Robin

[SueC]

Hi Robin,

Kris told me you do transcription work from home so I was hoping to chat with you--I'm in the process of starting a medical billing business. I think running a business is hard enough when you've got kids, but it is that much harder when you don't have a spouse that works regular hours that can watch the kids. I'm trying to avoid the pattern of staying up until 2am to get my work done. I was wondering how you handle caring for your children--do you utilize childcare? I'd love some advice if you get a chance!

Sue

Hi Sue,



I just started back up to work yesterday! It was nice to have a six week break. I too am trying to avoid the 2 am thing. It makes me a grouch the next day. My daily schedule usually looks something like this.



6:30-10 am - Clean the house, get kids ready for school and then play with my two-year old.



10 am-3 pm - my window to get most of my typing done. Of course, there is lunch in the middle and errands I may need to run but for the most part, I try to work then. I will get quiet toys or puzzles for my two-year old to do sitting on the floor beside me. He takes a nap at 1 pm so I have complete quiet for a couple of hours (that is if all goes well! )



3pm-8:30 - Time with the family. I try not to work when the kids come home from school until after they go to bed.



8:30-11 pm work if I still have work to do. I do try to get my work done by 3 pm so that I can have the evening off. Who knows, my husband may actually be home and awake so I would rather spend time with him.



Of course, it doesn't always work like that and I have done the 2 a.m. thing before but I try not to. It is going to be hard this week because my kids haven't started school. I would much rather be doing stuff with them.



I always wanted to do medical billing but I fell into medical transcription because of a good friend. She trained me and I didn't need to be certified. Then when work slowed for her, she called her former employer for me and I started working for her. I am the first person to work for her out-of-state and so far, it is going great. It has been a great blessing for our family and for my sanity. I learn a lot and feel like I am accomplishing something. After just finding out how much it is going to cost me to put my kids in soccer for one season, I am wanting to work some more to help pay for it. My goal: To afford a new van!!!!



Anyway... I don't know if that helped. I think it is great when there is an opportunity to work at home while the kids are young. Good luck!



Robin

[SueC]

Hey, a minivan is one of my goals, too! I've got lots of debt to pay off first, but with 2 kids in carseats, a minivan just makes more sense.

Thanks for posting your schedule, maybe I need to get more structured like that so I won't put my work off. Actually I don't even have clients yet (I've been marketing for several months, but it is really hard to get that first client). For now I'm trying to use the time I would be working for marketing and education.

Its funny that you actually thought about medical billing originally, because I originally thought about medical transcription but I wasn't sure how to go about getting into it. My neighbor does billing so I kind of stole her idea.

Thanks again for replying to my message--you make it sound pretty do-able!

Have a great day!

Sue