Starting a business when you are on maternity leave is hard on your finances. Your maternity pay is about to run out, your savings are a distant memory, and your credit card is feeling the pinch.

So, when deciding on your business, it is worth thinking about how long it will be before you earn some money.

Freelancing is generally the fastest way to get paid if you work for yourself.

But there are some ‘if’s.

-If you have a skill that is in demand

The trick is to give people a skill they need now. Maybe they have a big project and need some extra help. Maybe you have a skill they don’t. Freelancing isn’t going to be a quick source of income if you go back to college for a couple of years to get the right skills.

– If you market yourself

You’ll have to go look for the job because it won’t find you. (Unless you are very lucky or already have a good network of contacts).

– If your customers pay on time.

This one is hard to control. The best thing you can do is have a clear set of terms and conditions and make an educated guess about the trustworthiness of your client.

The good news is that you may already have a skill that you can freelance. The types of jobs that come to mind when you think of the word ‘freelance’ might be web design, graphic design, writing, public relations, and other skills you could offer to companies. But it could also include office administration, dog walking, alternative therapies, and gardening. You could also help your former employer with a project if you need an extra set of hands.

The downside of being self-employed is that you are trading every hour of your time for a sum of money. There is a limit to how much you can earn as there are only twenty four hours in a day. The smart way to avoid this is to build up a steady income (well, as steady as freelancing can be!) and then start another stream of income that doesn’t involve a direct exchange of time for money.

At the other end of ‘how long until I get paid?’ scale is inventing a new product.

Why? Well, you’ll need to come up with a good idea, do extensive market research, build a prototype and test it, possibly get a patent, get a loan, or invest your own money (or both), research manufacturers and materials, get the product made, market it. and sell enough to pay off your loan or investment. Then you can start making a profit. You’d be lucky to see a paycheck in less than a year.

The great advantage of the new product is that you are not exchanging time for money, as is the case with freelancing. So you could earn a lot more money. But the risk is higher and you could also lose money. Somewhere in between these extremes are the other types of businesses.

So if you have a great business idea, don’t forget to check if it’s a good match for your family’s finances. You don’t want to run out of money before you start to see an income from your business.