Top Five Myths and Facts About Working from Home

I have worked from the comfort of my home now for three years, having left a corporate job as a multi-billion dollar contracts and proposals coordinator for a large international company. Prior to that, I was the director of a national non-profit organization, in a very fast-paced, prestigious criminal justice advocacy position. I don't tell you this to brag, but rather to show you that my world was all about my career. My job was my life.

One day, having had enough of the corporate world, I gave my notice, trained my replacement, and walked out the door, carrying my personal belongings in my hand, without a clue of what I wanted to do next, but knowing that if I stayed in the corporate world for one more second, I would surely become a bitter old harpy.

My goal: to write a novel, and maybe find work as a writer.

I've always loved to write, and I had enough notes and pieces of things to string together into a book, but I just never could find the time between the kids, work, and life to sit and write like I dreamed of doing.

With the love and support of a very special person in my life, I set out to become a freelance writer, to support our family, and to write my novel.

Three years later, I've completely replaced my income, am living my dream, and I will never, ever go back to working for someone else again.

But it came at a price. I'll talk more about that later.

The reality of it is, working from home is awesome, but if you don't get the facts straight and know exactly what you are getting yourself into, it will cost you too, and you may wind up back in the grind, trying to find a 'regular' job again, just to make ends meet.

So I'm here to talk to you about the ten 'bad' things, so to speak, about working from home, versus working for someone else. It's not so much that these are 'bad' things, but these are things all folks who work from home should know, be prepared for, and understand before you quit your day job.

Myth #1: I can work as much or as little as I want, because I work from home now.

Fact: To make full time pay, you have to work full time hours.

A lot of people think that working from home is easy, because you can work as much or as little as you like and still make money. This is true, to an extent, but it would be more accurate to say that you can work whenever and however you like, but not as much or as little.

When you held a full time 'real' job working outside of the home, you probably worked between 35-50 hours per week to bring home that full time paycheck. What makes you think that working from home you will be able to work only a couple of hours a day and still rake in that same paycheck? Simply put, you can't. You must set a schedule for yourself and work the hours necessary to replace your previous income.

Now, the plus side to working from home is this - while you have to work full time hours, there usually isn't a lot of restrictions on when you work those hours. If you wake at 3 in the morning and can't get back to sleep, by all means, work. If you know your child has a school function and you want to go, you don't have to ask your boss for permission. However, you should know that just because you work from home doesn't mean you don't have to work. If you want to get paid, you do.

Myth #2: Now that I work from home, I'll have plenty of time for personal things and spend less time working.

Fact: Statistics show that the average person who works from home usually works about 10 hours a week more than someone who holds down a regular full time job.

One of the hazards of working from home is not knowing when to have a life and when to work. One way to help combat this would be to set up an actual office space, separate from the living area of your home, and try to set some 'office' hours for yourself.

I told you I paid a price for working from home in the beginning, right? Well, the price I paid was the loss of a relationship that meant a lot to me. Why? Mostly because I worked all the time. My business was getting off the ground, and I threw myself into it and though I was doing this to support our family, I neglected the one who should have had most of my time. Sadly, now that my business is off the ground and doing well, I have more time than I ever had before in the normal workforce, but he's no longer here, damage done. Learn from my mistake, and force yourself to separate the working at home from the living at home.

Myth #3: I will actually get more work done during the day at home than I would at an office, because it's quiet at home with no disruptions.

Fact: In the beginning especially, it will be difficult to make the transition from a regimented office environment to the freedom of working from home.

Those dishes in the sink that you can shut out of your mind at the office will be right in front of your face when you work from home. And if you think your friends and family won't take advantage of you being at home during the day, you're wrong.

Suddenly, you will be inundated with phone calls to pick something up before a store closes, because, "Well, I don't get off work until 6, and since you don't work…"

Ah, the death phrase: Since you don't work.

