How I became the breadwinner

The question comes up a lot in conversations that I have had lately, “How did you become the breadwinner in your family?”

Being a new media mom has definitely been a big perk for my family. It all started when I went on maternity leave with my oldest daughter M. I planned to take 12 weeks of leave. After the 11th week, my supervisor called me to set-up my return date. This hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew right then, there was no way that I could leave my 12 week old baby girl and go to work. My supervisor tried all kinds of schedule arrangements, but it all came down to me ultimately turning in my resignation. I wanted to be the one to raise my baby girl. After I decided not to go back to my corporate job after my maternity leave, I stepped out on a leap of faith and began researching work at home jobs. My first telecommuting job was with Hotels.com. It allowed me to still provide to the family income, all the while still being able to be home with my baby girl. I have telecommuted ever since. Back in 2005, I began to get into internet marketing and started my blog here at OneMomsWorld.com. Ever since then, I have watched the world wide web grow into more of a Web 2.0 web. I knew that Social Media was calling my name and I reached out full force into the social media world. Here I am today, fulfilling my dream in being a social media consultant.

Does work at home moms lack social skills?

The one thing I was very surprised, is how much I would miss adult conversations. I know once my husband would arrive home, I would talk his ear off. He would always comment, I see you didn’t get to talk to anyone else today HA! I have a huge network of online friends that we all have been talking online since early 2003. We all met through a work at home message board and have been great friends and supporting partners ever since. We may have never met in person, but we always know we are there for each other. It is pretty funny to look back on because, you never heard of mom bloggers back in 2004 or 2005 when we all first started and now the internet is so filled with wonderful mom bloggers. Technology is so awesome. Now with social media being such a huge world, I never lack adult conversations anymore. The only thing I lack is being able to shower and get us all dressed before 9am!

So you may ask, well exactly how did you get into the social media world?

I love talking about my kids and sharing our adventures, so what better way than to use social media and blog our adventures. Sharing parenting views and encouraging other parents is what I love to do each and every day. It is just an extra perk to get paid for what you love to do! In all seriousness, success is what you make of your life. If you have a passion for something, run with your passion. I do say though, you definitely need to make sure you have a balance in your work and your family. I make sure to develop weekly plans and outings for my girls. We will have craft time, technology time, and rest time so I can ensure I am getting in my work hours and the girls are not just sitting around doing nothing. The girls can be right there with me on their kid’s table doing the activities so they feel like they are “working” as well!

Grow your network with what you are passionate about. Network with other moms on Facebook and Twitter. Social Media has allowed me to make such lifelong friendships with so many great moms. We understand each other and I will always have encouragement and support at every minute of every hour. You never know who you network with can lead to a job as well, so make sure you are presenting yourself in a positive manner.

My passion is what has helped me get where I am today, sit and think… “What is my passion” – Pray and let God lead you in the direction you need to be in. You may have to start out small just like I did with my small gig with hotels.com but those small gigs are stepping stones to your one ultimate big gig. My ultimate big gig has me now being the breadwinner in the family.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer. Remember, The sky is the limit. Keep reaching for the stars!