Successful Blog

What Works Best to Get Your Home Office Working for You?

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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Successfully Working From a Home-based Office

It didn’t take long for me to make a mistake when I first started working from home. It wasn’t an obvious “You were wrong” kind of mistake, but the painfully subtle realization that I was going about this whole working from home thing with the wrong attitude. I took the opportunity to finally get a dog, set up a plain desk in the living room, and worked whenever I wanted. And who can blame me? Working from home ranks right up there with passive income – the Holy Grail and Ark of the Covenant in the Internet marketing world. It’s supposed to be easy right?

Internet workers (especially writers) tend to embrace the idea of working from home. Businesses increasingly favor it as a logical alternative to stuffing hundreds of workers in a cramped office space. In fact, the United States Small Business Administration estimates that around 50% (or about 16 million) of all businesses in the country are based at home.

Oddly enough, we also tend to forget the basic rules of success. Working from home is not a license to relax – there are still challenges to overcome; work that must get done. The discipline you must show when working from home is unmatched by the office environment. You only get paid for work – no wasting five minutes at the water cooler here, checking your Facebook page whenever the boss isn’t looking there.

So, what were the critical mistakes that I made when I first started working from home? You might be surprised at just how many of these strike a bit close to home in your own situation.

I Tried to Work Regular Eight Hour Days

The funny thing about doing creative work from home is that you can only really do so much before your brain completely fries. This is especially true with writers. Most writers get to a point in the day when, no matter how easy their next article is, quality takes a severe dive.

The cap for most writers is about 4,000 words of high quality content per day. After that, it can be tough to come up with new ideas or stay true to your style. It’s tremendously easy to put big projects off until the last minute when you work from home, even easier to think that writing 8,000 words on Monday will give you the day off on Tuesday to go to the beach.

When you choose to work from home, forget everything you know about the Western approach to working, and take the opportunity to find what works best for your personality. Ultimately, you might find that even 6 hours is too long of a day for your work, and you’d rather work in four hour long sessions with 20 minute breaks between. You might also find that you are the kind of person that can work two 20 hour days and enjoy the rest of the week off (lucky…).

No matter what, set a schedule that works best for you and stick with it until it gets boring. Then, try switching it up a little. There’s usually nobody to tell you when to work when you work from home, especially if you do freelance work.

I Took Shortcuts on Internet Service

When you work from home, nothing is more important than a stable, clear wireless Internet connection. I was flat broke when I started working from home – more of a choice of desperation after losing my “normal job.” So when I finally landed a writing job, I rushed to find a cheap Internet service.

If you work from home, buy the best Internet package that you can afford. If you only get paid for the tangible work you actually perform (instead of hourly or salary wages), any time lost waiting for pages to load is wasted. Even worse, losing your connection for even a single day can cost you hundreds of dollars in lost wages.

I remember one day when my Internet went out. The call to my ISP didn’t help (I think they’re trained to just say “we’re doing testing in your area” or “we have reported outages in your area” to get you off the phone). After yelling at the poor customer service rep for at least five minutes, I managed to secure a $1.72 refund on my next month’s bill. I spent the rest of the day drinking coffee at McDonalds, pillaging their Internet connection and ignoring the “why are you still hanging around” glares from the staff.

I Didn’t Keep My Home Office Separate

Granted, I lived in a one bedroom apartment with very few options for separate living space and a home office. But when it came down to it, I cleared out a walk in closet that I was lucky enough to have, found other storage for clothes and such, and used the closet as my office. Sure, it wasn’t as welcoming as a 30th floor office surrounded by windows, but there were great reasons that I ultimately decided to go this route.

As a work from home entrepreneur, you will constantly fight a battle between your work life and home life. Allowing the two to blend can spawn more distractions than you can handle. If you have a family, make it clear that your work time is private time – they should act as if you aren’t even there unless it’s an emergency.

There are also, of course, financial reasons for setting up a home office separate from your living space – taxes. According to Entrepreneur, you can write off a portion of your home or apartment that you use exclusively for business, even if you’re renting. This is the same as writing off utilities used for work, or even writing off your cell phone bill if the majority of calls are made as part of your job.

