Being a work from home mom will normally demand much more than either "job" would on its own. Being a mother is difficult. Being an entrepreneur is difficult. Mix the two and disaster often results. How can a mother survive the stress?

Here are a few steps that a mother working at home can take to maintain her sanity, happiness and drive - and still keep a loving connection with her children.

Make Time by Not Wasting Any

Employees wasting time at a "regular" J-O-B is a no-no, wasting time while being a work from home mom is a disaster for both the parenting and business roles. The mother has a constant, maternal instinct to raise her children. With this stress constantly humming the background, procrastination will only put off the much-needed attention the children are clamoring for.

Putting off socializing on social networks, or checking email and voice mail, etc. is a must to get more work done in what little time the typical mother entrepreneur has. Limiting distractions will help limit longer hours in the "office."

Creating a schedule to keep on top of time management is a necessity as well, in order to maximize working hours and therefore, time with the family. The sooner work gets done, the quicker that family time can be enjoyed.

Make Memories With the Kids Apart From Business

Too often, the work place mentality spills over into the home, and the identity of "mother" and "boss" become mixed. Having a set time to leave work behind - such as shared meal times - should alleviate some of the stress caused by this mixed identity crisis.

Being a work at home mom demands that the time spent bonding with the children must be held as sacred, cherished time. Going to a local park for a picnic 2-4 times a month is a great way to unwind, and make fun memories while enjoying the fruit of being an entrepreneur.

The danger is that work will overtake the home life, and the mothering role will begin to play second fiddle to the business owner role. In time, this leads to resentment in the children, and erodes the mother-child bond which is precious.

Get Off the Hamster Wheel

Being a work at home mom means the hamster wheel mentality - the rat race - is not the chosen path. Getting off of the hamster wheel is simply a way of saying, "take time to relax, it's OK not to break records in business."

Far too often, ambition to keep up with the speed of business keeps WAHMs from succeeding as mother. Mothering can play second fiddle to the goals set by the pace of business in general. The mom who can remember she is running a race against the closing door of opportunity with her children more than a race against her business competition is already leagues ahead.

Identifying the real goals that are not set by the agenda of the speed of business and success in the world of entrepreneurship is going to be key to getting off the hamster wheel. What are the real goals?

• Spending quality time with the kids.

• Making sure the family knows they are primary, and work secondary.

• Ensuring that if one has to become insolvent, it's the business and not the family that does so.

• Keeping family time sacred in little and big ways.

• Carving out special moments to punctuate the fact that family really is the priority.

The work at home mom who does more than merely work from home, that actually mothers the family, is keeping the business in the proper perspective.