How to Successfully Work at Home

Many people dream of working from home. No commute, no business suits, AND your laundry is always put away. What could be better? While working from home can very well have all of these benefits, there are some drawbacks as well. Here are some areas you need to explore when determining if you can successfully make the transition to working from home.

There are three very broad categories that you should think of when you think of "working from home." The first is working for some type of established business in a typical job role, but you are physically located at home. Many would place this near the top of their "ideal jobs" list. You would generally expect to enjoy the same benefit package that on-site employees would. This could include medical insurance, vacation and sick time, 401k plans, and possibly a pension plan. This type of arrangement may also require set working hours, however. Depending on your job role, you may need to be at your phone, fax, or computer during all normal business hours just as you would if you were in the office. These types of job situations have become more common in the past few years. You may be able to start out working for the company in a traditional role, then transition to working out of your home at some point.

The second category of work at home jobs is to run your own business out of your home. This can be a good fit for many types of work that are service related and do not involve large amounts of product storage. Unless, of course, you happen to have a couple of extra acres and a small warehouse on your property. Also, remember to check local regulations and your Home Owners' Association rules (if applicable) regarding what types of businesses you can legally operate out of your home. Ideally, your home-based business would not be one that requires customers to frequent your "place of business." Neighbors tend to frown upon this heavily. Although many people dream of running their own business someday, it is certainly not for the faint of heart. It may inadvertently drain your bank account due to start up costs, become all-consuming, take over your life, AND take over your house.

The third (and becoming very popular) category of work at home jobs is the independent contractor scenario. It is relatively easy to find companies that have designed their entire business model to utilize work at home independent contractors. I currently work for 3 of them, performing 2 types of jobs. I work for 2 companies answering incoming client companies' calls for product ordering and customer service. I also work for a legal document coding company. One of the other major areas you may consider is transcription work, in either the medical or legal fields. Please note that all of these jobs require a high-speed internet connection. Most, if not all, of your work will be completed online. There is no dial-up connection on the planet that will allow you upload and download these typically large files quickly enough to make this efficient for either you or the company. You need either cable, DSL, or satellite high-speed internet, period. In addition, if you are working for a call center company, you will generally be required to have a dedicated phone line for the incoming calls. You don't want Aunt Mae to call your home phone number while you are currently signed in to the company phone system. While some companies may require a minimum number of hours worked each week, you can typically set your own schedule. The downside to this is that you should not expect to have company-sponsored benefits like those you would have as an actual employee of the company.

Can you see yourself flourishing in one of these 3 categories? If so, there are a few other reality-checks you need to complete. How many hours per week can you dedicate to work? Many parents mistakenly picture working from home with all of the little rug-rats in tow. How productive can you really be with a newborn or a young child home? They need a full time caregiver, and I'm pretty sure that is supposed to be you. Sure, every now and then you can get some work done bouncing a little one on your knee, but what about several hours a day, every day, week after week? Is it realistic to work only during nap times? Maybe, but only if you don't require a significant amount of income. Even the sleepiest child doesn't sleep enough for that.

Also, think about the noise level in your home. Not just the children, but what about pets? If your dog starts a barking frenzy whenever a car drives by, you may need to narrow down your possible WAH choices to include only those that won't involve speaking with customers on the phone. Don't forget to consider your neighborhood noise in general. If you have a close neighbor who loves to throw outdoor parties at all hours of the night, take this in to consideration when hashing out possible work schedules.

Make sure you are realistic about the amount of space and other resources (desk, computer, phone, fax) you have available at home that you can dedicate to your business. Online jobs will typically require a newer PC (many do not have systems that are compatible with Mac's yet) with minimum 512 MB (1 GB is preferred) of RAM and the latest anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. You will not want your crazy teenager downloading a bunch of junk onto this computer that can wreak major havoc in your "work" software.

Lastly, the best piece of advice I can give you to find a WAH job that meets your needs, is to NOT search the internet for "work at home jobs." You will find nothing but scams and rip-offs that will leave you frustrated beyond all belief. Not to mention your email inbox, which will be forever stuffed with more bogus leads than you can shake a stick at. If you don't know someone personally who can refer you to a local company that offers WAH positions, and you are not ready or willing to start your own business, please visit the supporting links to this article. These 2 networking sites are comprised of people just like me who are successfully working at home. Let us share our tips and tricks with you, and save you a lot of time applying to companies that are not going to meet your needs.

Good luck and happy WAH'ing!