Stephanie, (not her real name) woke up, got ready, and left for her corporate job. She had done this for the umpteenth time, or so it seemed. Today though, was different.

Was that a little spring in her step? Well, she was excited! This was her last day at her job. She had done all due diligence to ensure she followed the right procedure to hand in her resignation letter.

She would leave the organization where she’d faithfully worked for her first few years as a single woman, and now as a married woman and mom.

The day went by fast. At last, she was freeee! She was now in control of her life. She had taken a leap of faith to leave a well-paying job with the accompanying benefits.

Stephanie’s dream had come true. She could now spend more time with her growing family. She planned to begin a profitable side hustle from her experience working for a finance organization.

True to her desire, a few weeks later, with exhilarating enthusiasm, she began her little side hustle. The sky was the limit for her little business’ potential. We were some of her customers as she continued growing her customer base.

Days fast turned into weeks, and weeks into months.

A year into her business, disappointment began setting in. The profits could neither sustain her business nor meet her family’s needs. Eventually, she quit. She couldn’t push anymore.

Thankfully, her husband was working. They continued living on one income, a state she had thought she could change by bringing an income from her business to the family kitty.

Is starting a profitable home business or side hustle Possible?

Having been a stay-at-home mom who works from home, I have had a burden for young moms who desire to come home from the corporate world to be with their little ones.

It’s not been easy hearing stories of moms who leave their 4-month-old babies in the hands of a house help or nanny and go to work, heartbroken and confused just thinking of the little helpless-looking bundle of joy they left at home.

 

Many of these moms’ only reason they wake up early to go to work is because they cannot make ends meet with one income. They have to work.

If they had a way out, they would embrace it wholeheartedly.

I’m glad that for the Christian homemaker, God always gives us a way out when we pray and look to him.

God has graciously opened doors for many working wives and moms who’ve wanted to quit their jobs and be at home with their children.

One of the ways God has opened for some of these women is to provide an opportunity to work on a home business.

Many, like my friend Stephanie, have opted for a home business and have begun with Zip and Zest.

Many of these moms don’t know the harsh truth associated with these home businesses or side hustles.

If they had known, they’d be better prepared to create an environment that would help them have a successful venture.

I will share the harsh truth about making money from home and give you 7 ways of mitigating the effects of the harsh reality to help you navigate safely to the other side of profitability.

What is this harsh truth?

However promising your business venture or side hustle may seem, it will take a long time before realizing the profitability you anticipate, at least for most home businesses; at least 2 years.

This harsh truth sounds simplistic. Truth be told: most of us, me included, didn’t take this harsh truth with the seriousness we should have taken it with.

Many moms have given up on their side hustles. Concluding that they were never cut out for a home business or side hustles, many have gone back to work.

I want to help you as a fellow woman, wife, and, or mom, begin a profitable home business that will allow you the kind of freedom that lets you stay home with your littles.

I’m sharing this to help you forge ahead with wisdom so you can eventually see your dream to be home become a reality.

So, how will this happen?

In light of the harsh reality I have shared, let me share 7 helpful steps that you can take to begin a profitable home business.

1. Internalize the truth that money won’t come as fast as you might have anticipated

We all have expectations when we think of a business venture that we can start at home.

No one wants to begin something that won’t bring in profit ASAP.

We have exceptions to the rule, (which might be one in a thousand) but, most businesses take the normal route of slow growth. This is a Scriptural principle that I intend to delve into in a future post.

When you get into a side hustle without understanding some contextual realities such as the one I have highlighted above, you are setting yourself up for a big disappointment.

 When you internalize the fundamental reality that money won’t come fast, you will make wiser decisions regarding starting a business.

 

When I began my little business venture, it took me 2 years to realize some income.

As we speak, it is not yet bringing in an income that covers all our needs. I’m however grateful to God it’s growing and it is profitable.

In those two years, I felt like giving up many times.

What kept me going led me to the next point.

2. Pray

I had a deep conviction that God led me to this side hustle. I began it because I was certain he had led me. This was a major motivation to keep going.

Spending time with God in prayer will help you clarify the will of God concerning starting a home business or side hustle.

Perhaps the reason you are reading this is because you are convinced that God wants you to stay at home to better minister to your family. You’d however like to begin something on the side that would help you contribute to your family income.

The reason you are praying is so that God can lead you to the kind of business he wants you to start. If you already know it, prayer helps you have the confidence and the peace to go ahead and start.

Starting a business isn’t easy. Prayer helps you to lift your faith beyond fear, helping you step out in faith and trusting God to lead you.

As I prayed, God led in amazing ways.