Although you’re supposed to have a contractor measure your home office space and provide a signed letter (useful if you get audited) verifying his or her measurements, I measured myself and prayed that no audit letter would come. So far, I’ve been lucky.

When you work from home, you will make mistakes. The temptation that comes with a flexible work schedule is like going on a diet – you become very good at convincing yourself that taking that extra donut (or taking yet another break) will be good for you in the end. Few people enjoy their job 100% of the time (does anyone, really?) and not having a direct supervisor to keep that television off can spell disaster for even the strongest of wills. In the end, the most important aspect of working from home is to bring the focus that you had in the office, and combine it with the freedom to spend more time with your family and work on your own schedule. Only with that balance can you get closer to finding that Holy Grail for which you’ve been looking.

What works best to get your home office working for youi?

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel. Even the seasoned pros at home need reminders like these!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Beach Notes: Discovering the Echidna Sculpture

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by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

Today, on our regular Sunday visit to the beautifully pristine Fingal Beach, we noticed for the first time in the beachside park area this striking wooden sculpture of an echidna. The carving is of one piece with the supporting block, but there is no plaque or other indicator of who the artist is.

The echidna, also known as a spiny anteater, is – with the platypus – one of only two egg-laying mammals. It is found only in Australia and New Guinea (Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, and the independent nation of Papua New Guinea). Despite its popular name and the fact that ants form part of its diet, the “spiny anteater” is apparently not particularly related to the true anteaters of the Americas.

Would we have discovered this echidna sculpture sooner if the story of the art and the artist were there for people to share?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

3 Keys to Keeping Women Leaders in Your Company

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A Guest Post by
Jacqueline Snider

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Don’t Let the Women Leave

When women leaders leave a company, the company loses talent, mentorship, and a distinct point of view. If it’s happening regularly, you might wonder about their reasons for leaving. It’s probably not what you’re thinking.

Did they leave because of the work schedule?
No.

Did they leave because of the salary?
No.

Did they leave because of the workload?
No.

Changing those circumstances might make a happy woman leader even happier, but those aren’t the keys to keeping strong women leaders. Why did the women leaders leave?

When asked why they left, women leaders often say the company just wasn’t worth the sacrifice.

So what are the keys to keeping great women leaders?

Key #1: Acknowledge the power of ‘broad spectrum’ vision

If you only reward the leaders that focus on single tasks and perceptions, you are alienating your broad spectrum thinkers and ultimately losing a lot of your talent.

Women leaders tend to notice a variety of things all at the same time. Rather than focusing narrowly on a single perception or task, women leaders are able to simultaneously engage in a variety of thought processes. They are using ‘broad spectrum noticing,’ a way of engaging in an all-encompassing way with their coworkers.

While women are working they may be aware of their coworkers’ emotions, may be anticipating what other people need or want in a given situation and may then make subtle adjustments in their environment to avoid conflicts that could arise. Most companies don’t encourage this way of thinking and their women leaders leave once they approach senior positions.

Acknowledge their unique way of viewing their work world.

And then reward that vision.

Key#2: Acknowledge the value of daily work experiences

A lot of organizations try to motivate their employees by emphasizing the possibility of upward advancement in their companies. Women leaders, however, do not perceive their trade-offs—including stress, time and relationships—to be adequately compensated by the rewards being offered in return, such as promotions, higher salaries and higher profiles.

Women leaders don’t see their present work experience as only a stepping stone to their future. The quality of their everyday work life affects them significantly and women leaders are not satisfied with sacrificing their now simply for some goal in their future.

What do women leaders want everyday?

Women place a higher value on carrying out their daily work experiences than what the job might give them as far as future career goals and advancement. That doesn’t mean women aren’t concerned with their career advancement possibilities, but it does mean that they’re not willing to work in a suboptimal work experience to get to the next level.

When management says things like, “Everyone has to takes their bumps and knocks when they first start out. Putting up with some bad managers and difficult working conditions is all part of getting promoted,” it just doesn’t ring true.

