Hello! Linda OJ here again to share some thoughts on working from home. A lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to work from home and this can be for a variety of reasons. Firstly, let me share my own story and some of my first experiences working from home. I will also share with you the names of some very famous people who also used to work from home, in the early days of their businesses.

As an entrepreneur I had no idea when I made the decision to start my own business where I would actually work. I had no office space to speak of—just whatever room there was in our home. Back then I was living in a 1,800 square foot back-split home with my husband and four children. We had no spare bedrooms to use as an office, but our sunken family room had an area that we thought would work. Just as you walk down the stairs from the kitchen and hallway there was a great area for a desk! The powder room was opposite; a bedroom just off the family room; and a nice loud television to make everything for my new office space just perfect.

Does this look familiar?

It did not take me long to realise this space was not so perfect! I couldn’t work in those conditions. Imagine trying to work on a presentation with flip chart paper all over the floor and members of my family, and sometimes their friends, having to manoeuvre around me. My concentration was shot and my stress level hit the roof.

The solution we came up with was to ask my youngest son if he would like us to create a new bedroom for him in the basement and he would have more privacy, this also meant I had an office upstairs that was private and all mine. Those days are a distant memory and I have come a long way since then, 10 years in fact.

Your Home Office Environment

So, once you have your office space identified the next step would be to ensure you have the correct phone system, computer, furniture and lighting. Ergonomic concerns are very important in the sense if your desk and chair are not a good fit, you could end up with back pain or other serious health issues. Lighting is another aspect of this: you need to have a well-lit office, with a window for fresh air if possible.

I’m a firm believer in having a wall planner that’s placed right by your desk—as close as possible to your line of sight. Don’t just rely on technology to keep track of all your appointments, commitments and reminders. Having these thoughts in a place constantly visible acts as a continuous reminder to stay focused on the tasks ahead.

Once your office is set up and you look around, you realise you are home alone in your office, and you may feel very lonely. You may have been used to a corporate environment and had other people working around you, or with you (in the flesh so to speak) and now you are totally alone. You certainly might find this an uncomfortable feeling at first.

An organized and tidy home office.

Another important part of working alone is the discipline it takes not to answer the doorbell, when you know any personal visitors will impact your daily routine. Ensuring that family members who may be around when you are working know that at certain times of the day, you are not able to offer them a lift to school or pop to the shops for them. This can create challenges, but setting guidelines early on can help set their expectations.

Staying Connected

A lot of your work may be done on the computer, so how do you feel connected to your customers, business partners and so on? I was fortunate enough to have a webcam, which helped me with face-to-face conversations with customers and business partners, albeit on the computer.

It is quite beneficial to have some of the social media sites open at the same time you are working, and you can think of the people you connect with the same as you would if you worked in the same office and saw each other every day. These connections can enjoy a coffee break with you and you can put aside 15 minutes to chat about everything but work, if you so choose. Social media sites also offer you the chance to network and find certain skill sets you might need, or enjoy another’s opinion or advice if needed. Keeping current and knowing what is going on in the business world can easily be done on line and this is important for your sanity and your career!

Set aside dates for networking outside of your home office and enter them on your planner. In-person interaction is refreshing and allows you to enter into those little conversations that lead to bigger things.

Work From Home Benefits

A growing number of today’s employers offer the chance for their employees to work from home, even if on an occasional or part-time basis. This can help the company reduce facilities costs, and contribute to a more balanced lifestyle for their employees. Studies have proven that this flexibility is ultimately rewarded with increased productivity, reduced time lost to sickness and other benefits.

Whether you work from home because you are a sole proprietor or because your large corporation deemed that you could, you still have the same work to do and in a certain time frame.  If you are dedicated and passionate about your work you may forget to take a break, eat lunch or even go outside for some fresh air, and this can lead to health challenges, which in turn means you might not be able to work because you are sick! One idea could be you set a time for tea break, and make sure you take that time to walk to the kitchen and put the kettle on or grab a bottle of juice out of the fridge. If you feel lonely and wish you had someone to chat with, you may have to make do with the family pet due to time restraints, but at least your pet knows you care and you are taking some time for you.

A lot of small businesses start out in the early years working from home but quickly grow too large and successful to continue doing that and some very famous names, such as:

• Apple’s Steve Jobs built computer systems in his garage with his buddies. He was not the first, he just did it well and expanded the business.
• Margo Elliopoulos has seen the future, and it looks tasty. She started Bluewater Cuisine Catering in 1979, selling home-baked chocolate-chip cookies to stores and making gourmet lunches for charter fishing trips off the island of Hawaii.
• Grammy award-winning musicians OutKast started in a basement recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia.

I would not say that everyone is cut out to work home, alone, but needs must and if you have to work from home at least make it an experience you enjoy: one that is a safe and fun environment.

“Working at home means a busy signal when you try to call in sick.”
- Cheryl Demas, WAHM.com

Do you work from home? Would you like to share your experiences? Please let us know what your top work-from-home challenge is and what you find to be most beneficial.

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is a President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org