Preparing to Work at Home

Telecommuting may be an option worth looking into, whether as your only position or as a combination of working at home and working at the office with your current employer.

For those who are trying to work out a flexible schedule in your current job, the key is to assure your boss that not only can you get as much work done, but can be even more productive from home on that day or those days you telecommute. Your reasons may be numerous, ranging from saving a day of commuting or for child-care reasons.

You may offer to attempt working one day a week from home on a trial basis. If you are given this opportunity, you can open the door to future telecommuting days, planned or unplanned (based on a need that arises in your personal life), by producing an increased quantity over what you or a typical employee does on a typical workday in the office.

For those seeking to work completely at home, there are several web sites available offering specific work opportunities. Many of these are part-time or on a freelancing basis, but this is a great chance to enhance your resume and build for future opportunities.

If you have done any work at home from any job or any freelancing, make sure to highlight that fact on your resume, stressing that you worked successfully off-site or via telecommunication. As with any type of job, a potential employer wants to see experience, which in this case is not limited to what you have done, but also includes where you have done it.

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The Benefits of Working at Home

Working at home offers an incredible amount of benefits and freedom. Unfortunately, most people get intimidated by that sense of freedom and never pursue a work-at-home career. They distrust an outside-the-box system that doesn’t involve a commute or an office. However, working at home is nothing to be scared of. It’s no secret that working at home is not for everyone: it requires an incredible amount of self-discipline and doesn’t include a lot of social interaction. However, the benefits are outstanding. Here are a list of benefits from working at home.

  1. Freedom. Work in your pajamas. Forgo the high heels or neckties. Settle in with some comfy clothes and some home-brewed coffee and get to work in your home office. Yes, your home office: you’ll need a space to call your own, somewhere you can go to and shut the door and get to work. Work when you want to, work how you want to. However, you may find that without a schedule, you start doing other things when you want to, such as watching a movie or taking a nap. Naps are fine as long as you get your other work done! Make yourself a schedule and stick to it. However, that schedule can include mornings and nights instead of a straight 9 to 5 schedule.
  2. More time for your family. You feel better connected when you have the freedom to pick up your kids from school or make them an afternoon snack. You’ll have a much easier time going to mid-day appointments or school events. You’ll never miss a school play performance again!
  3. Be your own boss. Yes, you’ll still have clients, and those clients will be incredibly demanding. Yet you can take vacation whenever you choose, and you won’t have to navigate around others’ schedules. You will have to enforce your own deadlines, but you won’t have to sit through board meetings.

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Stand up for Your Work-at-Home Career

People who work at home are a rare breed that the office-going public frequently doesn’t understand. They might believe that your stay-at-home job isn’t a “real” job. They might believe what you’re doing is just an excuse to be a stay-at-home mom or dad without any real responsibility or salary. It can be hard to get people to understand that yes, what you’re doing is a real career. Here are some tips on how to make people in your life understand your decision to work at home. As an added benefit, they’ll make your work and home life easier, too.

  1. Just say no.
    While that phrase has been used often in teenage drug and alcohol campaigns, it applies to freelancers and work-at-home individuals, too. People often think that individuals who work at home can drop everything easily. They’ll call you up to ask you for daytime favors, like picking up things, running errands, or dropping people off. You’ll get frequent requests to babysit–even if it’s for “just an hour.” First of all, “just an hour” frequently becomes “an hour and a half” or “two hours” or even “four hours.” You’ll get requests that people would never ask anyone with an office job. Yes, working at home does come with benefits. However, by constantly saying yes to these requests, you’re short-changing your own career. Don’t be afraid to say “yes” to occasional favors. Do NOT let it become a habit. You still need to get your own work done. Unless you treat your work-at-home job as seriously as you would a regular career, you will not succeed.
  2. Don’t let people put your career down.
    People might believe you’re just doing this “in transition” until your next “real job.” Call them on it. This is your “real job.” Explain your career choice. Be proud of how hard you work. Stand up for yourself. You deserve it.

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Expand Your Business Through Social Media

If you aren’t utilizing social media to improve your business, what’s wrong with you? Social media is increasingly becoming one of the most important tools in a self-employed business-person’s arsenal. So sign up for Twitter. Get a Facebook page. Explore other areas of small business. It’s time to take your business to the next level.

