Working from Home

Guidelines

So you've decided to work from home. Good for you. Just wait, you'll see, your home office will be the comfortable, relaxing, organized, productive workplace you've always imagined. You'll have the luxury of working in your pajamas, sipping coffee and typing on the laptop in your big comfy chair. You'll have the benefit of balancing work and home because you'll be home, right? Not necessarily. Working from home can be fantastic but it takes some discipline and some ground rules to really make it work.

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Setting boundaries for yourself and for others can be one of the biggest challenges self-employed face. Andrea Bodie- Self-employed Writer and Editor suggests... "As entrepreneurs, marketing our skills and getting the phone to ring on a consistent basis is what we work toward. That being said, the phone can ring late into the night and sometimes that means setting boundaries with clients about when I'm available by phone. I'm surprised at how many people suggest meeting or connecting on a Saturday. I try to be protective of my weekends because time to recharge is crucial for me or my writing can start to feel mechanical."

You can work from home and be successful, you just have to set guidelines. Here are a few from Canada's business etiquette experts:
  1. Try not to refer to you your office as "home", call it the office. "Please call me at the office...", "I'll be at the office...", "Please mail to my office..." etc. Adopt a mind-set that home=office for specific hours of the day.
  2. There seems to be a prevailing notion that people who work from home goof around all day and don't really work or that they can just pull themselves away from their work to chat on the phone or do an errand for a friend or babysit for someone who has a real job.
  3. Be firm about your workplace responsibilities and don't feel like you have to justify why you didn't get the dishes done- you we're working!
  4. Call yourself something; an entrepreneur, a marketing expert or whatever you are but try to distinguish yourself somehow. Avoid generic terms like consultant or representative.
  5. Put your company name on your answering machine if you will be receiving calls there. And, let people know in advance if you are expecting interruptions or distractions. If people know what to expect, they are less likely to be put off by things like the dishwasher running or the dog barking.
  6. Refrain from using words like "small" or "little" or "one-person" when referring to your business. Think big, "operation", "enterprise", or "company" all sound better.
  7. Practice speaking intelligently and with pride about what you do. Be specific. If you tell people you are "dabbling" at something or "doing something on the side" they're less likely to take you seriously.
  8. Find at least one entrepreneurial friend who really understands what you go through in a day. Talk to him or her about how they balance life and work, meet out of the office occasionally and build your own support system.




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