Recently, I was sent a question that I thought should be shared with my listeners, as it could be pertinent advice for a lot of folks out there.
Question:
My husband and I still trying to start a family. We're not there yet, so maybe this question is premature, but I'm starting to seriously look at work pay vs. daycare. My original plan was to be a stay-at-home artist and mom. Neither are working out right now (to the level of being a self-sustaining artist), and I picked up a job while I get my art off the ground.
My question is: How do you balance infants and a home job?
I know you do it, but I don't remember the specifics if you mentioned them. I remember, though, you doing it for awhile and now Kenzie seems to be in daycare, but Inara is now home with you. I didn't know if it was possible to get enough content out while being a full time parent too. It probably helps that you are already established as a musician with a following. 🙂
This all came about while looking at the price of daycare and seeing that it isn't much under my paycheck. So it seems possible to do better if I could bring in an income from home.
My Answer:
Well, I've found that when it comes to having two kids, the balance is a lot more difficult than with just one!
Striking the  balance and finding success greatly depends on your flexibility, and your dedication to working on your art.
We discovered when we first had Kenzie how expensive daycare is. Moving into a decent daycare costs a lot, and there are a lot of benefits to being a stay-at-home mother or father.
An important part of the modern-day business is spending time online promoting your business. A good compromise could lie in finding times when  your husband is home taking care of the baby during the evening (or over weekends) to work on your business. My wife will often take care of the kids when I'm touring on the weekends, and I take care of them during the week. When I have one of the girls at home, I wait until they're doing their own thing, like napping or playing, and get in periods of work while they're not actively seeking my attention.
Doing part-time daycare, or finding community or church programs like ‘Mother's  Day Out' a few days a week can be great options to help give you your own time, but will also help keep costs down a bit. Or potentially a part-time baby sitter while you work in the afternoons could give you that little bit of work-freedom that you need.
But even if you can't afford daycare at all, spending time with your kids is valuable, and combining that with work just takes some creativity and flexibility.
To check out Erin's business, visit www.FeltedFamiliars.com
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