One way or another you have come to the conclusion that the daily commute to corporate America just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Or maybe, you have already been able to stay home with your kids for a while, but now need some extra income.

One way or another, you have decided its about time to become a work at home mom or WAHM.

This is an exciting journey and there are many decisions to make along the way.

One of the first decisions you are going to have to make is whether you would be better off with a work at home job or a work at home business. Either one of them could be the right fit for you, so let’s take a moment to explore the advantages as well as the disadvantages of each.

Let’s start with a work at home job. There are lots of options out there and some of the advantages and disadvantages may not apply to some of them, but in general you’ll find the following. Hands down the greatest advantage of a job is that you’ll receive a regular paycheck. If you put 40 hours of work in, you know you’ll get paid for those 40 hours. With most WAH Jobs you can also count on getting about the same amount of hours. It allows you to plan your day and week around your work schedule easily. You do not need any upfront investment. Please stay away from work at home jobs that ask you for any type of fee. They are scams. Don’t waist your time and money. The last advantage of a job I would like to mention is that you’ll get instant rewards with a job. You work one week, you’ll get paid the next. No need to keep yourself motivated to keep working. You’ll be rewarded by your paycheck at the end of the week.

Now don’t run out and get a job quite yet. There is a backside to all this as well. You will still have a boss that tells you what to do. You can also lose a job on a moments notice. You are not building any residual income that would allow you to slow down after you put some time into it. Unless you are putting money into a 401K, you won’t get paid once you stop working. A job also allows you less flexibility. Your boss and colleagues are depending on you work.

This being said, lets move on to a work at home business. Yes, just the idea of it seems daunting, but there are thousands of work at home moms, that start profitable businesses every year. With some planning and determination you can do the same if you choose to do so. Many of us have grown up in households of jobholders. A business seems to be this scary, risky entity. It really isn’t though and there are so many great resources on this site and elsewhere that will guide you along the way. Take a good look at the advantages and disadvantages of owning your own business and make a decision on the facts and what you think would work best for you and your family. Please do not let fear make this decision for you.

Lets take a look at the advantages of a WAH business. You are going to be your own boss. You call the shots. This gives you a large amount of freedom on how you run your business, how you treat your customers etc. It also allows you a large amount of flexibility. If you’d rather work on your website today instead of writing a sales copy, go for it. As long as you keep things balanced and get everything done that needs attention, you can allow yourself a lot of flexibility. You can also move at your own pace. There isn’t anybody (other than your bank account) that you are slowing down if you decide to spend the day at the park with your kids instead of taking inventory. You are also the one that determines how much you make. The harder you work, and the better you get at this, the more money you will make. At a job you get an hourly wage or a salary that’s reviewed about once year. With a business it is up to you to generate as much income as you would like. Your own business also allows you to change with times as your interests or markets change. You may start out as the owner of a dating site, but then become much more interested in wedding planning.

Don’t get me wrong, owning a business does have its disadvantages as well. You usually have to invest at least a small amount of money and most definitely a lot of time upfront. This is not an instant reward kind of thing. You may be working for months without seeing much of a monetary reward. You’ll have to be prepared to live without much of a paycheck for a while. If you are currently working, you may want to consider keeping your job for a while and building your business in your spare time.

No matter what you decide, I would like to congratulate you for taking the first steps to becoming a work at home mom. Always keep in mind that the reason you are doing all this is to be able to spend more time with your kids, to get them out of daycare, to bring home a check to help with expenses or whatever else your reason may be. It isn’t always going to be easy to balance family life and work life, particularly when they start happening in the same house. But keep the reason why you are doing this in mind and you’ll get through it. And don’t forget to have some fun along the way.

About the author:
Susanne is a partner of http://www.WAHMWannabe.com, the one-stop online WAHM shop. WAHMWannabe offers home business comparison, business tools, work-at-home related articles, a unique WAHM marketplace, message boards, and a whole lot more. Be sure to stop by and check out what's new, as WAHM resources are added constantly!