I was going to write a post on how to survive working at home, then somebody did it for me. Kudos to “A List Apart”. Good stuff y’all.
Working From Home – Readers Thoughts
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for recommending this article on balancing work and home. Chuck is changing jobs and will now be working from home every day. We’re very excited about having him home more often but we are aware of the need for balance.
I’ve been working at home for nearly 9 years now and finally persuaded my other half to join me – wouldnt have it any other way!!
Glad to hear it and good luck on your new life in Spain. Looks like a great family adventure.
I have been working from home for 7 years this coming August. I love the freedom and flexibility, but the leisurely nature of working from home can make it hard to focus.
Can anyone recomend a legitimate home based business that you can actually live on?
Hi Tom,
Technology is making it easier every day for a lot of people to work from home. Personally, I’m run a graphic design business. 10 years ago we had an office in San Diego, clients in San Diego and employees from San Diego. Now, with broadband Internet so widely available we closed the office, have clients all over the country and designers from Baltimore to Buenos Aires.
The easiest way is to create a business where you work with your brain, not your hands. It’s much easier to be home based or even mobile. However, there are a lot of people who have created product based businesses that outsource production and fulfillment.
Finally, don’t get stuck thinking you need to pick ONE business to support yourself. While I make the majority of our income from my design business, I also make money doing photography, Mac consulting, some investments and of course Family Hack. I really enjoy the variety too. It makes life interesting and I’m always learning new things.
Of course, technology doesn’t always have to play a part. Last year, a friend of mine lost his SysAdmin job. Instead of looking for another job, he and his wife decided to make a change. They moved to a less expensive house about 30 minutes outside of town. It sits on several acres that they’ve turned into a “farmette”. They grow their own produce, and raise chickens (and eggs) for sale at the farmers markets. They also opened a dance studio nearby that teaches kids and adults. You can see more info here: http://blog.sweetdogfarm.com/ and at http://www.dancebarn.net/
Good Luck,
Michael
I’ve been working from home for eight years and I love it. I have a consulting practice with many clients spread all over the region. I have two subcontractors also working from home offices. One is another professional that provides services directly to our clients and one is a business manager and researcher. One big reason we are based in home offices is to keep our overhead low and therefore the rates we charge our clients relatively low, which is important as many of our clients are small cities and towns with small budgets.
But, we are running into the problem of needing to spend more time together to have face-to-face time for collaboration and creative group problem-solving and idea development. These are things we have discovered cannot be done well in a virtual environment and needs being together. We have tried meeting regularly in a coffee shop or one of our offices, but two hours a week away from our resources doesn’t really work well.
Has anyone discovered a good hybrid solution where the home-office structure is maintained, but there is also a good central meeting place that can serve to nurture creative work? Can I have my cake and eat it too? Thanks.
Hi John,
All my subs are in different cities/countries so I don’t have the same issue. However, aside from video chat you may want to look into a movement called “CoWorking”. These are a cross between the coffee shop and the regular office.
CoWorking Wiki
http://wiki.coworking.info/
Our local coworking space is about to open.
http://openspacecoworking.com/
Best,
Michael