My name is Amy Williams, I am located in Salem, Oregon, right smack dab in the middle of the awesome Willamette Valley. I am married and have 4 kids, a daughter age 13, and 3 sons, ages 11, 4 and 2. When I'm not working, I love to cook (everything! and it's a good thing because my family loves to eat!), garden (www.garden-of-eatin.com), do digital scrapbooking, play World of Warcraft, take photos of pretty much everything that catches my eye (but I love doing kids portraits and nature shots), read (fantasy mostly, like Anne McCaffery and Elizabeth Haydon), visit the beach or a local state park, and of course spend time with my kids, usually doing one of the above with them! I don't watch much TV, but I am addicted to Stargate, Good Eats and Dirty Jobs =)

1. What businesses do you and/or your family run?

I do web design and development and graphic design for small businesses and work at home moms (and dads). I also recently started a Professional Organizer business at www.organizeoregon.com.

2. What made you decide to work from home?

When my oldest son, who has special needs (developmental, learning, and speech delays) was about 3, I was working on becoming district manager for a local fast food chain. The initial day care center couldn't "handle" him, so we went with a small, more seemingly friendly center, but they couldn't either, then I managed to find an at home "special needs" day care. My son had a run in with an autistic boy after the lady left them alone for an extended period of time and I had to finally conceded that I needed to be at home with him. I didn't start working from home for a few years, I was young and had no idea what I wanted to do or be "when I grew up"....I taught myself web and graphic design and made fun stuff like websites for my EverQuest guild in my spare time then started taking clients around 2004.

3. What kind of support have you gotten from your community?

Most of my support is from my family and excellent clients I've had over the years. My husband and kids pitch in and go above and beyond when I have a big project so I can get it done in time.

4. What sort of things does being self-employed allow you to do, for example, being involved in your child's life, school projects...etc?

I couldn't homeschool if I wasn't self employed and working at home. My schedule is completely open so if I need to do something with the kids, I can pause the job I'm working on, take care of their needs, then get back to work. Sometimes it's a 3 minute pause to help with a math problem, sometimes it's a couple hours to go to the park and library.

5. How do you feel your children see you as an entrepreneur?  What things are they learning by watching you work?

My daughter is coding and doing her own graphic design already. By the time she goes to community college at 16 (if she doesn't change her mind!), she'll be miles ahead. The boys all see work as something real, not "mommy's going to work", "mommy's at work" and "mommy's home from work".

6. How is being a self-employed parent difficult?  What sort of things (if any) would make your job easier?

It can be hard to concentrate on coding with a 2 year old in my lap, but I wouldn't change it for the world. A part time babysitter would be good for when I have a deadline and the kids want me and only me though!

7. What would you most like for consumers to know about you and the businesses that you run?

My job is to help my client's business succeed. Throwing together a quick website with no regard for what a client's business is about, their needs or their visitors is something I will never do. I pride myself on creating asthetically pleasing and user friendly websites at a price that is fair to both the client and myself.

8. What are you most proud of as a parent?

That my kids are growing up confident and happy, either in spite of, or because of, my efforts. In either case, they are the best and I'm proud of them.

9. Do you have any advice for other parents who are running their own businesses or want to?
 
Remember not to work too hard, but work hard and let your kids be a part of it. The first years, of both raising a child and starting a business, are the hardest, but it gets easier, and gets so much better, and rewarding. Oh, and keep those taxes paid!

10. What was your favorite childhood toy?
 
My stuffed animals. I had a couple dozen and would place all of them around the edge of my bed to keep the boogy man away. My most favorite was my brunette Cabbage Patch doll and one particular teddy bear, named of course, Teddy.