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If you've dreamed of working from home, new developments in technology and ways of life have now made it possible for you to have a fabulous career from the comfort of your living room. This page shows you the steps and tips to follow should you decide that you'd like to pursue at-home job opportunities.
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Work from Home Tips
- Choose a job that you'll enjoy. Don't pick a stressful career just to have the opportunity to telecommute.
- Network as much as possible. As an independent businessperson or freelancer, you need contacts and connections to get assignments.
- Work fixed hours, and keep a professional front.
- Separate your personal finances and accounts from your business finances and accounts.
- Make sure your family and friends understand that even though you're at home, you are still working at your job.
- Don't get distracted. As tempting as it may be to slack off since there's no boss looking over your shoulder, you'll need a lot of discipline if you want to a successful career working from home.
- Enjoy it. Not everyone gets to choose their working hours and what they want to do. Make the most of it.
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Introduction
- It seems fairly easy--hand in your resignation, pack your things and start a fruitful career working from home. No overbearing bosses, no hour-long commute, no having to work according to someone else's whims and fancies.
- The reality of it is not that simple.
- An at-home worker, deals with many challenges, such as the lack of a support system or water cooler group, marketing yourself to potential clients, handling finances, technology and other stuff that you may never have considered at your office job.PowerHomeBiz: 10 Common Home Office Mistakes
- Here's how to start working from home, and do it well.
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Step 1: Find an Income Stream
- The first, and most important thing, when starting out on your own is to find work that you:
- Enjoy
- Are good at
- Will want to do over a long period of time.
- Here are a few potential jobs.
Types of Work-At-Home Jobs
- Transcriptionist
- Virtual Assistant
- Mystery Shopper
- Freelance Writer
- Online Auctioneer
- Product Line Creator
- User Guide
- Translator
- Web Businessperson
Step 2: Set Up Shop
- Once you've decided on your career path, you're going to need to set up your home office so that it's the ideal work space. You'll need to set up your environment, your technology, your accounting systems and the services you'll need. Here's an overview.
Your Environment
- The right environment is essential to succeeding as a work-at-home professional. Here is how to set it up.CNN: How to Work from Home
- You can't afford to get distracted easily by your home and personal life while you're working. Find a quiet, well-lit and properly ventilated place to work.AOL Small Business: 60-Second Guide to Setting Up a Home Office
- When just starting, you may not have many funds to work with, but try to get a workplace with windows and natural light. You're going to need them if you end up spending a lot of time in that office.AOL Small Business: 60-Second Guide to Setting Up a Home Office
- Your work environment should be free from noise and distractions.Entrepreneur.com: Setting Up Your First Home Office
- Choose your furniture carefully. Find affordable furniture that will fit into your budget and your environment. At least initially, aim for ergonomics rather than design.Entrepreneur.com: Setting Up Your First Home Office
- Eventually, you're going to need a good set of headphones, especially if you have kids in the house.
Your Technology
- Once you've set up your ideal environment, you'll need to set up your technology. Invest in good and working systems that won't leave you in a flux when you need them most.
- A reliable Internet connection has almost become a necessity to get a business up and running. You want to have a professional e-mail address so that clients can reach you easily.CNN: How to Work from Home
- You're also going to need a good back-up system for your data. Consider using an automated online system such as Carbonite.com or Mozy.com.
- A dedicated phone line is also important. It may be tempting to save a few bucks by just using the family phone line, but resist that temptation.Real Simple: Simply Stated: Home & Organization
- Finally, something a lot of people tend to overlook--make sure you have enough electrical outlets to support all your technology and keep it functioning safely.AOL Small Business: 60-Second Guide to Setting Up a Home Office
Your Accounting
- Finances have to be handled carefully as an independent contractor. You'll need to first decide whether you're going to be working as a business-owner or a freelancer. Depending on that, you'll need to work out the following:
- As a home-business owner, you're might not think about buying insurance, but experts recommend that you do so.Inc: Setting Up a Home Office
- Have a good filing system. Make sure you file your receipts and expenses so that come tax time, you're in control of your finances.AOL Small Business: 60-Second Guide to Setting Up a Home Office
- Speaking of taxes, keep work and personal lives separate. The IRS will only let you deduct expenses that relate exclusively to your business. So keep a note of what's going where.AOL Small Business: 60-Second Guide to Setting Up a Home Office
Your Services
- As a small-business owner or freelancer, you're going to rely on the following people regularly.
