I love working at home.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of rolling out of bed whenever you feel like it (or in our case, whenever our kids wake up) and starting the day in your pajamas.
No makeup, no ironing, and no stress to get out the door five minutes after you intended to leave.
I love taking days off when I’m just not feeling motivated.
I love the feeling of accomplishment when I see something we built from the ground up, succeed.
In fact, I love pretty much everything about everything about working from home.
Sounds pretty sweet. What’s so surprising?
While I wouldn’t change my current setup, there are times that I miss my old job.
Yes, I just said that out loud.
This past September, I made a very hard decision to leave the school I worked at. I was a latecomer to the education field, working in sales and marketing for five years before completely changing my career path. I started from the ground up – I did substitute teaching for a while, followed by a couple of years as an instructional assistant (teacher’s aide) while I finished my Master’s degree in education.
At the age of 29 (ancient in the education world), I was hired for my first certified position as a school librarian.
The school I worked at was not an ideal situation. It was in a very low-income area in a very low-performing school district. I got a pink slip due to budget cuts my second year there and I was not rehired.
That ended up being a major blessing in disguise because I was hired at my latest school a few months later. The new school was truly an answer to my prayers. The students were well-behaved, the parents volunteered regularly and supported the school, and the staff members were truly outstanding. It was the closest thing to a perfect school.
The best of both worlds
The day I left my school was very bittersweet. I was so excited about our new business, but I was sad to leave the people I’d worked so closely with for over two years.
I always see them posting pictures and status updates on Facebook about fun activities they’re doing at school, and I do miss that at times.
Shane is great to work with, but there are times that I miss having a large group of coworkers and friends to work with.
The good news? When I start missing the good things about my old job, I always think go back to the things I didn’t really love doing when I worked there. Staying for long meetings after an even longer day of work, the enormous pressure of standardized testing, dealing with difficult parents, and constant expectations to do things way beyond the scope of your job are just a few of those things.
The other good news is that our son is starting Kindergarten this year. We are so excited to become volunteers at his school. I am looking forward to developing new relationships with the people there (which will probably look a lot like the ones we left when we quit working at a school).
The best part is that I’ll be able to walk out the doors stress-free every day, which rarely happened when I worked at a school.
Shane and I have recently started meeting with some online mastermind groups as well, which has helped when we’re longing for more human interaction in this digital world.
If you’re thinking about getting started in online business, a good mastermind group is a must! We have truly enjoyed ours so far.
What is one thing you don’t like about your job, that you wouldn’t miss if you could work full time online?
Share with us in the comments!
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Crystal ~ Fine Art Mom says
I definitely would not miss the time it takes away from my family or things I have to miss because of work. There’s a lot I would miss at my job – but the missed family time is hard to swallow when I work late or have to work on the weekends.
Shane Sams says
So true Crystal. We used that as a MAJOR motivation during the beginning. We were willing to do whatever it took to succeed and be able to spend more time with Isaac and Anna Jo. We even knew we would have to SACRIFICE a ton of time with the kids in the beginning in order to have more time with them later. It was so tough, but so worth it! You will get there too! I know you will! -Shane
Soren says
Hi Jocelyn and Shane,
I just listened to your story at the SPI podcast and found it super inspiring. I can particularly relate to the bit about Shane “pestering” you (Jocelyn) with all of his “crazy” ideas… I am currently in that phase with my wife. She is very understanding and supportive, but not exactly enthused yet 😀
All the best,
Soren
Jocelyn Sams says
Hi Soren! We just recorded a podcast about getting your spouse on board earlier today. Look for it to come out next week! 🙂
Shane Sams says
Ha! Understanding and supportive is WAY ahead of where Jocelyn was with me early on haha…you are ahead of the game! Keep working hard and make things happen and she will come around 🙂 Thanks for the kind words, glad we could inspire you!