A single parents business

If you are a single mum or dad and have always dreamt of starting your own business and being self employed, but financially just can’t afford it – read on.

Do you dream of having the flexibility of working for yourself, of being able to control your own income, or working from home when the children are sick or on school holidays?

Pre divorce, you may have been used to living on a double income, or on your partner’s income, possibly you have had to return to the workforce and your childcare costs are equivalent to your wage, is a high percentage of your income going on maintenance, or maybe all of your money is being spent on housing?

Research shows that costs connected to single parenting can be up to 56% higher after separation – with most of these relating to accommodation. With that unpleasant thought in mind, it makes sense to try and cut down the cost of putting a roof over your family’s head without a decrease in standard of living.

SPACE4 is a new shared housing and childcare website providing single parents with a genuine alternative following separation and divorce. By sharing a house with another single parent family, you get significant benefits.

Firstly your chances of renting a far nicer house or flat will increase dramatically if you are able to pool resources, and secondly, more often than not, your rent will be cheaper than if you are out on your own. It is not unusual to be able to save around $100 a week on rental costs by living with another single mum or dad instead of on your own. In addition to that, maybe you can buy joint groceries and swap babysitting and childcare duties – all of which are going to put more money back in the bank.

Major life changes, such as divorce, can be a great opportunity to look at the rest of your life and figure out what is and isn’t working. The lucky few may be exactly where they want to be in life. Most of us aren’t.

Starting your own business can be a huge challenge, but it can also be a great adventure. Take the time to think long and hard about the type of work you want to do.

One of the first decisions should be what style of business do you want - retail, wholesale, franchise, part-time or full-time, home-based, e-commerce? Think about the costs involved in each – home-based and e-commerce will have less overheads and can be really cheap to set up. Internet based businesses have huge potential and can easily be started part-time. Whichever way you decide to go, joining forces with another single parent family could be the first step towards financial freedom.

About SPACE4

SPACE4 was born from experience.

It is a concept dedicated to providing single parents with alternative living arrangements and childcare assistance at what is usually a very lonely and financially difficult time.

SPACE4 is an online database of single parents who are looking to either share a house with another single parent, or to contact other one parent families in their area with a view to sharing childcare and babysitting duties.

A friend and I both separated from our partners within days of each other. We both had 2 year old daughters and were both living in rental properties which neither of us could afford to maintain on our own. The only alternative either of us could afford individually was a tiny 2 bedroom apartment. So we joined forces and were able to rent a huge 4 bedroom house with a gorgeous garden. The rent split between us was $100 a week less than if we had each moved into that tiny flat separately! By pooling our resources we could not only afford to live in a house that was way beyond our means individually, but there were other benefits which contributed hugely to improving those first couple of years of separation.

The support and reassurance of having someone to talk to who was experiencing the exact same problems as I was, the benefits of having a flat mate who was happy to set up reciprocal babysitting, and also the advantages for our daughters of having a constant playmate. Space4 enables you to connect with other single parents with a view to pooling your resources in either house sharing or childcare sharing.It is open to single dads as well as mums. You may be a single dad with weekend overnight access - you may want to consider sharing with another single father in the same position.

If you are trying to meet mortgage payments alone on the family home, consider renting part of the house to another single parent to help make ends meet. Instead of going home to an empty house or apartment, take advantage of the better standard of living, social support and emotional support that house sharing and childcare sharing can provide you with.

For more information please visit www.space4.com.au or email us on admin@space4.com.au.

We will show you how you can make money in the new economy!

Our aim is to Show Mummy the Money!

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