Ah, working from home. Being your own boss. Sounds absolutely wonderfully divine, doesn’t it? Nobody to answer to but yourself, getting all the credit for a job well done and not having anyone to snatch the glory from you by sucking up to the boss.
In a perfect world – that would be ideal. That’s what I thought as well – that working from home would be absolutely divine. No distractions, nobody popping into my cubicle to tell me that this or that needed to be done asap, that I would need to stay late to finish a project (after having made plans for dinner with the family), now worries about upkeeping a professional wardrobe (whose gonna see me sitting at home behind my computer) and the list goes on and on.
O. M. G. I have to laugh at the sheer naivity of it all – now. When you make the decision to work from home – YOU are the boss. YOU make all the decisions. YOU determine your schedule, what you will and will not work on. YOU are also responsible for everything that your boss was responsible at your old 9 to 5. Such as:
- Employee Disputes (if you have children, you know exactly what this means)
- Co-Worker Interruptions (your partner constantly calling home, or, if they work from home as well, constantly popping in and disrupting you, neighbors banging on the door for a cup of sugar or a ride downtown)
- Technical Issues (the internet goes out, the computer breaks down, your scanner quits working)
- Office Upkeep (keeping the office area clean – which is your entire home if you’re like me – and showplace ready for any unexpected drop-ins)
- Lead Management (you are responsible for finding the leads to keep your business going, they are not handed to you on a call sheet anymore!)
- Advertising (you are responsible for tooting your own horn and if that is something you are not comfortable with, you have to GET comfortable with it mighty quick. Nobody is going to toot for you till you get a clientele built up!)
That is just the tip of the iceberg. Working from home is NOTHING like going to work at 8am, putting your 8 hours in for someone else, and then coming home and leaving work behind.
When you work from home, your job is there with you 24/7. Granted, yes, you could put your eight hours in and walk away, but not everyone is able to do that – myself being one of them. I did that though even when I was working for “the man” and not for myself. If the boss needed someone to stay an extra hour or so to help out with a project, I always felt “obligated” to be the one to volunteer and stay to help. I wanted to be the one that they thought of when promotions came around or pay increases came around. Sometimes it worked – and I actually WAS the one they remembered and rewarded; more often than not, however, I was used and abused and received nothing in return.
Now, if I haven’t scared you off the whole working from home idea, congratulations! You’ve got the stuff that work at home moms are made of!
Stay tuned as I continue with our Giving Back Blogger Series for more information, links, downloads and tips for becoming a successful, savvy stay-at-home-mom blogger!
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