Women leaders simply aren’t interested in slogging away at a difficult position everyday just to get somewhere higher up once they’ve paid their dues. In fact, they’ll leave that position for another and another until they find a job that pays attention to the texture of their everyday experiences while they’re at work.

This means that if you want to keep talented, driven women in your company you must encourage a daily work experience that is rewarding for your employees.

Believing your women leaders will put up with and hang in until they are eventually promoted is an old-school mentality that’s outdated.

Acknowledge their experiences.

Key #3: Acknowledge that larger vision motivates daily actions

A lot of old-style companies link performance to game metaphors. For example, If you attain this volume of sales you’ll be able to spin the ‘Leaders wheel’ and win a great prize. Women leaders find these ideas, which traditionally defined purpose, as too limiting and often pointless and childish.

Women leaders are motivated by their daily work when it is tied to a larger vision. They see their work through a social lens and are most inspired when their work performance is acknowledged as being tied to relationships—not treated like a game.

Women are concerned with their work relationships and the social fabric and climate of their everyday work experience. They feel encouraged when their work relationships are strong and dynamic, ever-growing and evolving. These building blocks of a successful team are central to women leaders’ work goals.

Games, on the other hand, encourage competition—pitting individuals against each other. After all, there can only be one winner. This type of reinforcement doesn’t foster teamwork and doesn’t recognize that other people helped get that ‘winner’ to the Leaders wheel.

Acknowledge the larger vision that drives the people of the organization.

As companies grow more web-focused and rely more on the quality of their relationships to survive and thrive, the social fabric of their everyday company experience becomes more important. If organizations want to keep their top talent, women leaders’ visions need to be acknowledged and rewarded meaningfully.

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Author’s Bio:
Jacqueline Snider writes and works at Snider Editing and Writing where she creates images for clients through words she chooses. You can find her on Twitter as @JackieSnider

Thank you, Jackie. Great thinking. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Top 3 Little Challenges of Working From Home

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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Last week, we covered some of the big, client-end challenges of working from home, but what about those little challenges you’ll face on a daily basis? The top three little challenges of working from home are:

Trouble Staying Motivated –

Without a big bad boss checking your every keystroke, motivation can tank when you work from home. Remember that you’re working to survive, not to please a boss. Set an honest goal just above what you need to do each day and do everything you can to achieve it. It takes a while to switch your mindset over to working because you want to, not because you need to make someone else money. But you will get the hang of it.

Too Many Distractions –

This is a big one. You can literally do almost anything you want when you work from home. I often put a movie on when I’m working on something boring, but this doesn’t work for most people. Try different things when working from home and pay attention to how they impact your productivity. Sometimes having some music on while working can make you more productive, but again, this isn’t the case for everyone. This challenge will require some trial and error.

Taxes –

Most people can look forward to tax season with the possibility of a refund. Work-from-home people dread April. Keep track of everything you do in a spreadsheet, and have it ready for tax season. Try to save 20% of all the money you make in a separate account meant only for taxes. Better yet, pay the government 20% of your earnings every quarter. If you put off taxes until the last minute, you could find yourself in a terrible money pit with the government. I still owe taxes from my first year working from home because tax season caught me by surprise. Don’t make this same mistake – it can cost you thousands of dollars in fees and more than a few sleepless nights.

Every job has challenges. What are the little challenges that get in your way when you work at home?

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel. Great follow up to last week’s post!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Beach Notes: Brush Turkeys

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by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

Australian brush turkeys, also called scrub or bush turkeys. The male is building the hollowed mound nest from leaves, other combustible material and earth. Typically more than one female will lay eggs there and the male then tends the nest for the next seven weeks till hatching. He checks the temperature regularly with his bill, then taking bits out or adding, to manage the temperature in a range of 33-38 degrees C (91-100 F). They look cute enough, but create a lot of mess along the beach walkways and if they nest near backyard gardens are known to acquire the gardeners’ mulch for their nests. Which may help to explain why they are listed on one site as one of a group of Australian “birds behaving badly.”

