If you want to work as a freelancer and have young children you will need a double dose of dedication to your work, as you will have more obstacles to deal with. Before starting out on a freelancer career, decide what you want out of life and make sure your work fits in with it. Think about how you wil balance client deadlines and sick kids or broken nights. You may find yourself working late into the night after the day has not gone as planned. Small children do not …

I’ve been working for myself for a number of years now, and there are a few things that I am glad I knew from the start, while others I have learnt along the way.

Register as self employed within 3months of starting – contact the Inland Revenue to do this.
Start records from day one. Note down each expense and every bit of income. It is FAR easier to update a little each day or week than to create accounts from a pile of receipts. You’ll save yourself money on bookkeeping or …

If your resolution for 2009 is to get your own business started, visit www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk. It is a FREE business basics e-course, ideal for every mum or dad who wants to learn about starting a business. Delivered to your desktop every few days it is a great way to learn how to start a successful enterprise and avoid pitfalls.
Galia of www.chocchick.com says, “I just wanted to tell you how  much I enjoyed reading the Mumprener Guide on Search Engine Optimisation. I worked in Internet marketing for 3 years up until April …

For anyone thinking of becoming a freelancer, my advice is to plan, plan, and plan some more. This applies double for mums and dads. If you have children you may have more financial pressures and more need to make a success of freelancing. You are also likely to have less time to work in, and no time to go back and make up for mistakes that you made when starting in business.
To make sure your freelance business is set up correctly, go on a start up course at your local …

I have recently found a couple of inspiring blogs which might help you if you are looking for family friendly and flexible ways to earn in 2009.
Littlemummy is embarking on Project 500: she wants to generate £500 income each month online, using

Freelance Writing
Affiliate Marketing
Pay per click Advertising
Home based Sales
Banner Ads
Product Reviews

I think this is an ideal way to earn for many mums and dads with odd snippets of time, and I’ll be watching LittleMummy’s blog with interest.
I discovered the other blog through Twitter. Sarah Prout has written a book of inspiring …

One of the great upsides of freelancing is that you can drop everything if you need. Sick children, neighbours who have locked themselves out – everyone will think that you can drop what you are doing and help. Trouble is, you then end up working into the small hours to catch up. It can be hard to set aside time for holidays too, when a break from work equals no income. With practice you will work out a way to be around for the family without letting your work slip …

 
It was all so different when you were employed. Now you’re master of your own time, time management is key. One of the big ups of freelancing in the chance to take time off during the week, to go for a swim when the pool is at its emptiest or meet a mate for a long lunch. However in order to do this AND have money to pay for the treats you need to plan ahead. Work out how much you need to earn each month to pay your bills …

If the credit crunch has bitten a big hole in Santa’s wallet this year, why not bid to do people’s jobs and earn yourself a few pounds?www.GetMyJobsDone.co.uk is a new post-a-job website. Userspost any unwanted job on the website and let a willing candidate bid to do the job. After the job has been online for a chosen period of time, the lowest bidder wins, as long as the ‘employer’ deems them suitable.
Like many of these online sites, its success will depend on the number of people to sign up. If …

Stuck in a nine-to-five, forced to put the kids in nursery, and wondering why all that you earn seems to go to pay for  childcare? Most of the women who are featured on www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk have worked out ways to avoid this and take back control of their working hours. Some mumpreneurs have great business ideas, but it you don’t have to be a potential tycoon to boost the family income and work from home. If you’re unsure how to do it, there is an excellent explanation from Erica over at …