When you’re a new freelancer, saying “yes” to jobs and opportunities is often the only way to grow your business. But there comes a point when saying “no” is an essential, if uncomfortable, part of managing your workload and furthering your career.

In Episode 7, Meagan and Jessica share tips for knowing when it’s time to end a freelance job (or decline it in the first place), as well as their own experience finding the kind of work they love to do and weeding out the jobs that aren’t worth it in the end.

How do you make a great impression on that first editor communication…or follow up persistently without being a pain in the you-know-what? In today’s episode of The Write-At-Home Moms, Jessica and Meagan discuss managing editor relationships, pitching and following up, and advocating for yourself without alienating the people you want to work for.

Is the freelancing life for you…forever? Or could you be convinced to head back to traditional employment if the benefits, work environment, salary, or timing were right? Today Jessica and Meagan discuss what it would take to get them to take a “regular” job, inspired by an infographic and article recently published by Contently.com detailing what most freelancers say it would take to get them to head back to an office, depending on how long they’ve been working independently – as well as share how they got through that crucial first year, the time when many freelancers are still close to throwing in the work-at-home towel.

Photo credit: Herval via Flickr Creative Commons

How do you keep the house clean when it’s also your workplace? Today Jessica and Meagan discuss splitting your time between paid work that needs to get done and housework that keeps piling up, hiring cleaning help, and strategies for outsourcing household help when you’re still getting your business off the ground.

Is it too late to start a blog in 2015? Is blogging still a viable business? What do you need to think about before you start a new blog or invest money in the one you’ve got now? In episode 3 of The Write-At-Home Moms, Jessica and Meagan address the topic of starting a new blog – or maybe, re-imagining what part blogging will have in your writing career – in 2015.

Are you the mom who works on the sofa in a bathrobe all day, shoving chips in her face when she passes the kitchen…or do you get dressed in the morning, take a moment to make a reasonable lunch, and – gasp! – maybe even make time for regular exercise? Neither Jessica or Meagan have a perfect workday routine – that’s part of the reality of working from home, after all – but they’ve both made a lot of improvements over the years, and today they’re sharing their tips on building healthy habits into your work day to make you feel more energetic and get more done.

How do write-at-home moms get work done with kids underfoot? Meagan and Jessica dive into every age and stage of parenting, and how they manage to get work done while their kids are at home.