The Breadwinner Mom

I recently figured out that a lot of breadwinner moms are in the closet. They don't want anyone to know that they make more than their husbands, or that (in some cases) their husbands don't earn anything at all. 

When they hear other moms complain that their husbands get home from work so late, or that they can't find enough things to do with the kids during the day, these closeted breadwinner moms just smile and nod. Instead of talking about their situation, they hide it and hope no one asks what their husbands do for a living. 

This is nuts.

The breadwinner moms I know are amazing women and incredible mothers. They work hard all day, every day, to support their families and provide great lives for their children. Where's the pride? Where's the sense of accomplishment? Are these moms actually embarrassed to be the breadwinner? Do they think it reflects poorly on them as women?

Whatever the reason, it's time for this ridiculousness to stop. If you can't tell, I'm really fired up about this issue and I intend to do something about it. 

I want to start a series on this blog featuring amazing breadwinner moms.

I want to interview successful breadwinner moms, highlight their accomplishments, and share any advice they have for other moms who are bringing home the bacon. What do you think? Do you know anyone (including yourself) who might be a good interview subject? If so, contact me and nominate a breadwinner mom for this project! 

And as always, I invite you to (please!) share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments. 

If you'd like to get updates whenever there's a new post on The Breadwinner Mom, click here to subscribe!

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, entrepreneur, and small business consultant. Traci blogs at The Freelance Parent and The Breadwinner Mom. Follow Traci on Twitter at @tracilove.

Today's post features some of my favorite web applications - the ones that help me make more money, save time, and/or stay organized. Please note that I have not been paid to write about any of these applications. I just use them and think they're really helpful, so I thought I'd share them with you.

After you've had a chance to review the list, please add your own favorites in the comments! 

1. Mvelopes - Mvelopes is a personal finance application that helps you create and stick to a budget. It's easy to use and much simpler than programs like Quickbooks. You create a budget and virtual "envelopes" for each spending category. Then you assign a certain amount of money to each envelope. As you spend money throughout the month, the amounts in the envelopes adjust. So when you get halfway through the month and you want to buy a new shirt, you can quickly determine how much money you have left to spend on clothes that month. 

2. Backpack - Backpack is, well, a virtual backpack. You can create pages and store a bunch of stuff - notes, files, whatever - on each page. You can share individual pages with clients, coworkers, friends, basically anyone you want to see the page. It's actually much cooler than it sounds from my explanation, so if you're curious, just check out their website and see for yourself.

3. Batchbook - Batchbook is a contact management system without all the craziness of some of the big-time CMS applications. It's simple (one of my favorite features in a web application) and integrates with Freshbooks (which I use for invoicing clients).

4. Google Reader - Without Google Reader, I have no idea how I would keep up with all the blogs I'm following. This application allows you to add all of the blogs you want to follow, and then provides you with a constantly updating list of new posts. It's like having a separate e-mail inbox just for blog posts you're interested in reading.

5. Freshbooks - I use Freshbooks to track time and invoice my freelance writing clients. It's easy to use, simple to set up, and allows me to give clients the option to pay online or by check. While it doesn't have all of the functionality of a program like Quickbooks Online (which I use for another business I manage), it's perfect for freelancers and other solopreneurs.

So there you have it. I look forward to hearing about the web apps you're using and loving these days - and I'm sure I'll have more to add to my list before too long!

If you'd like to get updates whenever there's a new post on The Breadwinner Mom, click here to subscribe!

photo credit: moonlightbulb

Traci Feit Love is a freelance writer, entrepreneur, and small business consultant. Traci blogs at The Freelance Parent and The Breadwinner Mom. Follow Traci on Twitter at @tracilove.

If you're the primary or sole breadwinner in your family, working from home may seem more like a fantasy than a real possibility.

Sure, you've heard about a few lucky moms who convinced their bosses to let them telecommute, but your boss would never go for that.

Starting a home business? Sounds great, but you don't happen to have six to twelve months of living expenses set aside to cover the mortgage while you build a business from scratch.

So you figure you'll be stuck with your daily commute for quite a while. Maybe it's time to reconsider.

I've been supporting my family while working from home since April 2007, and I'm here to tell you it can be done.

It's not easy, and it can be pretty stressful, but it's doable. 

Here's the thing: you will never find a system, a business opportunity, a book, a blog, or anything else that will do it for you. You have to get creative.

What matters more than anything else is your ability to create significant value - whether for your boss, your clients, or your customers - while working from home. That means:

1. You need childcare. This could be your husband (mine is a stay-at-home dad), your mom, a nanny, or day care. You simply cannot take care of the kids and build a business (yours or someone else's) at the same time. Maybe down the road, after you've built up a lot of passive income, it will be possible. But not now. 

2. You need a product or a service. This sounds simple, but it's not. Do not get sidetracked by internet marketing "gurus" that make it seem like all you have to do is turn on the computer and start collecting your cash. The truth is, if you're working for someone else and you want to work from home, your work has to be better than the other guy's (you know, that guy who's willing to come into the office every day). And if you're working for yourself, you'd better be selling something (good). If you have nothing to sell, you're out of business.

3. You need a plan. You may not be able to quit your day job right away. As the primary breadwinner in your family, you don't want to risk being unable to pay for food, housing, health insurance, or other necessities. You will need a plan to get you from where you are now to where you want to be. 

Questions or thoughts? Share them in the comments! I'm really hoping to form a community of breadwinner moms who can support and encourage one another - so don't be shy :)

And if you're hoping to make the transition to working from home full-time, stay tuned. We're going to talk about home businesses that can actually support a family, making the transition without taking unnecessary risks, and how to get things done when you're working from home. 

If you haven't yet, subscribe to The Breadwinner Mom so you won't miss a post!

photo credit: CosmoPolitician