  1. Make a Facebook page for your business.
    Are you a freelance writer? Photographer? Artist? Do you run your own internet business? Make yourself a Facebook page, stat. Facebook pages are easy to make for your small business. Why should you get a Facebook business page? If you have one, anyone with a Facebook page can search for either you or your business by name or keywords. It’s a less formal way of interacting than through email. If your clients are already browsing on Facebook, it can be quicker to type a quick question on your wall or though Facebook’s messaging system rather than finding your email address or browsing your webpage. Facebook is also an amazing way to network. Finally, Facebook is the ultimate way to stay connected with your customers. Hold contests and give prizes. It’ll attract attention to your business and keep people checking back for more updates.
  2. Get a Twitter account.
    Twitter may seem like a really inefficient way to communicate with your customers and improve your business: how much can you really say in 140 characters? As more and more businesses are learning each day, you can say a lot in those 140 characters. Post links to your new projects. Post about new specials you’re running. These messages, or “tweets,” will not only keep your customers informed about your business– they’ll also remind them of your business. Don’t over-tweet; there’s nothing worse than a business that floods your Twitter account with messages. Be interesting, be timely, be succinct, and your customers will stick around. Twitter is also a great way to network. You may be surprised by who ends up “following” you. Through hashtags (links to the same topic on twitter), you can engage the world in a conversation.

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Advice for Aspiring Freelance Writers

Are you thinking of becoming a freelance writer? It’s a wonderfully rewarding career–but you have to be realistic in your expectations. It’s not all lounging around in your pajamas, writing interesting and thought-provoking pieces. Here are some tips for aspiring freelancers.

  1. Get writing clips.
    They don’t have to be fancy. Did you write for a local newspaper or church bulletin? Did you do any writing in college? Find something that you wrote (preferably with your name clearly stated within the writing). Without writing samples, no one will hire you.
  2. Redo your resumé.
    For each of your previous jobs, look closely at the description of what your job requirements were. Did you have to write or edit anything? Even if you wrote daily emails, it can still count. Edit your job descriptions to focus as much on writing as possible. Managing deadlines are another excellent point to hit on your resumé; clients are always looking for someone who is reliable and will meet their deadlines.
  3. Be wary of freelance writing sites’ job postings.
    Freelance writing sites are an amazing place to find advice about the profession. However, they are widely read and watched. For every job posting, hundreds of freelance writers are scouring those posting and applying to the jobs listed. If you must utilize these sites, be sure to apply as soon as possible–no more than one day after the initial posting. Many employers will stop reading applications and queries after a certain amount because they get overwhelmed (and who wouldn’t?). You’ll have much better luck looking on your own. Look on Craigslist and your local classifieds. Check out businesses in your area. Query businesses to see if they have any need for your services. Search for companies hiring writers outside of the ones posting on these freelance writing sites. You’ll have a much better shot of getting hired, especially if you’re a new writer.

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Work-at-Home Freelance Writing

If you’re one of those people who’ve always dreamed of being a writer, you may want to consider being a freelance writer. Here’s what you’ll need to know before starting a career in the freelance writing field.

  1. It’s hard work.
    You may actually have to spend more hours working at home than if you work in an office. You’ll have to hustle up your own clients, make sure they pay you and pay you on time, do your own taxes, and set your own rates. You are your own boss, true, but that means you’ll have to whip yourself into shape. Working at home requires an intense amount of self-discipline.
  2. You won’t always get to write about what you want.
    Especially when you’re just starting out, you’ll learn quickly to write what pays. This does NOT mean you should “sell out.” It means that you may have to write product descriptions of vacuum cleaners before you can write about interior decorating. We all have to start somewhere. Don’t snub your nose too much at these types of jobs: you’ll be thankful you did them when your paycheck comes in. Slowly, you’ll start to work your way into what you REALLY want to write about.
  3. You’ll get burned a couple times by clients over your career.
    The world of freelance writing is filled with serious clients who are upstanding and honest. Unfortunately, not every client meets these standards. There are times when you’ll do work for a client and you won’t get paid, or you won’t get paid as much as you previously agreed upon. You may even be in the middle of a project and you have a client seemingly fall off the face of the earth: they won’t return your phone calls, emails, etc. This happens to even the best of freelance writers. Just be prepared for it.
  4. You’ll face much more distractions at home than you would in an office.
    Being your own boss provides you a great deal of freedom. Unfortunately, it’s also a freedom to do housework or hobbies instead of writing.

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Stay Focused While Working at Home

Everyone has some preconceived notions about working at home that are probably incorrect. Do you picture yourself working in pajamas every day? Drinking fresh-brewed coffee and eating a homemade breakfast? Getting work done with positively no distractions whatsoever? Still having time to lounge about and get housework done? Working whenever you want to, however you want to? Well, all these things can be true for some people. None will be true for all. Working from home is often much, much harder than working in an office. While you may think your distractions will be eliminated because there aren’t any co-workers to pop their heads into your office with questions or gossip, your home contains many more distractions than your workplace. Think about that pile of laundry in the hall. Think about the stack of dishes in the sink. You’ll pass by that DVR filled with shows you’ve recorded. You may have other hobbies or interests that distract you. Face it: there are no knitting needles or woodworking tools at work. It’s a distraction-free space for you to get work done. Here are some tips to help your home life mimic the workplace.

