Work From Home - Are You Prepared?
Ahh, yes – to work
from home. It’s a dream many share, but few pursue. As someone who
made the leap from the corporate rat race to working from home as a
self-employed ‘sole proprietor,’ I can tell you that the decision
was agonizing. I didn’t realize until I was sitting in my former
boss’s office just how difficult it would be to actually quit a
secure career to pursue a dream. I literally shook with fear as I
mouthed the words, “I’m giving you my two weeks’ notice today.” I
was exhausted for hours after – seriously.
But I’ve gotten ahead
of myself a bit. Months before I made what turned out to be one of
the best decisions of my life – to work for myself from home – I
spent my off-time setting things up to make the transition as smooth
as possible. It took lots of work and many sleepless nights (mostly
on weekends) to get the core of my new home business set up solidly
so that quitting the job was a realistic possibility.
The biggest obstacle
to making a successful transition from employee to home worker is
replacing most or all of your income from the job you’ll be
leaving. It’s a good idea to save up at least six months of
bill-paying money for the unforeseen (and inevitable) bumps in the
road. You can count on a lot of them, trust me! It goes with the
territory when you choose a life of working from home.
Another common
misconception is that it’s more fun and less stressful to work from
home. I fell prey to that little myth, and boy did that bubble
burst in a hurry! Especially in the early months, expect little
leisure time, lots of stress, and keep the Tylenol handy. You’ll be
wearing ALL the hats in your new home business, and that can be the
hardest work you’ll ever do some days.
Finally, make sure
your family is on board with your decision to work in the home you
share with them. Ask them to give you their brutally honest
opinions – good and bad. They will probably think of some of the
downsides that you haven’t thought of yet. Embrace that feedback!
Working from home is a nice fantasy, but it affects everyone around
you. It’s only fair to give it careful consideration as a family
before you take the plunge and set up shop at home.
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