Photo by Alex Boerner
PALM CITY — Mary Washer, president of Mary Washer Designs, responds to e-mails and makes phone calls from her desk next to the dining room of her home while her daughters Macy, 8, left, and Maryn, 10, make cards for their teachers. Washer, who does interior design, had a gallery and office space on Indian Street, but recently moved the operation to her home. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.
As the economy sputters and unemployment increases, more Treasure Coast moms are working at home to bring in extra money quickly without disrupting their schedule.
Jean Jannetty of Vero Beach has been a stay at home mom for 14 years. But her husband’s construction company hasn’t been doing well, so Jannetty began looking around for work.
“Not being in the workforce for 14 years, I wouldn’t have been able to jump back in,” said Jannetty. She became a saleswoman for Mary Kay, a home sales company that specializes in beauty products.
Still, she was a little nervous making her first sales pitch to a stranger. She ended up recruiting that person into the company that same week.
And after two months, Jannetty is making enough money for groceries and gas. The first skin care class she hosted, in mid-June, drew seven women.
“It’s great to have the extra income that was taken away from my husband,” she said. “That is all about a mom’s needs. I can still volunteer at school and put gas in my car.”
Gwenda Thompson, chief executive officer of Workforce Solutions in Port St. Lucie, said in the past four or five months, she has seen “a lot of people who haven’t been able to find employment have been starting more home-based businesses or opening small storefronts.”
Mary Washer, an interior designer and mother of two, moved her company, Mary Washer Designs, from a Stuart storefront to her Palm City home as business slowed. She and a partner also just started a party planning business which she’s running from home.
Now Washer can do a load of laundry while on a business call and get something cooking on the stove while answering e-mails. She can pick her kids up from school and make it to all of their games and activities.
“I’m going to stay at home even if the economy gets better,” Washer said.
Jensen Beach resident Jen Shevalier who has been a stay-at-home mom for about two years while working on a novel, became an independent Pampered Chef saleswoman in April.
Shevalier said sales of kitchen tools are strong, allowing her and her husband to sock away some extra savings. She said she has about one Pampered Chef party a week, which brings in about $500 to $1,000 of extra income a month.
“It’s going really well because more people are cooking more at home than going out to eat,” she said. “And I’m just getting started.”
Tradition resident Risa Pearl, a single mother of two, was laid off from her health care job in October. She said working for Mary Kay “has given me enough to get by.” She has made about $3,000 by selling some $6,000 in products over the past few months. Pearl recently got a part-time job at a hospital, but she hasn’t quit Mary Kay.
“I’m still working full-time hours but I have the flexibility to work whatever time I want,” she said.
Pearl conceded that working from home does have pitfalls, such as getting easily distracted or losing motivation.
“You have to be in the frame of mind that this is my work and I have to do it so I can get paid,” said Pearl. “Most days I’m very diligent but some days I’m not, which is why I have to be organized. The negative part of working from home is not giving into temptation to goof off.”
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source: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/jun/23/work-from-home-moms-finding-jobs-benefit/
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