  1. Set up your own workspace.
    You need some place free of distraction where you can go in and accomplish work. Your brain will associate that part of the house with work time. If you work in bed, on the couch, or at the kitchen table, your brain associates those parts of the house with other activities like sleeping, watching TV, or eating. NEVER work in bed, as you want your brain to associate your bed with a relaxed atmosphere. Work in bed and not only will you get tired, but you may find yourself lying awake at night worrying about your next deadline or project. Remove all distractions from that workspace.
  2. Make your family understand that they can’t bother you in your workspace.
    If you’re treating your home office like your workplace, a family member couldn’t walk in and ask if you’d seen the remote. When your home office door is closed, no contacting you except for emergencies.

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Operating Systems For The Stay At Home Job

Having good equipment can mean a world of different for the work at home mom or dad. Better yet, have a great running operating system can make your days work seem to be completed in a breeze. There are different operating systems that you can use for your home computer, and some that you want to stay away from, simply because they can not do the type of jobs you need. Some of the best include quick running word processing. The best version out right now is Windows 7. This has quickly replaced the Window issue riddled Vista, and the stay at home worker is grateful. Window 7 office package will help you to create fantastic presentations, and will be able to provide creative ideas through the help tools. The online clip art package makes creating presentations a snap, and before you know it, what should have taken a full day has only taken you a couple of hours. This processor is truly the best if you are looking to have a program that works for office type projects, writing, and presentation creation.

If you are working from home and your projects require you to have more media applications than word processing applications, for editing purposes, then the key is to have a solid media integration operating system. The best on the market is put together by MAC. While ACER, and even Blackberry are trying to compete with the media applications, there is still nothing that beats a MAC. This might be a hard change over, especially if you are used to a PC, but if you are working from home, and wanting to expedite the length of time you spend on projects, then this will be what you want to look into. It will help make the process a cleaner smoother and more efficient way to handle media.

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Stress Relief: Property Management

Just being a parent is stressful. You have to worry about your children, keeping the house in working order, and any bills that might come up. Try adding being a parent that is a working at home and you’ve got double the added stress. You have all the stress that comes with being a parent, and then you have to worry about work issues, such as property management and maintenance. If you are looking at ways to be a work-at-home parent without all the issues and stress of a typical work-at-home situation, there just might be a solution for you.

Many parents are turning to the help of a property management company to help them relieve the stress of work and to work at home. Employing the help of property management companies can really eliminate a lot of stress that many work-at-home parents experience. These companies can manage a property for you, do all the required maintenance, and even help when situations arise.

Here is an example of how property management companies work. If you are a work-at-home parent that lives in Los Angeles, but own a company in San Diego, you would hire a San Diego property management company. This company would do all the required maintenance on the property from fixing signs, cutting lawns, helping with leaky pipes, and other maintenance. This prevents you from having to be physically on location so you can spend time with your child and worry about other aspects of the business instead of the day to day maintenance.

While property management companies do eliminate a lot of the stress that comes with being a work-at-home parent, there is one added benefit that outweighs everything. The use of a property management company allows you to stay at home with your child and spend valuable time with them while they are growing up. This is something that money cannot buy.

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The Internet Has Changed Business Forever

The computer and Internet industries have boomed over recent decades from the expertise and ingenuity of many entrepreneurs and their inventions. In 1973, American scientist, Vinton Cerf invented the beginnings of Internet. Later in 1977, Dale Heatherington and Dennis Hayes invented a PC modem from which emerged the online internet industry of today. The creation of the World Wide Web in 1991 literally transformed the computer age and internet industry.

These landmark inventions have changed the face of modern business and personal networking by offering imperative tools for success. Businesses can better expand and improve by using these internet tools.

Among these are free online surveys which can be displayed on a majority of websites to glean customer feedback. Using free online survey software can significantly inform a business in which areas they need to improve and how to better meet specific needs of customers. Social networking can also boost the amount of viewers on a business’s website. Facebook and Twitter can help link businesses to other individuals and businesses. Also posting advertisements on websites and search engines is a relatively inexpensive way to get the word out about a business’s products and services. Websites that feature online stores allow businesses to keep costs low while also being a convenient means for customers to shop.

With computer and internet tools such as these, business and personal lives are being changed permanently. People don’t have to panic if local stores don’t have their ideal product in stock. They can turn to the Internet, locate the product online, and have it shipped conveniently to their home. All of this can be arranged without ever leaving the house. Also now, people don’t have to merely rely on word of mouth; rather, the internet can connect them and their business with customers worldwide. The Internet spans geographic boundaries like no other method of marketing has ever done.

The internet has changed life forever and will continue to do so.

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