[dropcap type =”circle”]M[/dropcap]any of us dream of working from home-either as a business owner or freelancer providing services for other businesses. For parents of young children, working from home is often the only sensible option to provide work/life balance, but although this sounds easy it rarely is!
For Wayne and Emily, the owners of web design and development company Jimma Jamma Lulu, being home based entrepreneurs has allowed them to work together and spend time together as a family with their nine month old son.
Emily said: “Working from home with a young family does work, but with difficulty! Both my partner and I are at home so we have to split the working day in two, the first half he works and I have our son, and for the second half we swap. Honestly, other than maybe sending an email or two during my son’s naps I don’t think I would be able to work and look after him at the same time. Hats off to those that can!”
The business was launched in October 2016 with their first client signing up on Boxing Day. Managing an increasing workload and family responsibilities requires organisation and planning. Emily added: “We have four hours each a day to try and get everything we need to done. However this doesn’t seem to be enough time at all, we both are guilty of over running and not completing what we had set out to do.
“We made the decision to both work from home when we found out I was pregnant so we could spend more time with our son. Income was very erratic at the beginning, as we did not have salaries coming in so that was very hard to get used to. On the plus side we have an amazing sense of achievement and freedom. We are closer as a family now for sure, and now everything is underway we can see how we are going to bring in more income-we just have to keep working hard and making sure our customers are over the moon. Without happy customers you really don’t have a business.”
Emily’s Top Tips for successful home working:
Read the book the 4 Hour Work Week Focus on the task that is going to make the most impact.
Getting up early gives you some time to yourself to focus before everyone else wakes up.
Don’t listen to negative comments. EVER!
It is easy to get over overwhelmed with seemingly so many demanding tasks, focus on one at a time and if you’re struggling try using journalling or meditation to stay focussed.
Talk to prospective customers as much as you can. Find out what they want, and what their pain points are, so you can find out what the best way is you can help them.
Go to www.jimmajammalulu.com to find out more about Emily and Wayne’s business
Readers can take advantage of a fantastic discount with Jimma Jamma Lulu by quoting LOCALBIZ50PC and emailing contact@jimmajammalulu.com
