After 3 months of not working for the first time in 16 yrs the time has come for me to look for a new job. With 2 kids, one at school and one only at preschool, plus a dog and a puppy, the ideal solution seems to be to work from home. As we appear to have such a wide range of people on here I wondered if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can go about this and what to avoid as we have all heard the horror stories of people who end up working for 5p an hour!! Any help much appreciated. Sam.

If you can drive and have access to a car, why not consider Market Research? The hours are flexible and the work can be interesting. Many of my friends in your position ( 2 single parents) enjoyed the mix of going out to visits and telephone surveys - although some surveys were tricky as you need to contact specific types of people and some can be very longwinded. Another friend is a journalist but she uses childcare even when working at home.Good luck:)

I work from home and you need lots of self discipline and an understanding family - they tend to think 'cos you're home all day.......'
But there are many advantages as well :D

What do you do Dill?, it's something i would love to do but haven't got a clue what!!!!

I groom dogs and paint (freelance) but at the moment I'm not doing anything as little Troll Boy is very time consuming, the nice thing is that when I'm ready I can get it all going again :). I'm making plans for late next year and hopefully Little Troll Boy will not need such a high level of attention by then. The only thing I've missed working from home is the company of other adults.

Do you have any creative abilities?? What do you like doing? Can you Sew, Knit or Crochet? Are you a demon with the ironing? Dog walking is a possibility but you would need to insured to be on the safe side. There is a book all about working from home, the pros and cons etc. but I can't remember what its called (probably 'working from home' ;) ) but you could probably find it at the local library. Do you want to work for yourself or for a company? There are many things to consider. If you decide to make things to sell then you must be able to cost things up effectively and keep account books and reciepts of everything. Do you have money to invest in starting up a business? These questions and many like them will help you arrive at the type of work you might want to try. Don't be put off by all the questions and considerations - the more you research it the more likely you will make a go of it.

Regards
Dill

I agree with Dill!
I work from home (I'm a graphic designer) and although it's great not to be tied to a 9 - 5 job, it can be very lonley and just as stressful as going into work everyday! One remark from my boyfriend like "your at home all day..." and I hit the roof! It's become the norm for me to do all the house work and shopping and to be honest I'm getting more than just a bit fed up with it! I've thought about going back into full time employment (I freelance at the moment for a few customers) at least when you knock off at 5.30, you leave work behind, I find I work much more hours being at home. But I doubt I will, I wouldn't want to leave my Lab at home alone all day, and I do enjoy the freedom that freelance gives you. I think it's very true that the grass is always greener! Good luck, hope you find something that suits you and that you enjoy.

Has anybody thought of hiring out dog equipment? Like puppy crates or travelling crates or harnesses people might want to try and find out if they're worth the money? That could get done at home.:)

I work from home now and I love it. It is my ideal job. I used to be a vet nurse so worked very long hours and very little pay..but, saying that, I loved it!
Sadly, last year I got incredibly ill so I left the job due to being so poorly.
Since I left, I was at home a lot so I decided to work from home still working with animals and I love it. If you can find something that you enjoy, then go for it. It is deffinatly worth thinking about.
good luck
steph
x

Tell me to butt out if I'm being too nosey Steph, but what do you do, working from home and still working with animals sounds brilliant :)

liberty

Hi Sam,
I love children (good ones!), and animals! We have got 5 cats and 2 dogs. For the past five years I have been a registered childminder, which I love, and am doing my NVQ III at the moment - but I can choose my own hours, I can be home for my own children when they come out of school, and I can take my dogs out whenever I want! Okay, the money could be better, but it's not that bad, and worth the perk of being my own boss. If I worked full time away from home, I couldn't have the dogs, which I wouldn't even consider! It's also good for some of these children to learn to respect animals - a lot don't have pets at home - and in turn the dogs are great with children. Not that I'd ever leave them unsupervised, but I think we've got a happy 'family' as I call them all!! (aged between 5 months and 12 years).
Hilda

Hilda, what sort of process do you have to undergo to be a childminder, i have childcare qualifications but what else is needed?

Hi,
I think everything has changed slightly since I started. As far as I know, these days it's compulsory to do a training course (Introducing Childminding Practice), within 6 months of starting to childmind - though that's quite a basic one. I first went to a couple of briefing sessions to get all the info, including how to keep records for Inland Rev, etc, then it was up to me to decide yes or no I wanted to go ahead with it. Then someone came out to the house to interview me, and to check safety everywhere (fireguards, socket covers, etc - never ending list!!). Got a form for the doctor to fill in to prove I was in good health, and a form for me and my husband to have police checks done - think that was about it. Since then I get annual inspections, and have to have up-to-date First Aid and Basic Food Hygiene. The other thing that's changed since I started is that new childminders can now apply for a grant of £300!! (not fair!). There has been talk for a while that in future it's compulsory to have the NVQ 3 in Early Years, but that hasn't come in yet.
One thing you've got to have and that's loads of patience!!
Hilda