are thinking some type of simple sales....baskets, candles....something along that line.

Jim Becker
09-21-2004, 9:22 AM
With the communication technologies that companies like mine sell, there are wonderful opportunities out there for work-at-home moms/dads staffing contact centers for some of the premo financial services companies in the business. (Perhaps even the one you are affiliated with) Most of this is customer service work or inbound sales, which is easy to do and not high-pressure like outbound sales would be. Further, in some cases, there are decent benefits available, pro-rated based on working hours.

Donnie Raines
09-21-2004, 9:31 AM
Jim....are you trying to sell me something????.... :D :D

Good advice Jim....we were considering something that would incorparate my line of work....but in Ohio you must be certified by the state to do almost anything(anything that is productive that is) with sales/marketing of insurance. And that tkes lots of time....time that we do no thave right now.

Jim Becker
09-21-2004, 9:40 AM
I don't believe that the certs apply to customer service roles; only sales in insurance. That might be your "out" for that. Things are likely different in other financial services areas.

Donnie Raines
09-21-2004, 9:48 AM
In a nut shell....you are right on with the certs. BUT...you can not talk about coverages, make changes or even discuss discounts that they could quailfy for. You also can not "go after" new sales without the certs. So in other words....nothing productive. In order to make money...you need to be able to discuss the above issues.

Dennis Peacock
09-21-2004, 10:19 AM
The LOML is a stay-at-home mom. She worked outside the home for a few years early on. She hated it. She got really sick when we were expecting our first child and I made her quit work so she would get well and we could have our first child. I picked up two more jobs (parttime) to offset the loss of income. About a year later I got to quit one of the jobs and was left with only two jobs.

The LOYL sounds exactly opposite of mine. Sounds like Jim has you headed in the right direction and I wish you both the best of luck.

Rob Russell
09-21-2004, 11:00 AM
We had neighbors who worked for CIGNA (insurance company). They just relocated to Georgia. They will still be workin for CIGNA, "long distance". One of them did case review work - I'd think your wife could probably do that sort of thing. Seems to me the company paid for a high-speed connection so they could connect to work.

Greg Tatum
09-21-2004, 11:44 AM
While it's not stay at home work, there is is a part-time job that usually lets you pick the days and hours that fit your needs and provides a great service to others....with her medical background would she be interested in respite care for end of life patients that are choosing to stay at home rather than be hospitalized? They typically travel to 2-3 homes and provide family members with much needed time off to take care of their own needs....respite caregivers may be needed from 1-4 hours for things such as helping a person with their bath routine, simple housekeeping, medication assistance or just being there and keeping good company....Places to inquire about this type of work include medical staffing agencies and hospital social services departments....if there is an interest, check it out....pays better than minimum wage (in my area) does a great service and provides for flexability.

Greg

Donnie Raines
09-21-2004, 1:39 PM
Thanks for the advice Greg.

Sadly...we would have no where to place our daughther during the time she would be away at work....that is the kicker right now.

Rich Konopka
09-21-2004, 6:27 PM
My wife and I have two kids(girls). One is in school and the other is in the middle of the terrible 2's stage. My wife is a stay at home mom right now...and it is killing her. She is a very pro-active type person and she is looking to take on some type of "job" during the day for a little extra spending money. With our schedule...I work 50 hours a week plus lumber sales...soccer, cheerleading and tumbling classes....dinner and everything else some where in there. So working in the evening is really not an option...nor is the weekend(at least with set hours that is).

So my question is this: Does your spouse have an "at home job" that is challenging and makes a few bucks? May I ask what it is?...any suggestions on where to find ideas on something like this??...she is a college grad and trained in the medical field....so she is a smart girl. We are thinking some type of simple sales....baskets, candles....something along that line.
Donnie:

My wife is just going back to work after 12 years. She worked part-time at home for the first 2 years as a programmer at an Insurance company. The past 10 years she spent being a mom and really enjoyed it. She has done some volunteer work with seniors over the past couple of years. She has been working on her Masters and will start student teaching in January. The one thing we realized is that the money in most part-time jobs is not worth the efforts and the costs. Has your wife considered going to school or volunteering?

Joe Tonich
09-21-2004, 8:47 PM
Donnie,

A girl I know (haven't seen her in a while) transcribed (?) medical records for Doctors at home. Made a living doing it. Maybe your LOYL could check into it. If you want, I could look her up and ask her about it.

Joe

Keith Outten
09-22-2004, 8:10 AM
Donnie,

Have you considered purchasing a laser engraver? A desktop laser is reasonably priced and would make a great stay-at-home job which would fit nicely with your workshop. Making business cards and other small items is a way to get started, then move on to plaques and the sky is the limit. Your wife would need computer skills though, it is a very steep climb to learn to use a laser engraver and a computer at the same time.

In three years you will probably be working for your wife :)

Just a thought!

Donnie Raines
09-22-2004, 8:18 AM
Thanks for all the ideas guys.

We have considered the "is it worth the effort" issue....and we feel it is. What we are looking for is something she can run, for the most part, herself. Sure, I would apply my know how when needed....but that is the goal. I guess the intent is to be more long term...something that could grow into a building seperate from our home when our youngest daughther is in school.

I dont know....this is hard..... :rolleyes:

Charles McKinley
09-22-2004, 2:51 PM
Hi Donnie,

I'm sort of in the same boat. I stay at home with our now three children 3, 21mo. & new. Have you thought of selling on ebay? A friend of mine sells sports memorbelia (sp). Is there something sellable that you and your wife have good knowledge of? Ebay is also offering an Ebay Assistant program where you list stuff for others that don't have a computer, digi cam, and skills to sell on ebay. You need 50 positive feedbacks to get listed as an Ebay assistant. Assistants usually charge a comission plus the listing fees. I have looked into this quite a bit if you want to send me a PM. A high speed connection would be very useful.

Wes Bischel
09-22-2004, 3:01 PM
Donnie,
I'm a stay at home dad - yeah, I know, Mr Mom. I spent 17 years in a corporate environment before leaving to take care of our little boy. With that as some background, I thought I could add some additional food for thought.
There are a few things that I have found while freelancing and caring for my 2 year old. First and formost, is any type of work that requires focus or detail also requires the little man to be asleep - naps and/or bedtime allow me to get these things done. In the evening, while my wife is home and caring for Sam, I can get some work done, but I need to be out of sight - otherwise my attention will always be needed :rolleyes: . Having a laptop helps with this issue, but more important is a spouse that can take up the slack as deadlines loom large.
I have found the need to check my priorities on a regular basis to make sure they are correct. In my case, it would be really easy to take on too much and get too busy with work. The ability to say "no" to really nice jobs is hard, but necessary.
Also, shifting gears from the home mindset to one of business is not easy for me because the priorities are so different. At home, experiencing life with the little man is what is important, whereas in business, the finished product is the focus - the "experience" thing is of little importance. I think the type of job can either help or hurt this transition so hopefully your wife's career will be an easy one for her to shift.
This was all new to me, though you may have already figured out this stuff, but I thought I would add it just in case. FWIW

Good luck, Wes

Ed Breen
09-22-2004, 3:53 PM
Donnie,

You mentioned that your wife has a medical background. How about medical transcription? When I was on the street all of my dictation was outsourced to a medical transcriptionist company since the company didn't want my stuff done internally. Check the phone book for that service and give them a call.
Are you near a university. There is always a call for thesis or dissertation typists!
Good luck
Ed:)

Scott Coffelt
09-22-2004, 4:46 PM
I suggest doing some research on SBA's site. Being of the female gender she can even get some advantages. There are tons of things that can be done at home and at various levels of hours required. Good Luck.