Garden office I'm with Glennzy & OGA. I have a garden office and it gives me some distance from the house. All my files & client records are out there so it leaves the house clear of my work.
Some employers are still behind the times The number of mums I have met, since having my children, that have been badly treated by their employers (after becoming a parent) is unbelievable in today's climate.
An employer who treats their part time staff well is likely to get a lot more work out of them than a full timer. My sister, for example, works 3 days (& gets paid for 3 days) but ends up working almost every evening just to get all the work she needs to do done. She would probably be better off working full time in that she would at least get paid for the hours she works. However, then her children would have to go into childcare every day & that's never easy!
A job came up near me a couple of weeks ago, doing exactly what I did before becoming self employed, 3 days a week. I seriously thought about applying as it was just down the road and I wouldn't feel quite so isolated working for myself (plus guaranteed income).
In the end I didn't go for it as there would be no flexibility during the school holidays. In the summer holidays just gone I was able to work when I wanted to & didn't have to worry too much about sorting out childcare.
I have a garden room I work from a log cabin in the garden. I have a side gate that clients use to come into the garden so they don't traipse through the house. It does give a separation of home/office although it is hard when the children are in the garden on a sunny day.
They are not cheap to buy but can be taken back into family use if you decide to get a separate office at a later date.
Me too I suppose I was lucky in that a client from my previous firm contacted me to see if I was setting up on my own & I thought 'yeah, why not?'
It hasn't been easy & we are lucky not too have large liabilities that can't be covered by my husbands income. I've been in practice for 15 months now and things are just picking up.
I have 2 days a week child free to concentrate on clients but the rest of the week I do the school runs & entertain my pre-schooler. I do speak to clients on my non-work days and return emails at all hours of the day & night but that's part & parcel of the flexible working I suppose!
Surely we could set up some sort of part-time parent in practice support group?
Lost 1lb Bearing in mind I've had a week on holiday and a wedding (where they put lovely cupcakes right in the way of temptation!) I'm quite pleased with my loss. I also haven't done any running the last two weeks.
I'm not on the 5:2 diet, I'm just counting calories. I started 11 weeks ago and I've lost 14lb. I've had my birthday, 2 weeks holiday and several summer bbqs in that time so I'm quite pleased with that!
Only 16lb to go to my goal ...
I'm not sharing details of my actual weight or height as a lady never tells!!
I also started running in January usually do 6/7km per week - not a lot but it all helps.
My fitness pal Like Rachael I use an app 'My fitness pal' to count calories. It's made me think about what I nibble on during the day - it was amazing how many calories I was taking in without realising!
600 calories a day is not much & if I don't take in a minimum of 1200 the app tells me that my body may go into starvation mode which lowers your metabolism & makes weight loss harder. However, I'm sure your diet people know what they are doing!
Enjoy it while you have the time! I'm a year ahead of you - no 2 is about to turn 1 (where that year went I don't know!) and I've just got my practising cert & started up on my own. I've been registered on AWeb for many years but never really had the chance to read it unless I was looking for something specific. Over the last year I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the any answers, articles & blogs and I think I'll be using AWeb on a regular basis (as much as I can) into the future.
I too struggled with what to do after no 2 - I went back part time to my previous employers when no 1 was 3.5mths. As it happened I didn't have much of a choice as to whether to go back after no 2 and I was left wondering what I should do once we started to feel the strain of just one salary!
A few possible clients asked if I was going to set up on my own and so that's really how I got to where I am. I didn't realise how much paperwork was actually involved in starting your own business and that has taken a lot of time but I'm now ready for my first lot of work to come in ..... Once I've drafted those dreaded engagement letters!!
My answers
Garden office
I'm with Glennzy & OGA. I have a garden office and it gives me some distance from the house. All my files & client records are out there so it leaves the house clear of my work.
Make sure you insulate it well though!
Some employers are still behind the times
The number of mums I have met, since having my children, that have been badly treated by their employers (after becoming a parent) is unbelievable in today's climate.
An employer who treats their part time staff well is likely to get a lot more work out of them than a full timer. My sister, for example, works 3 days (& gets paid for 3 days) but ends up working almost every evening just to get all the work she needs to do done. She would probably be better off working full time in that she would at least get paid for the hours she works. However, then her children would have to go into childcare every day & that's never easy!
A job came up near me a couple of weeks ago, doing exactly what I did before becoming self employed, 3 days a week. I seriously thought about applying as it was just down the road and I wouldn't feel quite so isolated working for myself (plus guaranteed income).
In the end I didn't go for it as there would be no flexibility during the school holidays. In the summer holidays just gone I was able to work when I wanted to & didn't have to worry too much about sorting out childcare.
I have a garden room
I work from a log cabin in the garden. I have a side gate that clients use to come into the garden so they don't traipse through the house. It does give a separation of home/office although it is hard when the children are in the garden on a sunny day.
They are not cheap to buy but can be taken back into family use if you decide to get a separate office at a later date.
Me too
I suppose I was lucky in that a client from my previous firm contacted me to see if I was setting up on my own & I thought 'yeah, why not?'
It hasn't been easy & we are lucky not too have large liabilities that can't be covered by my husbands income. I've been in practice for 15 months now and things are just picking up.
I have 2 days a week child free to concentrate on clients but the rest of the week I do the school runs & entertain my pre-schooler. I do speak to clients on my non-work days and return emails at all hours of the day & night but that's part & parcel of the flexible working I suppose!
Surely we could set up some sort of part-time parent in practice support group?
Lost 1lb
Bearing in mind I've had a week on holiday and a wedding (where they put lovely cupcakes right in the way of temptation!) I'm quite pleased with my loss. I also haven't done any running the last two weeks.
I should be back on track this week I hope!!
I'm not on the 5:2 diet,
I'm just counting calories. I started 11 weeks ago and I've lost 14lb. I've had my birthday, 2 weeks holiday and several summer bbqs in that time so I'm quite pleased with that!
Only 16lb to go to my goal ...
I'm not sharing details of my actual weight or height as a lady never tells!!
I also started running in January usually do 6/7km per week - not a lot but it all helps.
My fitness pal
Like Rachael I use an app 'My fitness pal' to count calories. It's made me think about what I nibble on during the day - it was amazing how many calories I was taking in without realising!
600 calories a day is not much & if I don't take in a minimum of 1200 the app tells me that my body may go into starvation mode which lowers your metabolism & makes weight loss harder. However, I'm sure your diet people know what they are doing!
Good luck..
Signs
Recognising (& remembering) people's car registration numbers but not their names! Or is that just me ...
As for being a parent - pointing out a tractor/cow/sheep etc. when driving & then realising there are only adults in the car!
Enjoy it while you have the time!
I'm a year ahead of you - no 2 is about to turn 1 (where that year went I don't know!) and I've just got my practising cert & started up on my own. I've been registered on AWeb for many years but never really had the chance to read it unless I was looking for something specific. Over the last year I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the any answers, articles & blogs and I think I'll be using AWeb on a regular basis (as much as I can) into the future.
I too struggled with what to do after no 2 - I went back part time to my previous employers when no 1 was 3.5mths. As it happened I didn't have much of a choice as to whether to go back after no 2 and I was left wondering what I should do once we started to feel the strain of just one salary!
A few possible clients asked if I was going to set up on my own and so that's really how I got to where I am. I didn't realise how much paperwork was actually involved in starting your own business and that has taken a lot of time but I'm now ready for my first lot of work to come in ..... Once I've drafted those dreaded engagement letters!!
Best of luck with the impending arrival of no 2!