Uhm….. then there’s the child that came down with the stomach virus and accidentally puked on a classmate…. an angry parent who feels that their child is little Mr./Miss Perfect…. cases where I suspect child abuse or neglect…. those are the bad days.

After 18 years of teaching, I’ve found that my nerves aren’t as good as they once were. And, quite frankly, each year seems to get worse in terms of society as a whole and how children are being raised.

When I was a child, I would never have dreamed of sassing a teacher or parent. But those times have changed dramatically. Not too long ago, I was standing in a store…. I heard one of my student’s voices coming from the next aisle….. what was that child doing? Cussing his mother because he wanted an expensive toy that she didn’t have the money for! It is important to note here: I teach 1st and 2nd graders!

That was one of the last straws. I told my husband that I wanted out…. I didn’t know how…. but as much as I love teaching, I desperately wanted to change careers.

After much discussion, I knew that I would not be able to replace a teacher’s salary easily. I also knew that I didn’t want to work for someone else. My husband owns his own business, and I wanted the same kind of freedom. The freedom to work when I wanted. The freedom to build my business and earn more money than I was presently making. The freedom to take the day off and take one of my kid’s to the doctor or run errands if I needed to.

Luckily, summer break was just around the corner. As soon as school dismissed in May 2006, I jumped on the internet and began researching home-based businesses. As fate would have it, one of the sites that I marked down as a possibility was Cafepress.

I kept coming back to Cafepress time and time again. Finally, after much research, I opened my own shop in mid-June and I’ve never been happier. Cafepress opened my eyes to the world of graphic design, business ownership, and creative expression.

Has it been easy? Nope. In the past year and a half, I’ve had to learn web design, scripts, html, SEO, graphic design, Twitter, keyword research, advertising, Squidoo, domain purchasing, CSS, linking techniques, affiliate marketing, blogging, MySpace, coupon feeds, Facebook, and much, much more!

Have I made a ton of money and quit my teaching job? Nope. This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. If you think you can slap up a design and sit back to watch the big bucks come pouring in within the first few days, you might as well walk away now. This is not the business for you if you’re not willing to put in lots and lots of hours and do the tedious legwork and research needed to make a website successful.

Yes, I do think that I will quit teaching and work on my websites full time. But that is still a few years away.