Advice for All New Entrepreneurs

Working from home is a dream for many, but sometimes the dreams do not match up to the reality of the business. The hugely appealing idea of being your own boss, setting your own hours and running the show has merit and definite benefits; it also requires hard work, self-discipline and comes with a few drawbacks as well. I am not saying that a home based business isn't for your; I just think you should have a complete picture before launching your home based business so you can try to avoid the problems and enjoy the benefits.

You are responsible.
When you work from home, the amount of work you do is entirely up to you. Your success or failure depends on you: your ability to focus, to hustle, to connect with clients and the bottom line of what you produce and what you get paid for. When it's just you, at your desk, in your home office, you can't blame a pesky boss or chatty coworkers for your unproductive workday.

You are the only one.
Some people love the thought of working alone, getting things done without the interruption of meetings that only reduce our productivity; but even the most demure person can start feeling a little caged in after a short time at home, doing the same thing. When you work from home, even if you work as part of a virtual team, you're still the only team member around. It can get lonely. A suggestion for this would be to always have music (or even the TV) on in another room as background noise.

You have to take your business seriously even when others don't.
Your mom calls for an afternoon chat and gets mad when you cut her short. "But, Mom, I'm working," you try to explain. Mom doesn't get it. To her, working from home is the same as "sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring” since she does not grasp the concept that you can have a business at home.

It may not be your Mom, but every person who has spent time working from home will have to deal with this lack of understanding. The onus is on you to set your working hours, stick to them, actually work during those hours, and refuse to let anyone tell you that your home based business isn’t a real business.

You can deduct expenses, but realize there are limits.                                                    You set up a home office, put in your hours and then sit down to do taxes at the end of the year. Those work-related expenses are sounding good, but hold on before you try to deduct half your mortgage for "office rent" or the entire cost of your heating bill. You can deduct all valid work-related expenses, but only the amount that is actually used exclusively for your work. So if you pay for an internet service that is also used by your spouse and children for non-work related matters, you can't deduct the full cost of that internet bill: only the portion that is used exclusively for work. There are many tax guides out there (Sandy Botkin is the best that I have found) to help figure this out fairly easily.   

You find it hard to “leave work”.
Shorter hours and more flexibility are two of the top reasons that people want to work from home.  When your office is always there, waiting, it's pretty hard to just close the door and pretend you can't get in there and get a few more hours. Many home based owners find themselves working more hours, not fewer, putting in time on nights and weekends just because it's there and they can't ignore it. Sometimes flexibility is too much of a good thing.

You don't have to do everything yourself.
As someone who works from home, you are solely responsible for what you produce, but that doesn't mean you have to do every single detail of work yourself. Once you are making enough money from your business, think about all the time-consuming menial tasks that have to be done and “hire” someone to do these for you.  This person could even be one of your children, a friend or someone you know.  This way you can spend time on making money instead of filing a piece of paper or even cleaning the house. Hiring out can be done on a “need” basis - for example, hire an assistant to provide five hours of “secretarial” work per month when you have orders to be filed, documents to be faxed, expenses to be categorized.

You can set a great example.
If you have children at home, letting them see you work hard at something you love - even at the parts you don't love - can greatly influence their future career choices and entire attitude toward work. Working from home isn't easy; it requires planning, foresight, self-discipline, and focus. But if you cultivate the character needed to be successful working from home, you'll get to carry that over into your personal, family, and home life. Those benefits can be enormous.

In making the commitment to work from home, you have to acknowledge and accept the responsibility to be your own boss.  You must go into it with the understanding that you'll have to do the not-so-fun stuff as well as enjoy those flexible hours. When you form good work habits, and stick to your priorities; it can be a great and wonderfully successful experience.