My business, for instance, required a camera. I didn’t have the money to buy a camera. God gave me the idea at the time, of using my husband’s phone at a time when not many people were using phone cameras for video.

I ended up starting the venture with zero investment, only using what I already had with the wisdom God gave me.

Do not neglect your time with God. Pray. He will lead you.

3. Ensure your spouse is on board

One of the greatest support pillars you’ll need to begin a profitable home business will be having your spouse support your venture.

They may not fully understand the details of the business. They don’t need to unless they will be involved in the day-to-day running of the business.

Their go-ahead gesture will mean the world to you, especially during those difficult seasons of the business.

You’ll need that emotional support and a shoulder to cry on. You’ll need the reassurance that you can make it. You will need their understanding when resources seem to be going down the drain.

For most of us, our husbands will provide the only family income. When they are on board, we can rest assured that when the home business isn’t yet profitable, they’ll continue providing for the family regardless of the financial strain on the family resources.

4. Consider beginning the home business as a side hustle while working your full-time job

Wisdom might dictate in your situation that you begin your venture as a side hustle while still working a full-time job.

This will apply if you are under great strain financially. Leaving your job to build a home business full-time may not be the best route to take in your state.

It will however take a lot of focus and discipline on your part to build a side hustle into a profitable business when you are engaged in a 9 to 5 job.

You may need the understanding of your family because part of the time you dedicate to spending with them might be consumed in building the home business.

Thankfully, this won’t be forever. The advantage of beginning the side hustle while working is that you will have time to have proof of concept of your business venture. You can then leave the moment you start bringing in a little profit.

A little profit might just mean that the moment you go full-time, you might double or triple your income in a short time.

5. Learn to live on one income

Learning to live on one income will be key in helping you and your family get ready for you to stop working outside the home to focus on a home business.

What you were earning might as well be invested in the business and in saving as you trust the Lord to live within your means.

The road to a profitable side hustle or home business might be longer than you anticipate. Cutting down on costs, paying loans, and spending less will be necessary to help you manage financially during this season.

From scratch cooking, working on our children’s snacks at home, avoiding a lot of travel, and shopping only what we need is something I have got accustomed to doing.

I’m grateful that my business is mostly online. I only pay for subscriptions I must have for the business. Most of what I need is already what we use in the house.

I could spend a lot more on a better camera, lighting, and such. I have however deliberately chosen to work with what I have, including the natural sunlight for my lighting for the camera.

This means the business can still go on with minimal investment until I get to a level where the business can cover over 50% of our expenses.

6. Invest in learning as much as you can about the venture you are investing in

Part of why many side hustles and home businesses fail is a lack of basic education and information about the business venture.

We get in with the assumption that we know. We imagine we can run it because a friend is successfully running the same kind of business.

When I began my business venture, I didn’t have much knowledge about this business.

Because I was sure God had led me, I did it the way I thought it should be done.

It wasn’t until I invested in educating myself concerning it that I began to grow and improve. It wasn’t long after this that I began to see some responses.

Though it took 2 years like I said to begin to get some semblance of profit, I’m certain that this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t invested in learning and growing.

Learning from others is simply humbling yourself and understanding that you need others to grow. It is acknowledging that others have gone before you and they have something you can learn from them.

It is choosing the shorter path to success and profitability from learning from the mistakes of others. You don’t have to make the same mistakes.

Be a lifelong learner. You will spare yourself many pitfalls. You will move and grow faster than the average person who’d rather figure everything out from scratch.

Humility is a godly virtue. Put on this virtue as you begin your home business. You won’t regret this.

7. Craft a workable program or routine with which to operate as you run your home business or side hustle

The goal of starting a home business for most of us is to spend more time with our families.

If you don’t keep this goal in mind, you might find yourself consumed by the business to the extent that you will be home but not really at home.

What I mean by this is that you will be home but most of your hours will be spent on the business. This will beat the goal of why you came home in the first place.

As you come home, you want to develop a simple program, schedule, or routine that allows you to practically see the amount of time you will be spending on your business.

This also helps you to work towards being fruitful and productive at home. you’ve probably never worked from home before. You’ve been accustomed to having your time planned out for you.

You might find yourself either engrossed fully in the home business or wasting a lot of precious time because you are not sure what you should be doing at a given point in time.

Working with a routine has helped me manage my time fruitfully, ensuring that even as I work on the business, time with my family is part of my routine.

Time will be critical as you work at home. you don’t want to waste any of it. you want to redeem time as the Scriptures tell us. Ensure that those little minutes are fruitfully spent to the glory of God as you run your home business.

 

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