W-A-H-M. This is a term I am often labelled with. But recently I've been told I'm not a WAHM, mainly because I don't sew my own goods. At first I was a little offended. Like my business and family were less worthy because I took a different path, a path that would allow me to reach and service more people. I didn't see myself as any different to a woman behind a sewing machine. We are both running a business.
This got me thinking to whether I really consider myself under this 'WAHM' term. What does it mean anyway?
Until recently I had a job as a salary and wage earner. My business was something I did on the side. It was my outlet for creativity and something I could build that was my own. When people asked me what I did I said I was an accountant. Whilst I often got the usual reaction that pointed to it being a bit boring, it was a 'real job'.
But I lost interest in my salary job, and i started to ask myself what I wanted to do. Baby Bare was getting busier, I was more focused on it and I decided I wanted to pursue it full time.
So I said good bye to my career in tax/accounting. I had studied and set up my whole life around that career. But my skills transferred over to my passion in my business, something I had lost in my job.
So now I work from our home. I run a business from my own corner of the house. Its not easy. I am every part of the business. From the Customer Service Department to packer, to stock controller and Chief Financial Officer. It's all just me. I work under a 'brand' but it doesn't mean we have a full team. It's a unique profession being a business owner. It can be very isolating (home alone), rewarding, stressful, challenging and also sometimes boring.
My hours are not always conventional, I often do emails at 10pm on a Saturday night, because simply its when I get the chance. Not unlike parents who do shift work to juggle their caring commitments. We work when we can.
But I question why when I describe my work, or others describe me does the fact I am a mother play a part? I'd rather say I'm a business owner. I run my own business (from my home). Outside of that I also have children. I don't see myself as more of a mother now I work in our house. I feel I am the same mother to my kids that I was when I worked in an office outside the home. My work is still often intense, stressful and busy. Our children play very little part in my work. After all, you can't get much done with them at your feet.
When I tell people what I do, they often think its a bit fluffy and lovely. I get to spend my days with my children while my business chugs along. The reality is that I work unconventional hours and my children still go to day care so that I can work two proper days each week.
So I've decided I no longer am going to label myself as a mum when it comes to my career and business. As the fact I am one seems irrelevant. When I describe myself I am going to say that I own and run my own little business, it seems more reflective or reality than the visions people get when I say I am a WAHM.
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