While working from home seems like a new dream, it can sometimes present real challenges. Smart microentrepreneurs work very hard to maintain balance in their life and regulate a steady income. By overcoming these obstacles you will gain new energy, focus, and stability in both your personal and business life. The main challenges and how to overcome them
Ahh … the life of the entrepreneur !.
Many imagine that working from home is like being a Hollywood superstar: working quietly in your pajamas, eating chocolates (or whatever you like), and periodically receiving checks that add to your bank account.
While running your own business from the tranquility of your home may be the dream of your life, you must be careful because it may well take over your life if you allow it and turn into a nightmare.
Work From Home: Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages of working from home
Working from home has many benefits:
- You save the trip, it is time and money that you save
- You save the costs of renting an office
- It allows you to control what happens in your home
- You manage your schedules at your discretion, you own your time
Disadvantages of working from home
- By not having to go out, you often neglect your appearance
- Sometimes it is difficult to “discipline” the family who continually interrupt your work
- If you don’t set limits, you can easily end up working as a slave, thus losing the benefit of owning your time
Let’s see some details.
Some tips to overcome the biggest challenges of working from home
Are you addicted to work?
When working from home it can be very difficult to stop. Temptations like listening to the phone, constant incoming emails, and backlogs of papers can easily tempt you back to work if you allow it.
Tips to overcome work addiction
- a) Establish a daily work schedule and hours for yourself and your family. Deliberately endeavor to comply. At a certain time stop working, turn off the computer, and try to mentally disconnect. Getting out can help.
- b) Locate your office in a separate part of the house. Keeping the office out of sight will help you forget about work.
- c) Enjoy your free time. Pamper yourself! Take regular vacations! Make time to relax! Spend part of your time doing the things you enjoy the most. If you decided to work from home to spend more time with your family, then make sure that you really are. Organize day trips with your children. Take the time to visit that friend you haven’t seen for a long time.
Are you easily distracted?
Is the sound of television or beautiful sunny weather distracting you?
Tips to help you stay focused:
- a) Don’t accept distractions. Find out what distracts you and remove them completely from your work environment. If you can’t do it completely, try to come up with a way to keep working with those limitations.
- b) Make a list of daily activities and try to prioritize tasks. Put the most important 3-5 at the top of your list. Try to invest your time in the tasks that will be most productive to keep your business running.
Do you feel lonely?
Feel like you miss out on birthday celebrations, hallway talks, and friendships with your coworkers? Is he turning into a bear in his own “office cave”?
Tips to avoid isolation:
- a) Do volunteer work. Help out at the hospital, church, or local library.
- b) Join a group. There are many business breakfasts from local businesswomen. There are also clubs, interest groups, study groups on a topic.
- c) Take a course. This is the perfect opportunity to learn a new business skill or indulge in an activity of your liking (literature, music, gardening group, choir, learn to dance, etc.)
- d) Spend time with your family or friends. Go out to lunch, call a friend, make an appointment with your husband (and why not?), Send a personal email to a member of your family. Take the time to connect with the important people in your life.
- e) Build a personal backup network. Whether you are a coach, a fellow entrepreneur, you are going to need someone to encourage, listen, and guide you. Find a mentor who is successful in what you want to do and try to share your secrets!
- d) Participate in an online community. There are many online communities for entrepreneurs and parents who work from home. You can network, find friends, and promote your business.
Do you need medical coverage?
Health insurance is one of the advantages of those who work in a dependency relationship. When you become independent you lose that coverage.
Tips for getting health coverage:
- a ) If your husband or wife works in a company, see if they can extend the coverage to you.
- b) With health coverage costs skyrocketing, it pays to go out and compare costs and plans.
- c) If you recently left your job in a dependency relationship, find out if the laws of your country allow you to extend medical coverage for a time. In some countries, it is allowed to extend for 18 months.
Do you miss regular income?
Tips to regulate your income:
- a) Have reservations. When you have a good month, save a percentage for the bad months. Depending on your activity, try to save by working more during the winter, so you can enjoy your free time during the summer.
- b) Develop an “automatic” source of income. Some options you can explore include writing and selling an ebook or reselling someone else’s products (affiliate program) that complement your offering.
Are your family and friends pushing the limits?
Do your friends or family call you during business hours? Do customers call you during your off-hours?
Tips for setting limits:
- a) Communicate to your clients as soon as possible about your work policy, your working hours, and what they can expect of you in this regard.
- b) Let family and friends know your work hours. Ask them not to call you for personal things on your work schedule.
- c) Caller IDs can be very useful to know if the call is from a friend, relative, or a high-priced salesperson.
- The bottom line is to determine limits, set them firmly, communicate, and sustain them.
Conclusions
While working from home seems like a new dream, it can sometimes present real challenges. You can get to know about home security systems via reading online.
Smart microentrepreneurs work very hard to maintain balance in their life and regulate a steady income. By overcoming these obstacles you will gain new energy, focus, and stability in both your personal and business life.