Work from home mums are helping the Economy

Women from all over Australia are leading the way in helping their families by starting their own business, taking work from home roles and considering part-time or job share opportunities. I have always maintained the people on our Virtual Angels database are mainly highly educated, experienced and professional women who value the flexibility of working from home in their chosen professions and maintaining their career and profile. Now more than ever they are exploring innovative ways of re-joining the work force albeit remotely and what is not widely appreciated is that not only is this helping to sustain their own families but they are helping to kick-start Australia’s economy in general.

Small and medium sized business has always been the life blood of Australian business but would it surprise you to know that in recent figures from the US around four out of five businesses are started by women and 80 percent are mums. Apparently the number of women entrepreneurs are growing at twice the rate of men. These figures do not surprise me in the least. I believe women are naturally more entrepreneurial in spirit, they have this ability to adapt themselves more readily to change and be innovative in the way they address the needs of their family. The old saying ‘necessity is the mother of invention” in itself is so true. I remember a conversation a friend and I had a while ago. She is from the country and her mother grew up in the country. I am originally from London and have always lived and worked in the city. Her mother’s comment was that I would make a good ‘country wife’ because in her experience the most successful country wives were those who grew up in the city because they went to the country looking for opportunities and then had the nous and drive to make it happen. I imagine this is what is happening out there at the moment and necessity is driving this growth.

When women work from home for other companies, they are still helping the Australian economy recover. Companies benefit when they allow their employees to work from home. When pay needs to be cut or frozen, “homesourcing” can serve as a form of benefit by allowing employees to enjoy the cost savings of reduced commuting expenses and flexibility and other benefits of working at home.

Companies that “Homesource” decrease their overheads by reducing office space, IT equipment and other associated employee costs.

Traditionally, outsourcing has meant shifting work to overseas companies and is basically a way for a business to complete internal business tasks outside of the office. The process saves time and money, allowing the small business owner to pay for services only when they are needed. Not only does this remove a salary from the budget but all of the associated employee benefits package, it limits tax responsibility and reduces required office space, supplies and utility bills. Work-at-home mums who are self-employed could save businesses large and small millions of dollars annually.

There is more support than ever for Australian businesses from companies like Virtual Angels with a database of over 1900 people who are ready to work, who do not charge their Angels to register who have experience and degrees in a wide variety of backgrounds. With technology, virtually anything can be done from one’s home office.

It’s a win-win situation for the businesses and the mum-professionals; not to mention an advantage for the economy.

For more information on how Virtual Angels can help your business survive in these uncertain times visit our website - virtualangels.com.au