| ot a day goes by that I don't hear about | | | | |
| someone lamentingtheir decision to leave | | | | If you are in an online business, this is |
| corporate America and work at home. | | | | usually from 9:00 AM to |
| | | | |
| Maybe they were laid off, opted for early | | | | 8:00 PM. Yes there are three time zones in |
| retirement, or justdecided that commuting | | | | the USA. If you liveon the east coast like I |
| four hours on the train, coupled with aneight | | | | do, when you are getting ready to packit in |
| hour workday was simply too much. Possibly, | | | | for the day, folks on the west coast may just |
| they will keeptheir job and work part-time at | | | | be returningfrom lunch. |
| home to earn extra income. Whoknows what the | | | | |
| reasons are, but that is not important. | | | | If you are not tied to a telephone, it is |
| | | | still important tomaintain regular hours. |
| With "visions of sugarplums" dancing in their | | | | More importantly, you should have dailygoals. |
| head, they decidedto start their own home | | | | If you meet those goals, the rest of the day |
| business. They believed the ads aboutworking | | | | is yours. |
| in their pajamas when the spirit moved them, | | | | |
| and after amonth or so woke up to reality. | | | | But many people always think there is |
| They weren't making a dime. | | | | tomorrow. |
| | | | |
| Where did they go wrong? Well, when they | | | | For far too many, tomorrow never comes, and |
| worked for someoneelse, they were expected to | | | | things that shouldhave been done aren't. |
| be at work at a certain time everyday. | | | | Maybe when the kids are at school willwork |
| Depending on the business, there was a | | | | for you, or possibly late at night. You might |
| certain dress code,and they had goals to | | | | even have topass up on your favorite "soap". |
| meet. Granted, these goals were | | | | Don't deal with hours - you'renot being paid |
| usuallydetermined by someone else, but they | | | | by the hour - deal with goal oriented |
| were the ones who had tomeet them. | | | | results. |
| | | | |
| It is easy to work for someone else, as they | | | | Working in your pajamas sounds great, and |
| are the ones callingthe shots. They actually | | | | many of the offers youmay hear state that you |
| lived under an umbrella of discipline. | | | | can. If I get an idea in the wee hours, |
| | | | |
| Granted it was someone else's umbrella, and | | | | I may hop on the computer dressed like that, |
| maybe they didn'trealize this. Possibly they | | | | but for normalbusiness hours that is simply a |
| did, and that was the reason theydecided to | | | | myth. Who wants to spend theirlife like that? |
| work on their own. | | | | |
| | | | You must have an effective work space, which |
| One of the most common problems behind the | | | | is free ofdistractions. You should have quiet |
| failure of a homebusiness, is the lack of | | | | office space in your house,which is |
| discipline. Some think they can workwhen (and | | | | out-of-the-way, and off limits during your |
| if) they want to, and their mailbox will | | | | work hours. |
| "overfloweth"with twenty dollar bills. Well, | | | | |
| I got news for you! | | | | Treat this like an office. Keep it neat. |
| | | | While I am not theneatest person in the |
| Running your own business, whether it is a | | | | world, I do know where everything is. If Iget |
| brick and mortarestablishment, or a home | | | | a call from a client, I'm not fumbling about |
| business, requires work. It usuallyrequires | | | | looking for theinformation I need. A filing |
| more effort than if you worked for someone | | | | cabinet next to your desk goes along way. |
| else. Youwill also have to do some things you | | | | |
| don't enjoy. But, if youare the chief (or | | | | When you get an email, take appropriate |
| only) "honcho", you had better be able | | | | action the same day, thenfile it in a place |
| tohandle all facets of your business. | | | | where you can find it. Delete all emails |
| | | | inyour "in-basket" older than 30 days. If |
| So, how do you go about working at home? | | | | they're older than 30days, they're not worth |
| First and foremost, youhave to have a regular | | | | anything anyway. |
| schedule and adhere to it. This isespecially | | | | |
| true if you expect people to contact you by | | | | If you don't fall into the "trap", which many |
| phone. Ifpeople try to call you, and don't | | | | folks do, you justmight make it in your own |
| get an answer, they quicklymove on. You have | | | | home business. |
| to be available during normal business hours. | | | | |