Working at home sounds so luxurious, but it can bum you out. It’s the best of times – and sometimes the worst of times. When you run your own business from home as we do, self-doubt may enter your thoughts.

Sleeping late if you want to, then shuffling down the stairs to your home office in your pajamas and slippers is definitely a plus to working at home online. You work when you want to and take breaks as much as you want – okay, sometimes TOO much.

Remember that you don’t have those perks at a typical day job. Office workers are expected to be in their cubicles at a certain time, take scheduled coffee and lunch breaks and then fight the traffic to get home. And don’t forget those boring, dreadful meetings that you’d be required to attend.

When you work at home, none of the above applies, but you have to practice some self-discipline if you want to succeed. Sleeping late may not be an option if it’s the day of a deadline for a client or you’re getting ready for a launch and you have miles to go.

It’s not surprising that working from home is a future trend. There are numerous perks that make it enticing and profitable to everyone:

It reduces city traffic. Each auto that’s taken off the road during rush hour means that accidents and traffic jams are fewer – and think of the gas money you save!

Spend more time with your family. The personal freedom of having a home-based business ensures that you can take off when you have a sick child or go on a vacation with the family any time of the year.

Save time and energy. You’ll save time since you don’t have to commute to a job.

You have the opportunity to make as much money as you want and need. You’re not stuck with a salary or hourly wage. Your business is what you make it.

There are many tax advantages to working from home. You may be able to deduct part of your home as a business office and the cost of having an auto that’s used for your business. Be sure to check with your accountant to see what tax breaks might be available to you.

There are no time clocks and you don’t have to work from 8 to 5. If you’re a night person, then you may choose the evening to work since you’re more prolific at that time. No one can tell you what to do, except yourself. You’re the boss!

While working at home definitely has a multitude of advantages, it also requires you to gain control over your life. You must practice self-discipline and ignore outside influences that keep you from building your business.

When you work from home, count on others to attempt to take advantage of your “flexible” schedule. My son’s friend’s mom got irate because I declined to babysit her son. “But you’re HOME,” she exclaimed!  “Uh, yes – WORKING,” I replied.

Even well meaning friends and family will beg for your time when you should be working. You’ll have to learn to “just say no” and stick to it or you could put the advantage of working from home in jeopardy.

Tiff

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