By Stephanie Oaks

Finding Balance

BALANCING

LIFE WITH A HOME BUSINESS

A home-based business can be a true blessing. Home busi- nesses provide flexibility, allow us to use our gifts and abilities, and can be used as teaching tools for members of the family.

Unfortunately, having work and home exist in the same space can be difficult to manage. Unending “to-do” lists constantly loom over our heads. Breaking away to focus on family or others in need can be difficult if we lack self-discipline. But there are things we can do to set limits around our home business, to integrate it into our homes in a healthy, productive way, so that our home business is working for us—and not the other way around.

First and foremost, we must define our purpose in having a home business. In our society, we need cash. Some of us are fortunate enough to live in communities where we are able to trade goods and services with others, but the local bank will not take our mortgage payment in the form of eggs or timber or lovely homemade goat’s milk soap.

In defining how much income our home-based business needs to bring in, though, we must also define our standard of living. How much do we really need? What do we need to bring in to live comfortably as a family or individual without living in excess? How do we define when “enough is enough?”