It’s a dream for many. Working at home is something that everybody is somewhat envious of. But it’s not until they actually do it that they realize just how many obstacles there are.
For anybody running a small business, it can be a necessity to work from home. And if you are in the process of setting up a small business or you are at that difficult startup phase you’ve got to be cognizant of the numerous hindrances that can be in your way. It’s not just in a professional sense, but also in a personal and emotional sense as well. With this in mind, what are the things you need to be conscious of?
Limited Technical Knowledge
In order to cut back on excessive spending, we can use basic programs or trial versions of software packages. The big problem with this is that we can only be as good as our tools. If you have very limited technical knowledge will you be able to get far? If you don’t know how to recover corrupted SD card issues or you don’t know what happens when the “black screen of death” comes on your computer, will you be able to cope?
You could very well put stops in place to mitigate problems or provide alternative solutions but there will come a time when technical breakdowns can make the business grind to a halt. If you are working by yourself this could be a big nightmare. It’s a good idea to have some background knowledge to keep things afloat when times get tough.
Not Presenting A Professional Front
Working at home is a blurring of the boundaries in terms of your work life and home life. We can struggle to retain a sense of professionalism, especially when we’ve got children or other life distractions. But one of the big giveaways, if you’re trying to make yourself a big fish in a small pond, is your correspondence. If your residential address is all over your communication and you’re trying to make an impression on potential clients they may doubt your abilities before you’ve even pitched anything!
This is where virtual mailboxes can come in handy. By using a centralized address, this means that you don’t have to use your residential correspondence but having an address that’s located in the middle of the big city adds that “je ne sais quoi.”
Struggling To Discipline Yourself
Productivity is a very debatable concept when you work at home. As someone in charge of your own business, you are in charge of your own workload and discipline. You could struggle sometimes, especially if you are trying to get over a specific business boundary. When we feel disheartened or tempted to give up when we’re at home we can lose that drive.
This is why you’ve got to get into a working mindset. Many people have an office at home but they also dress for the part. And it’s a crucial component to separate your work and home life even when they are under the same roof. Making sure that you have a strict working structure can prove beneficial. But you also got to make sure that when your working day is done that you leave your work behind. It could benefit you to have a different device so you don’t feel tempted to check your emails!
Not Having Enough Space
This could be physical or emotional space. When we work at home we’ve got housemates or family to contend with, but if we are sat at the kitchen table or lying on our bed working all day this is not good for us. The best thing for anybody to do when they run a business from home is to get out of their home on occasion! You have a laptop or a mobile device- so why don’t you get out and go for a walk? You could still get plenty done while going out on a walk. It’s about altering your working day so you aren’t chained to the computer.
For example, if you are trying to do research you could very easily use the text-to-speech function on your phone so that it reads out web pages that you can listen to while on the go. Think about working in different ways. When we work at home we may find ourselves “hemmed in” in so many different ways. This is why we have got to change our approach, not just in work, but also in our attitudes to working at home. It could be one of the best things you will ever do but it’s all about being aware of the obstacles.
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