When you’re thinking about starting a new business from home, there are a lot of different things you need to think about as part of your plan. One of the things you need to consider is whether you have the right temperament for working from home in the first place. If you’ve decided you do, then that’s great! You’re on the right track.
That being said, working from home isn’t always as awesome as you think it might be. While an excellent component of working from home is being able to get up and begin working in your pyjamas, you may find your productivity goes down as your proximity to The Simpsons and your remote control get closer…
There are many ways you can ensure you’re as successful as possible in a new home business. Making sure you’re the right kind of person to work from home is a great place to start.
Noise Distractors
The first thing you need to do is to think about where your office is going to be located in your home. You need to make sure that wherever you’re setting up, it’s a safe haven for you to work in, since it’s where you’re (hopefully) going to get your work done. If you happen to have kids or live in a share house (pretty much the same thing), working from home may not be as awesome as you thought it was going to be.
Sadly, the prevalence of kids and/or housemates rising at 11 AM to put on some Shakira while they scrub the toilet, may interrupt your work flow. If you decided to work from home and you know there are going to be possible distractions, consider investing in some awesome noise cancelling headphones to balance things out.
Ignore the haters
As people who work from home, they get a lot of envy from their mates. These are friends who think that when you work from home all you do is go out for coffee all day (occasionally true for some who quickly end up back in a job!) It’s not always the case that you have the freedom to do what you want, and when you work from home, as when you work from an office, they are still deadlines to meet and clients to speak to. So ignore the haters.
Where the heck is the IT guy?
Another aspect of working from home that can really suck is that you no longer have the freedom and flexibility to consult with an IT person whenever anything goes wrong! That means that if you’re not the most savvy of computer users, you had better learn how to use Google search to find the answers to your problems!
Also, whenever you need something from the stationery cupboard – guess what? It doesn’t exist any more. You have to go down to Officeworks and buy whatever you need yourself. If you’re looking to print something out, it’s probably best you get your own printer set up instead of borrowing your neighbour’s printer all the time, otherwise locate the best Printers Melbourne for all of your printing needs.
Snacking All The Time
If you’re anything like most people, the presence of some biscuits means they need to be eaten… Immediately! If you find yourself getting up to snack all the time when you’re at home ‘working’, why not think about going out to work in the library or at a café for a few hours during the week. Preferably, choose places without snacks. Breaking up your routine like this may mean you’ll be less inclined to snack, and will find the time to get that really important proposal done.