- The mail carrier. Get the name of the local UPS/Fedex or postal carrier, and if you're going to be using them regularly for your business needs, see if you can find discounts or low pricing.Real Simple: Simply Stated: Home & Organization
- Day care and cleaning services. Despite the fact that you're now working from home and your spouse expects you to take care of the home and kids, you're still a working professional. Avail of these services so that you can focus on your work.Real Simple: Simply Stated: Home & Organization
Step 3: Separate Home from Office
- One of the biggest problems for people who work from home can be the separation of work life from personal life. Despite being a challenge, it is absolutely essential that you do so, otherwise, you'll never get any work done. Here's how to make that happen.Entrepreneur: Setting Boundaries for Your Homebased Business
- Make a part of your house dedicated office space so that every time you're there, it's clear that you're at work and not available for matters of the home.Entrepreneur: Setting Boundaries for Your Homebased Business
- Set definite work hours, and let people know when you're available professionally and when you're available for personal activities.Entrepreneur: Setting Boundaries for Your Homebased Business
- Get a "Do Not Disturb" sign for those times when you're really busy and don't want to be interrupted.Entrepreneur: Setting Boundaries for Your Homebased Business
- Learn to say no. This is especially important for women, who often get sucked into housework or childcare when they should be working.Entrepreneur: Setting Boundaries for Your Homebased Business
- Once again, you need a separate phone and fax, so that your two-year-old doesn't answer business calls and you don't have to talk work deadlines when you're busy having dinner with the family.Bad Language: How to work from home
- As an independent worker, you're now going to need your own equipment. You're going to need a dedicated computer, printer, scanner, stationery, paper and other supplies for work purposes only.Bad Language: How to work from home
- Build a professional network. Go to Chamber of Commerce meetings, interact with people in the same profession and have business dinners. Now that you're on your own, you'll appreciate professional networking.Bad Language: How to work from home
- Set boundaries. Fix a time for work, and detach once you're done. Otherwise, you're as likely to become a workaholic working from home as you were working for someone else.Ladies Who Launch: How To Work From Home Without Losing Your Mind
- Many people feel dressing up for work is important. Even though your office is now just five steps away, that doesn't mean it can't still be an "office."Ladies Who Launch: How To Work From Home Without Losing Your Mind
- Get out at least once a day. That walk around the block, the fresh air, and the getting out into the world is important for keeping up the energy.Ladies Who Launch: How To Work From Home Without Losing Your Mind
Step 4: Don't Make These Mistakes
- It can be easy to fall into some of the common traps of work-at-homers. Here are some mistakes to avoid.
- Not sharing your concerns with your family. Include them in your work, what you're planning to do, and the boundaries you establish, so that they can feel involved.Oprah: How to Work from Home
- Not being professional. Just because you're working from home doesn't mean that you can cut back on what clients want.Oprah: How to Work from Home
- Not structuring your hours and your schedule. Make a routine, a schedule, and stick to it, just as you would if you worked outside the home.Oprah: How to Work from Home
- Doing non-work related tasks during work hours.Oprah: How to Work from Home
- Failure to take ergonomics into consideration. Since you'll be spending a lot of time in the office, don't disregard the health implications of anything--starting from your keyboard, to your chair.PowerHomeBiz: 10 Common Home Office Mistakes
- Getting easily distracted. As a work-at-home professional, it's easier to get distracted. Not just by outside influences, but by constant e-mail checking, lunch plans, etc.AllBusiness.com Top 10 Mistakes Home-Based Business Owners Make
- Forgetting to market. As a small business owner or independent freelancer, the majority of your work, at least initially, will be marketing. Don't forget to take that into account.AllBusiness.com Top 10 Mistakes Home-Based Business Owners Make
- Hiring friends. It seems cost-effective to hire friends or family, but that isn't a wise business decision. It is hard enough to get a business off the ground without having to battle your friends by being the boss.LendingClub.com 7 Teeth-Gnashing Mistakes I Made as an Entrepreneur
Conclusion
- Working at home can have many benefits--having your freedom, taking time off when you need it and being your own boss. However, there are several pitfalls to avoid when you intertwine your job and your home life so closely. If you can deal with the pains that working at home can bring, the rewards definitely outweigh the costs.
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