Be prepared to hear it and hear it a lot! Personally, I think it's because people are jealous of us folks who work from home, but the that doesn't change the fact that everyone from your neighbor down the street, your mom, your sister, your friends, and the door to door salesmen will want a piece of your time, since you don't 'really' work.

It's important that both you and your friends and family understand that working from home is a 'real' job, it just isn't in an office building. Set clear 'office' hours, and let people know that one of the advantages to working from home is that you are free to come and go as you please, but you've got to pay the bills too. Tell them you'll help in a pinch, but you simply can't take time off from work just because your office is in the same building as your bedroom.

Myth #4: I'll have more money now, because I won't have all those taxes and stuff coming out of my paycheck.

Fact: You still have to pay taxes, FICA too, and if you are working from home in your own business or as an independent contractor, you have to pay a self employment tax on top of that.

Sure it doesn't come out of your paycheck, since you don't get a paycheck anymore, but it will have to be paid nonetheless. One of the top three reasons new small businesses fail is because the owners didn't realize that cash in hand doesn't mean cash to spend. You should calculate the percentage of taxes your typically paid when working for someone else, and set that much aside, into a bank account or someplace you won't be tempted to touch it, and save it for when those taxes come due.

Additionally, your employer might have offered free or reduced rate insurance benefits while employed. Those rate were probably based off a group policy that the employer had, which gave them a discount, and then you get a discount in the premium because your company picks up all or part of it. Now that you work for yourself from home, you are either going to have to be uninsured, meaning you'll have to come up with money for doctors visits if sick or injured, or you will have to cover the premiums yourself, and they will be more expensive than when you worked, because you don't have the group policy your employer had.

Myth #5: I'll have more time to clean my house and keep up with household chores, because I will be at home all day.

Fact: Being at home all day only means that you are making messes while you are working, which you still will have to clean up later.

There's no one at your home to take the trash out for you at the end of the day and vacuum your office floor. You have to do that. And now that you're home all day, you have a lot more time in the house to mess things up. If you truly are working full time hours from home, like you are supposed to, you may find your home in worse disarray than it was when you worked a full time job. Not only that, but when you spend all your time working from home, you'll find yourself seeking ways to get out of the house more than you probably did when you worked in an office, leaving even less time for cleaning and chores.

Eventually, you can and will find that balance, but don't expect that because you are home all day that your house will miraculously remain spotless. It won't.

So there you have it, the short list of certain misconceptions about working from home. I know I may have made it sound bad, but let me tell you the upside. Walk through a day with me…

I wake when I am ready to get up, unless I have something schedule. That means one morning I might be at the coffee pot at 6am, while another morning I sleep in until almost noon. The only traffic jam I encounter is the fluffy kittens attacking my feet for their morning food while I'm on the way to my coffee pot. I bring in the day slowly, sitting at my desk in my robe, barefoot or wearing my slipper, hair a mess, no makeup and sipping my coffee while I read my email from the night before.

After a cup or two and all email is answered, I go over my to-do list for the day. I might actually have time to sneak a nap in once in awhile, but when I do, I assure you I will be working until 10 that evening to make up for it.

I eat lunch when I want, where I want, and I can sometimes even watch television while working. If my son's school calls me with a problem, I am free to go and see what's going on without having to ask for permission from my boss or worrying about losing my job. I know that I'll simply have to work a little later that day to keep up with the workload.

Sounds great, but on the downside, I often work evenings and sometimes weekends to make a deadline, and I don't get time and ½ for that.

As you can see, it has its ups and downs, goods and bads, and for me, I have weighed the options before me and know that I will never work for anyone else again. Working from home suits me perfectly, but I also know I have to be more dedicated, more responsible and more organized than I ever had to be in a regular office.

It's not for everyone, and it motivation and responsibility are issues for you, working from home might just be disastrous. I don't recommend for most to do what I did and quit your day job without any idea where to go. You can start working from home in your spare time, do your homework, do the research, and start something up that you know you will stick with before you quit that job.