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Working from home – is it for you?

Working from home – is it for you?

Julianne Wish, Member Contributions

Like any job environment, working from home requires a certain type of individual.  There are skills and characteristics of the home employee that may or may not fit your style.  So if you are considering working from home, you might want to ask yourself if it’s right for you.  Here are some things to consider.
The Work Day
Do you value the time when the work day is over and you can go home and do what you please?  If this is a valuable aspect of your outside-the-home job, then think carefully if you want to work from home.  Setting your own hours sounds wonderful, but it is not as easy as it sounds.  You don’t go home from your home office!
Computer Knowledge
If you are going to work from home, you’ll need a working knowledge of computers.  You don’t have to a software designer, but knowledge of the basics is important.  It’s also a good idea to have resources you can turn to, such as technically savvy friends.
There’s no IT department to turn to in the home office, and computers require maintenance and updates.  If you have trouble downloading software, or if your machine freezes up, you will need to have some knowledge at your disposal to fix the problem.  Also, you are undoubtedly using an internet connection to work from home; find out if a back-up plan is feasible for you in case you can’t get online.
Task Orientation
Some people are more task oriented than others – that is, some people find great satisfaction in making a list and getting everything on it done.  Others find staying on task difficult, and may get distracted easily with other interests and ideas.  You don’t have to be naturally task-oriented to succeed at working from home; but you do need to be honest with yourself about your abilities in this regard and plan accordingly.
Motivation
Remaining self-motivated can be challenging for some.  Again, you can’t rewire your brain to be the personality type you need to succeed; but understanding your limitations and strengths regarding motivation can help you put safeguards in place before you begin.
For example, if you have trouble staying motivated, you can ask a friend to hold you accountable periodically.  He or she can check up on you weekly with an email or phone call, asking you if your’re on task and if you’ve reached your goals. 
Perks
If you already have a day job, carefully consider the perks that job offers and decide what you will do about providing those yourself.  Health insurance and taxes, for instance, are often things an employer takes care of behind the scenes.  You’ll want to look into those things on your own before starting out in the work at home world. 
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.

How to be Home Free – Technological Trends

How to be Home Free – Technological Trends

Resource Articles

Technology is the reason that so many of us are able to learn how to be the new bosses of our lives.

In fact, working remotely was only a big adjustment for everyone who WAS NOT a work-at-home parent. That’s right. We did it for years.

Moms are technical and savvy. And don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

We learned how to take advantage of tech resources to build websites while watching soccer practice, take business calls on the playground, and pivot like nobody’s business. Covid Shmovid. We knew how to work at home LOOOOOONG before the rest of the world did.

We had to. We did it to grow our own home businesses when our employers wouldn’t let us work remotely as new parents.

Time Management is Key.

Once you become a stay at home parent who is juggling a new career, your time becomes the most valuable commodity you have.  You simply can’t waste one moment doing a task that doesn’t have some kind of pay off.  Of course, this may seem simple, but very often we work hard at creating the perfect newsletter, or blog, or radio podcast and there is no real value to it if there isn’t an audience for it.

Technology can get you the audience you need as well, leaving no stone unturned in any corner of our world.  If there is a perfect client for you in South America, the internet can bring them to you.  No one should feel embarrassed about asking how TicToc works, or the meaning of ’embedded’ but the reality is there are still millions of people out there feeling like infants in our cyber-world. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t allow a tendency to become overwhelmed shut you down completely.

Do yourself a favor and become acquainted with Google and YouTube.  Both sites are an information junkies best friend. It’s what the kids are doing.

The Hottest New Business Trend is Modesty

The Hottest New Business Trend is Modesty

Ally Loprete, Community, Direct Sales, Resource Articles

In case you haven’t noticed, “Less is more” is not only economical, it’s the latest trend.  With good reason.  With the unsteadiness of the economy people are beginning to feel more comfortable with those who are also behaving with frugality.  Your clients want to know that you appreciate the need for living within tighter budgets and that their hard earned dollars are not supporting frivolous spending or unnecessary expenses for flashy arrogance.

Where the high rise office in the business district once may have appeared impressive to clients, it now may appear unmindful to the financial challenges of our current society.  Setting up your place of business in a home doesn’t necessarily indicate a flailing business as it once did, but instead, it indicates common sense and that the business is smart for making the choice to conserve.

We are a quickly evolving culture, and the one thing that we all have going for us is the ability to empathize with one another.  It’s the primary reason we need to make the decision to support those who have chosen to provide products or services out of their home.  Small businesses need you as much as you need them.  By working together and utilizing our power as consumers, we can rebuild an economy that works in our favor.