Featured Home Business… Xira Internet Design

 Debra has been in the Graphic Design business since 1994, starting out in New York and ending up in her new home in Israel. Last year she started Xira, Internet Design for People to be a Work at Home Mom.

So, let me introduce Debra Shapira, Mom and Graphic Designer. Here is her story…

Empowerment isn’t what you thought it was.

Being a product of the 1970’s, my career choice was clear, “Whatever I want to be”. Nothing could stop me but myself. Skin color, religion and gender were no longer issues. (Thank you feminists, Martin Luther King, and others that battled for those equalities.)
Feminists fought hard for the rights of every woman to be equal to a man in the work place, meaning working like a man. In hi-tech, and many other corporate companies, that means a 10 or more hour day, starting as early as 8:00am and finishing as late as 10:00pm. And like most, I was frequently at the office working, when I should have been in bed.

It wasn’t long until I decided the New York City life wasn’t for me. Being a designer, NY technically was ideal for my career. But I wanted a place where work wasn’t the only thing of importance in my life. I wanted a career, but was also getting the urge to settle down. There had to be a place where there was a balance.

At the age of 27 I moved overseas to Israel. Israel’s founding fathers were socialists. They believed in working hard, but not living for work. Quality of life and importance of family was crucial to them, and therefore put family priority into law.

Work days are legally eight hours, and any work over that time should be paid as over time. Women are given 3 month maternity leave and 75% of their salary. When maternity leave ends, women return to work with a seven month shortened work day of seven hours. The first year the returning mother is given double sick days, so she can tend to her baby during that critical time when babies are developing their immunity. If a woman returns to work after giving birth, and within eight months finds continuing her prior position is not working out, she can quit and receive all the benefits of unemployment and compensation.

Upon arrival, I was immensely impressed with the Israeli approach to family in general. Everyone seemed to live close to mom and dad. Brothers, sisters, and parents call each other at least twice a week, if not more. It’s normal to have dinner with your family on the weekends. There was no question, family values preceded work here.

I found employment immediately at a mid-sized hi-tech company designing websites. At this job, and all others I have held in Israel, there were never disagreements about leaving early or missing work for weddings, births, deaths or holiday preparations. People are very supportive, even though these events happen frequently. Despite working 10 hours or more per day, it was clear to me that Israeli companies would be supportive and flexible once I started a family.

The laws are laws, but reality is another story. For one, hi-tech companies avoid paying over time by contracting employees under a “global salary”. No matter how much you work, same pay. Employers don’t hide the fact that you’ll work more hours, not less.

When it comes to babies, a a mother you find you miss work and/or leave early about once a week. This is why many Israelis live down the street from their parents, cheap reliable assistance. But what if you don’t have Grandma around? It isn’t long before your employer starts getting frustrated from the absences. Many mothers fill in hours by working from home and at night, that is if you have a lenient boss and position. I found other mothers have a spouse with a very flexible work schedule. Last option is paying for a nanny when no one else can help, if you have the money.

Unfortunately for me, I did not have any of these options. After three months back at work, I was cursing my new role as a mother because it was ruining my career. I went online to find out why “everyone” seemed to get back to work, except me. It was then that I discovered that 30% of all new mothers stop working, or change their career within the first year. None of those 1970’s feminists had prepared me for that!

It became clear to me that any salary position would have the same kinds of time requirements. The only way to take care of my child and make my boss happy was to be the boss. My husband and I put together a plan, and a target date. Within a year, I was going to freelance from home. I could still put in my 10 hour days, but around my child’s needs.

It was a difficult decision, and a scary one at that. We understood that it would take approximately a full year until I’d make enough money. But being therefore my child was worth having a few less items in our closet.

About four months after I started freelancing, we visited my family in New York. My sister is a very successful business woman working in Manhattan and living in Long Island. She has two kids and a nanny. Her husband has a flexible work schedule, so when she has to stay late he can rearrange his day. She is living the “American Dream” and doing it as a successful working mother.

During our visit she took a day off to be with us and her kids. Her older son, age 2, was going down for his nap and wanted his favorite blanket. My sister looked confused. “Blanket? He has a favorite blanket?” she choked. The nanny yelled from the kitchen, while feeding the baby, “His blanket is in the play room. It’s blue.” My husband and I just looked at each other without saying a word. We thought the same thing. We were very happy with our risky decision.

Almost a year has passed since venturing out as a freelancer, and I have started making the same amount of money as I used too. People keep referring me, and past clients keep coming back. I am giving better service than I was able to provide working as a salary designer. Not only is the middle man gone, but my hours are any time my son doesn’t need me. A request sent at 5:00pm is usually addressed by the time my client opens his email the next morning.

If you ask me what I do today, I will proudly tell you that I am a mother and mention that I also am a freelance designer. Turning into a mother isn’t the end of your career, the opposite. Motherhood initiates self-empowerment and resourcefulness, exactly what one needs to get ahead in any situation. Perhaps that is the lesson our civil rights and feminist activists were pushing for back in the 70’s. “Given the chance, the sky is the limit.”

If you have the need for a really talented Graphic Designer, stop on over and give Debra a shout at Xira Internet Design for People.

And in case you are wondering, there are no strings attached. No unauthorized advertisements, linking, e-mail, spamming or anything underhanded at all. These are NOT Paid Endorsements. This is purely my attempt to help any Home Business Entrepreneur (including me) in any way I can through cooperative exposure.