On of the greatest dreams of many is to be able to quit the 9 to 5 rat race. Actually this is the dream for most American families it seems. Slowly a lot of people are making that dream come true. However, before quitting your day job you should take a moment, or two, to review all of the benefits and costs of working from home and also take in consideration aspects that relates to your family and household. One of the major benefits of working from the comfort of your own home is to be your own boss! Few things are more rewarding then working with something you find interesting and even make money! It may take some time to build up a real work from home business, but the rewards can be life changing. If you love what you do, results will almost reflect this.
Being able to drive your kindergarten or school and being available for your children when they come home is a major home-business perk for many. Think about all the time that you are missing with your kids when you are tied to the 9 to 5 routine. Wouldn't it be just wonderful to be able to share some time with them, watch them grow, watch them progress and develop, especially in their formative years? Another great benefit is that household expenses of a home business are tax deductible in most countries. You can deduct part of your monthly bills for rent, telephone, internet connection, magazines etc related to the running of your biz .
Consult with your accountant or tax preparer for all of the benefits and make sure you make it legit. Be sure to keep accurate records and a daily journal because it makes it all so much easier when it is time to fill in the tax forms. There are a lot of great software programs to keep track of all this and they don't have to cost a fortune. Away from the many positive aspects of being a home worker, working at home is not always the ideal situation. You see there can be many issues that will affect your family and your household. Financial issues.
If you are currently employed, will you hopefully be able to handle the reduced income you might be facing initially but what if you currently don't have a steady income? You may want to consider working your business part time while holding down a full time job - jumping right into the fire by giving your work at home business full priority may cause you drown in depth as there will always be some initial costs and money won't come in unless you have managed to get some momentum to start with. Boundaries. So it is really cool to you be your own boss, right? You can sleep all day, don't have to answer to no one and can do as you please NO WAY! WAKE UP!! Are you truly a self-starter? Because you really need to be if this is going to work. Don't kid yourself - it takes a very dedicated and disciplined person to work from home and still make time for the family.
I would recommend you structure your day and let your family know how your day is laid out. Work is work. Keep focus and work steady when you are working. There will always be time for joy later on.
Just don't let distractions take over. Working at home can be very confusing to kids. You are home, right, so why can't you come out and play? Set some basic rules for them to follow.
Let them know your work hours and tell them you expect not to be disturbed. You can of course still reserve the right to surprise them on some occasions by quitting earlier and doing something fun! Also if you set up your business to eventually generate some kind of residual income you will have to work hard in the beginning but later on you can slow down, enjoy your family, and still be making healthy amounts of money. Here are some basic rules that I hope will help you and your family handle the new work at home situation: * Find a place in the house to dedicate to your business.
Set up an office and spend your working hours in this area. This will make it easier for people to understand that you are working. * Keep office supplies separate from school supplies or office supplies of other family members. * Make a weekly work schedule each week and stick to it. You may even post it in a prominent location, like on the refrigerator or something like that, so your family members can check it to see when you are available and how much you have to do each day.
This may also help them realise that working from home is not the same as sleeping and relaxing but actually takes dedicated work. * Keep your business phone separate from your home phone. To save some money it might be a good idea to set up a Skype phone as it is a very low cost solution. Also have a voice mail so you can be sure to always receive your messages and it will even establish a more professional business image. Also remember to answer your business phone in a professional manner.
* If your wife/husband is home at lunch be sure to take an hour off to eat lunch together. Also make sure to eat dinner together as it is a very important 'communication point'. Working from home is still the greatest dream for most American families as well as most families world wide. Learning how to set, and follow, boundaries for your family will make your business a bit less complicated and a lot more fun.
It will remove doubt about whether you are working or just 'surfing online' and it will help you keep focus on what is important when running a business -- Making Money!.
Ralph Nunes is the CEO of the Monetizer Network website that offers articles, tips and tricks, free classifieds, marketing marketplace, events, forums, marketing news and updates on InternetMarketink from all over the world and more! To find this and more, check out his website at: http://www.MonetizerNetwork.com/
