I am been so fortunate to have over 15 years of online working experience. All of these years were with kids in the house and homeschooling. Now before you get some kind of delusion in your head of perfection let me just say that while things have never been perfect in our home, they are quite profitable.

I have homeschooled for 15 years, and the success that we have had in homeschooling our kids and running a home based business has even formed their career choices. My 19 year old just secured a full time career with one of my clients, heading up a Media division of their company. At 15 he did his first bid in that field, something that might not ever have happened if he wasn’t homeschooled and given the chance. When he was 12 he was actually running my shipping dept from our basement and while he might have made some mistakes , he learned alot about the realities of business. His boss recently said that his ability to shift gears on a project and not have a bad attitude was one of his best assets to the company. Where did he learn that? You try raising three boys under 10 and you’ll learn as well how to shift gears and keep a good attitude. I remember training my son, “If your attitude stinks and you get an A+ in Chemistry I won’t give you a diploma.” Since attitude determines his future more than anything that was one of the biggest lessons I have trained my kids with.

I recently shared at a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting a technique I learned early on in business that I still practice after all these years. Learn to be production focused. Look at what you have gotten done rather than all the things you didn’t get accomplished. Reward yourself for the small things and you’ll be amazed at how much you accomplish. If you are constantly walking around with an attitude of ‘things are never done’ you’ll most likely be depressed. Life as a mother, a business owner and a homeschooler means things are never done, but if you can learn how to grow personally thru the demands of each season of life, you’ll create results that amaze you.

Learn to block out family time in your schedule where even if a client calls with a multi-million dollar deal you won’t answer the phone. Train your children to respect your business hours and empower them to know what to do should an accident occur that doesn’t necessarily demand your care. You might think you are simple surviving the chaos but as the example I stated with my 19 year old demonstrates, you might be actually grooming a future business owner for success!

Running a home based business, homeschooling and learning to live in the process rather than struggle has been one of the greatest accomplishments I have ever personally experienced. It can be for you as well!

(c) Sandi Krakowski