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So You Want To Work From Home
K. Laskowski July, 2001 © e-work-zone.com
If you want to work from home, there are really only three options:
- get a job with a company that supports it (telecommute),
- be an independant contractor (freelance), or
- start your own business that you can run from your home.
While there are advantages and disadvatages to each option,
working at home no matter which option has some common needs and pitfalls:
- You will need space for your 'home office'.
If you telecommute, the company you work for probably will require this and may help with the cost - if you work for yourself, you need a separate room for office space to take advantage of tax write-offs.
- You will need a separate computer/phone/fax line for your office.
With the services available today, you should be able to get away with one additional line for all of this - but in order to maintain a professional image, you can't have your kids answering business calls.
- You have to have the discipline to 'work' from home and not get distracted by the fact that you are at home.
You see the loads of laundry piling up, the grass needs to be mowed, whatever - you have to turn a blind eye to all of that and concentrate on working during 'work' time.
- You need to be able to stop working.
Believe it or not, this is one of the major pitfalls - it's so easy to go back and do that one more thing when the office is down the hall. But remember why you wanted to work from home in the first place (usually it's related to having more time for yourself and/or your family).
- You need to stay in touch.
Whether it's with others in the office at the company, or with others in your line of business, another big pitfall to working from home is isolation and missing the cameraderie you have being 'on the job'. You will have to make a concious effort to stay in the loop.
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