Earn Extra Cash From Home
Although being closer to those you love (even if it's just your goldfish) is one of the big attractions to working at home, you will clearly have times when you have to draw a line between your home life and your work life.
By taking the time to anticipate this requirement up front, you can make the transition to your own home-based business smoother — not just for you, but for your clients, customers, family, and friends as well.
You can use a number of barriers to separate the business and personal sides of your life. Here are some of the most important ones for you to consider:
- Use a separate room. Having a room apart from the hustle and bustle of your regular home life — one that is dedicated exclusively to your business — is the first step in making your home office into a real office.
- Set a work schedule. When you own your own business, you can work whenever you like. You may find it easier (and more productive), however, to establish a regular work schedule. That way, those around you know when it's okay to interrupt you and when it's clearly not okay.
- Have a separate entrance. Should your clients really have to pass through a gauntlet of toys, cereal bowls, and cranky children (or spouses!) to get to your office? A separate entrance helps keep your work life separate from your home life. Many home-based business-people may not currently have this luxury, but it's something to think about if you have the opportunity to build, buy, or rent a new house in the future. If not, you always have the option of meeting your clients at a convenient off-site location such as your local Starbucks or favorite lunch spot.
- Get help! Instead of trying to juggle your obligations at home while trying to keep up with your work obligations, consider getting the help you need to allow you to focus exclusively on your work when you need to do just that. You could, for example, hire a housekeeper to clean your home and relieve you of that burden. Or you could hire a babysitter to come into your home to watch your young children. Or you may be able to get your spouse or a relative or friend to help cover for you. The main thing to keep in mind is that you do have alternatives available to you if you feel overwhelmed.
Keep in mind that the degree to which you separate your work and personal lives is totally up to you. The good news is that you can be far more flexible than you ever could be working for someone else. You can strengthen the separation when you're under the gun at work and loosen up when things are a bit more relaxed. In this way, you really can enjoy the best of both worlds, where you're able to do the work you love in the place you most want to be — your own home.
Children
If you have kids, you know there's nothing they like more than attention, and the less they get, the more they want. And you know what? They really deserve the attention they seek. It's natural that they want to spend time with you, to play and experience the reassuring security of knowing that you're there. The problem is that kids never really seem to get enough attention, and you do have to work every once in a while if you hope to make a go of your new enterprise.
If you have kids and decide to start a home-based business, inevitably you'll have competition between the time that you need to devote to your business to make it a success and the demands of your children. The decisions you make early on in dealing with this natural conflict can have a dramatic impact both on the ultimate success of your business and on your relationship with your children.
Kids do eventually grow up, and as you may be surprised to find out, you will someday be working away for hours at a time without interruption. Until that day arrives, however, try these suggestions:
- Keep them busy. If you're going to let your kids hang out with you in the office, set them up with things to do: an easel for painting, lots of crayons, paper, glue, scissors, or whatever else keeps them busy and creative. Here's a tip, though: Make sure that whatever you give them to keep them busy does not require your constant intervention or attention. Avoid anything that may result in a big, sloppy mess.
- Involve them in simple work tasks. Nothing is more boring for most adults than folding letters or brochures and stuffing and stamping envelopes. Guess what? Your kids probably won't find those things boring at all. Not only will they enjoy helping you, but they will also feel that they are doing something important and worthwhile. And, of course, they are.
- Hire a nanny or sitter. If you can't (or don't want to) juggle your kids and work simultaneously, by all means hire a nanny or a sitter to come keep your children occupied and out of your hair. You can have the best of both worlds: working at home while still having your kids nearby and accessible.
- Work around their schedule. Because you're the boss, you get to decide when you'll report to work (that alone is why many people long to start their own business). Why not set aside a certain time each day to take your kids to play in a park, go to a library, ride bikes, or simply go for a walk? If you want to stay accessible to your clients, just bring your mobile phone along.
- Keep your office your office. Although many people integrate their offices throughout their home, we believe your office should be your office. It should be the one place that, when you close the door, you're removed from the day-to-day distractions of friends and family. A closed door means others, including children, need to respect your privacy, peace, and quiet. You can decide to make your office off limits to your kids — and you may need to, depending on your particular situation. Just be sure your kids know that you're available in case of emergency, which includes emotional traumas when they're in dire need of a shoulder to cry on and a big hug!
