And what you gain from giving it a try.
Being a police wife isn’t always easy. And being a working police wife is even harder. In addition to worrying about your husband’s safety, you also have to deal with his long hours and unpredictable schedule. And if you happen to work outside the home, that can add even more stress to your already hectic life as you juggle another schedule.
But what if I told you that there is a way to eliminate some of that stress? A way to make your life a little bit easier? Well, there is…and it’s called working from home. I know, that’s kind of anti-climatic, but it’s true. And it might be more attainable than you think!
Working from home is not for everyone. But if you’re a police wife, I think it might be something you should seriously consider. Here’s why:
Flexibility
One of the biggest advantages of working from home is the flexibility it affords you. When you work from home, you can set your own schedule and take care of things when it works for you. That means no more having to ask for time off whenever your husband has to work late or gets called in unexpectedly. You can also take care of things around the house during the day instead of having to do them after work or on the weekends. That’s a huge perk for busy police wives! You won’t have to juggle daycare pick-ups and drop-offs, and might actually get time to sit down for lunch once in awhile!
Increased Productivity
When you work from home, there are fewer distractions and interruptions, which can lead to increased productivity. If you have young children at home, working during nap time or after they go to bed can be a Godsend. No more worrying about finding childcare or paying for a babysitter! You can also take advantage of business lulls to get ahead on projects or take care of personal errands without having to use vacation days or miss work altogether. Because when you work from home, your boss is completely understanding that life happens and you need to roll with it, am I right?
Better Work/Life Balance
One of the hardest parts of being a police wife is trying to maintain a healthy work/life balance. (other than the schedule. We all dread that schedule.) But when you work from home, that becomes a lot easier. You can set boundaries and stick to them because you’re in control of your time. And since you don’t have to commute, you can use that extra time to relax, exercise, or spend time with family and friends – something we all need more of!
Working from home isn’t for everyone but if you’re a police wife, I think it could be a great solution for you. It offers flexibility, increased productivity, and a better work/life balance – all things that are important for us busy ladies! So, if you’re considering making the switch to working from home, I say go for it! You might just find that it was the best decision you ever made.
What Can It Look Like To Work From Home?
Alright, if you’re still with me, but you’re like, “Listen Linda, I don’t even know what I would do from home!” I’ve got you covered. One of my missions is making sure that as police wives, we’re good. If you want to consider working from home, I can help you discover and grow what you’re passionate about and turn it into an income!
Imagine not having to check with your LEO whether or not he can pick up your kids from daycare, and then having to rearrange your schedule anyways because his call-out went longer and he can’t make it there on time.
Imagine having the time to cook dinner, and sit down to eat it with your kids. (even if your husbands shift keeps him from joining you).
I’m living that reality and so much more. I’m generally the default parent, but I get that flexibility because my work from home boss is really cool. By default parent, I don’t mean to demean my husband in any way, but the facts are that he’s literally saving lives, and when he’s on duty, it has to take priority.
He can’t dictate what time he will actually get off any more than we can decide what day we’re having a baby. Get my meaning? He WANTS to be at all the things that we do, and he can sometimes work his magic so that he makes it, but when I say I’m the default parent, I mean that I make the appointments, I drive the kids around, I plan and cook the majority of the meals, I generally keep things running smooth and keep the house from self-imploding. If there’s something that he’s free to help with, he jumps right in and is happy to do it. But I have learned to make the appointments whether he can help or not, and do what works with my schedule, and if he’s able to help with it sometimes, great!
I’ve developed a few different businesses over my 12 years as a LEO Wife, and I wanted to tell you about some of them to see if they spark something in you that you want to experience too for your family!
1. Graphic Designer
Do you have a creative bent in you? Do you think you can sit down and make someone’s visual dreams a reality with logo design, book layouts, and creative ad design? Working remotely or for yourself in this field has been made REALLY easy because all of the software you need for it is cloud based. You can YouTube how to use it, and get right to work.
I use the Adobe Suite for the majority of my design work, but times are a-shiftin’ and more of my clients want designs made in an online editor so that they can have ultimate flexibility in changes! I use this free software available as a downloadable app or online that makes it easy to design exactly what you need. You can do 1-off designs for clients, or design templates for different uses and sell them en-mass via a website you can create for yourself. If you subscribe to the Pro version though you get access to ALL THE PHOTOS and unlimited templates to help you with your brand new design business. The monthly and yearly pro plans are pretty freaking cheap in terms of startup costs for a new business. You can check it out HERE and see if it’s something you want to do!
2. Affiliate Marketer
This one is a long play, but I know people making 6 figures and full time incomes from just affiliate marketing. Basically all good affiliate marketing is, is talking about products you love and receiving a little money when someone clicks one of your links. They’re not paying extra for it, and you’re not scamming friends and family. It can get scammy in a hurry though if you’re not authentically sharing about what you love. The way that I do it, and the way that I teach others to do it, is in alignment with what I just said, so you can keep your friends and not feel like you can’t make eye contact with them when you see them on the street.
One of the best known Affiliate programs is Amazon Affiliates. Check them out HERE. It’s free to sign up and once approved you can start generating links to share about things you love! There’s a ton you can learn about affiliate marketing, too much to put in this blog post, so if you have questions email me at contact@confessionsofaleowife.com and I’m happy to answer anything!
3. Blogging
This option might provide the BEST flexibility of anything. You can start a blog in under a day, just by finding something that you’re passionate about talking about, and then start connecting people with the things you love through your blog. You set up affiliate links to products (see #2 above) and then work them into your posts, gaining visibility, a following, and credibility over time. Blogging won’t make you a million overnight, but there are bloggers making millions of dollars a year because they put in the hard work to make it happen. It’s possible ladies.
This little blog of mine is set up in service to other LEO Wives, and I’ll sometimes post links to things that I think are really valuable for us to know/have/use. There’s no obligation to buy, but if you do, I might make a commission off of it.
What You Need To Start Blogging
- You need a Website Host – After using ALL THE DIFFERENT website builders over the last 18 years as a work from home graphic designer, I’ve finally found the love of my life. It’s cheap, fast, and oh so good. Check it out HERE. I’m so glad I won’t have to rebuild my website yet again after realizing the shortcoming of the other hosts out there. These guy’s will answer your phone calls with a REAL PERSON and you’ll actually get quick help instead of being stuck on hold with elevator music forever.
- You need WordPress. I’m not messing with you here. The host I mention above has WordPress hosting plans, and if you’re planning on becoming a blogger, the template website builders won’t cut it for you. Not if we’re reaching for the stars here. We want professional, so we want WordPress. Once you’ve purchased the WordPress hosting plan and installed it automatically through the host, you want to head over and purchase THIS THEME for your new website. It’s a visual builder. You don’t need to know any coding, you can just drag and drop your content into this theme and be publishing blogs in minutes. MINUTES ladies. We know we don’t have all day. This is how we start making money online.
After those two things you need blog ideas, and an audience. Tell your socials all about your new blog, start finding people who would be interested in the content you’re sharing, and invite them to follow you. Then start posting your new content onto your socials, and start watching your little blog baby grow and gain wings!