Hope your weekend doesn’t leave you thinking that brush turkeys have been around.

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

The Big Challenges of Working at Home

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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BIG Challenges of Working From Home

One memory of my experience working from home sticks out to me – a video Skype meeting with one of my first clients. I rushed to put on some nice clothes, cleaned up my office a little and prepared as best I could. When the meeting finally happened, the client remarked “I expected to see a person in their pajamas in a tiny one bedroom apartment.”

And that’s a part of the “work from home problem” isn’t it? Normal business people, as they like to think of themselves, have some fairly critical prejudices against work-from-home workers. With that one remark, I realized that the client thought of people who work from home with two things in mind:

  • I was probably too lazy to put on some decent clothes for a meeting.
  • I was more than likely not making enough money to have more than a studio apartment.

This misconception is one of the biggest challenges of working from home – among many others. Once you convince your clients that you aren’t some slob, furiously clamoring for a living from the scraps of “real businesses,” you have an opportunity to overcome all the challenges and become a successful entrepreneur.

Setting Reasonable Hours

It’s true that few of us work the 9-5 grind. And why do so if you don’t have to? What is it really about that eight-hour period that makes it so “work-worthy?” I honestly admit that I hate working 9-5, and I don’t normally work in periods longer than four hours. When you work with clients, however, you have to set reasonable hours for when they can contact you. Try the following to keep those hours, without interfering with your preferred work schedule:

  • Make yourself available for calls at a normal schedule (like 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.). If you’re getting so many calls that it’s interfering with your life, you have a very good problem and might need to consider hiring some help. It should go without saying that a mobile phone is essential.
  • If you don’t want your mobile number published, simply forward your number through Phone.com with a more professional 888 number that you can give your clients. This has the added benefit of allowing you to see when it’s a work call (and avoid answering with a hearty “what’s up?”).

Competing With the “Big Box” Providers

This seems to be a bit of a misconception carried over from the brick and mortar business world. You can actually compete with larger companies quite easily. In fact, you have some decisive advantages:

  • You don’t have much overhead, meaning you can usually undercut like crazy. But don’t get carried away. Do some research to find out how much your major competitors are charging for similar services and set your prices just under theirs. If you go too cheap, clients won’t believe that you do good work.
  • You are a single person. Always highlight the fact that you are the only person a client needs to speak to – you take the order and finish it yourself. Clients usually love this. In many situations, you can even beat the turnaround times offered by large companies simply because of the lack of red tape.
  • Do research on every client and gear your pitch towards their needs. If they are a small company, they’ll love that you work alone. Larger companies might get concerned with your slower turnaround time. With these types of clients, you don’t need to stress that you work from home. You do need to stress that you have an unprecedented personal dedication to each client.
  • You can establish a deeply personal brand. If you design business cards, for example, and have received many compliments on your attention to raised print designs, leverage this with future clients. While larger companies have an army of professionals doing the same thing, nothing can beat your personal approach.

Meeting With Clients

It’s fairly rare that a client requests a face-to-face meeting. Actually, most of your clients will be very busy (or will want to seem like they are) and will convert after a single phone call or email. Some will prefer to do a video chat. If you serve some local clients, they might want to meet. But as a general rule, never invite the client to your home to do business. Instead, learn to love lunch meetings. Offering to take a client out to lunch to discuss a new contract is a great way to avoid having to reveal that you work from home, while showing a potential client that you have a professional attitude towards business.

On the other hand, I’ve secured more contracts over a beer than over lunch. If you work in a particularly casual industry like web development, SEO, or content writing, your best tool can be a clean, quiet bar. This works well for meetings after 5 p.m.

But remember that working from home is just an alternative to working in an office, not necessarily a license to show up in shorts and a t-shirt. Business people will still expect you to look professional, and you have to be very careful about casual business conversations. You still have a product to sell, and you need to project an image of professionalism at all times.

Sure there are little challenges that we face at home or in an office, but …

What do you find are the big challenges of working at home for you?

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel. You covered this big topic in fresh way.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!