Being a mompreneur is no easy business; it takes a mix of determination, creativity, and intelligence to manage to raise a healthy family and build a successful career. You’ve decided to work at home, so you would be able to create a better life for your kids while also staying around them. Entrepreneurship means a lot of work, but you shouldn’t let the perception of this lifestyle discourage you, because being a mom comes with many skills that are required in this line of work (e.g. operating on a budget, multitasking, problem-solving, and creativity).
If you have some funds that you’re thinking about investing, then you should know the best options out there. Investing is not reserved only for businesses, it’s something that individuals do as well. Work-at-home moms, take a look at these investment options.
1. Invest in yourself
Nowadays, all it takes to succeed is a good idea and an Internet connection. Don’t let your lack of experience stop you. With good time management and strong drive, you can do anything. Invest in experiences and gaining knowledge and necessary skills. Note down everything that frustrates you in your daily life, and find ways to address those inefficiencies. Also, don’t be afraid to network and meet experts that could help you. With each person you meet, you’ll gain confidence and shorten your learning curve.
2. Stocks
People usually invest their money in order to grow it, and one of the best ways to do so is to invest in other companies. It may seem like a strange concept to you, but once you get the hang of it, it can become a wise and lucrative investing decision to make. Purchase stocks or shares of a business that shows great growth potential – they’ll have the extra capital that will enable them to expand, and the value of your stocks will grow. It’s important to do a lot of research and find out everything about the company before you buy any of its stocks.
3. Mutual and exchange-traded funds
Sticking with mutual or exchange-traded funds is a wise decision if you’d prefer for someone else to manage investments for you. As a mompreneur, this may come handy as it will leave you more time to focus on your children and have an industry expert make investment decisions for you, but at the same time you can decide on the level of growth versus risk that you’re happy with too.
4. Home office
Because you work at home, your work area needs to motivate and inspire you. You need to create a good working environment, so you should invest some money in setting up your home office. Choose a designated area for it (a spare room with at least some level of privacy), make a list of the most important home office necessities (computer, fax machine, cabinets, tools, etc.), get some proper lighting, and establish office hours. This way, you’ll feel more productive, organized, and won’t strain your neck and back while working on your couch.
5. Your children’s education
The last, but the most important investment of them all is your children’s future. Their education is a big, long-term investment that requires you to plan and start saving well ahead on time. There are various ways of saving money for your kid’s college education, such as educational savings account, Education 529 plan, and UGMA/UTMA account.
If your child displays great ambitions at an early age, and is on their way to become a lawyer, an app developer or a doctor, for which they will need to take the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT), as a parent, you need to be ready to support them with your investments in the best ways possible. It is important to invest in your children’s education to provide them the right grounding for their future careers. The earlier you start saving, the less you’ll need to save per month. Life can be demanding, and you have to be aware of the future cost of quality university education. There’s nothing more important to a parent than to cultivate their children’s talents and see them grow up to be strong and independent.
What you invest is not just money, but also time, patience, and energy. Give up on finding the right life-work balance. It may seem impossible to get everything done, but you just need to change your definition of what balance is. Be comfortable with changing directions frequently and quickly, and believe that everything will pay off in the end. Focus on the positives, like how your children are learning to be self-reliant and independent with you as their role model.
