WORKING ALONE IN A HOME BASED BUSINESS s your business

WORKING ALONE IN A HOME BASED BUSINESS s your business run from a home office environment that has you working alone all day, every day of the working week? I If you’re not happy or at least sufficiently comfortable in your working environment your productivity levels will reflect this. First let’s take a look at what you can do to alleviate the feeling that you’re isolated from the larger business community. If you think you’re alone in dealing with the various challenges of running a home based business, think again. there’s a world going on outside that you’re no longer part of. day. Or perhaps you don’t have to imagine at all. You might wish to try: • Increasing your social activities. Whatever your social inclinations are, try to find time to indulge them • Engaging in your favourite hobbies and pursuits. Some people work hard so they’ll have time to engage in leisure activities later on and forget that life is for living in the present and not just for the future • Undertaking further study, either on a formal or informal basis.You may find it worthwhile to study full time or part time at an institution of some sort.You might, on the other hand, like simply to visit the library and find out all you can about a particular topic No one else is quite like you and therefore no business will be quite like yours. As this is the case, it’s important that you tailor your own strategies and methods for combating feelings of isolation in your workplace. CONNECTING WITH OTHER HOME BASED BUSINESS OWNERS The previous article on Networking offered many interesting ideas. The following suggestions may also help you build mutually beneficial networks as a home based business operator. Methods you can try include: • Logging onto websites that deal with issues faced by Home Based Business owners both here and across the world • Subscribing to mailing lists for newsletters and other material of interest • Visiting Internet Chat rooms that specialize in discussions on various relevant business related topics But what if you feel cut off from the rest of the world in general? Sometimes your office area can seem small and constricting, especially when you think that BRINGING SOME OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD INTO YOUR OFFICE If you find yourself missing the company of co-workers, friends, or even family while at work, it may help to bring a bit of the outside world into your workspace. You might try the following: • Having the radio on in the background if it’s not too distracting • Adorning your desk or workspace with photos of family and friends • Keeping mementos and keepsakes nearby If you’re feeling penned in because you work and live in the same place and never seem to leave it, make sure that you do. MAINTAINING A HEALTHY DOSE OF PERSONAL ACTIVITIES All work and no play is a recipe for depression for most people in almost all working conditions. Imagine how much more difficult such a lifestyle is for a business owner who works in solitude all 18 WORKING ALONE IN A HOME BASED BUSINESS DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS WHEN WORKING FROM HOME unning a successful home based business requires one important quality above all others, and this quality is self-discipline. In a non-residential office environment it is far easier to concentrate on work, given that the entire environment has been designed for work related activities. A home office, however, resides within an environment that has primarily been designed for living, not working. So there is a greater potential for distractions in a home office. R SOME COMMON POTENTIALLY UNAVOIDABLE DISTRACTIONS: • The need to tend to and spend time with your children • The need to interact with your spouse or partner • Housework • Visits from friends or relatives Identifying such distractions will help you plan your time for them when they happen if they can’t be avoided altogether. Losing just half an hour per day to these distractions can add up to 125 hours less work time per year. That’s over fifteen days of lost productivity and earnings. Seeing this lost time as lost income may provide the motivation you need to implement strategies to deal with your daily distractions. SOME PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU DEAL WITH DISTRACTIONS 1. SCHEDULE YOUR WORKING HOURS One of the benefits of running a Home Based Business is the freedom to choose your own hours. So make sure you do decide on the hours you’ll spend working each day. Failing to schedule your working hours means your ‘business hours’ can blur into a less productive mix of work and personal activity. In order to maintain an acceptable standard of productivity, it’s vital that you separate your professional time from your personal time in any working day. Keep a diary and schedule both times in it. By defining your working hours you’re also defining your personal time. Plan to schedule as many potentially distracting activities into your personal time as you can to avoid engaging in them during working hours. SOME COMMON AVOIDABLE DISTRACTIONS: • Daytime television programs • Constant visits to the fridge • Personal phone calls • Surfing for leisure on the Internet • The inability to get out of and stay out of bed in the morning Most of the time you can avoid such distractions by removing the temptation. For example, unplugging the television at the wall at the start of day, putting a padlock on the fridge, only opening your email program once a day, and redirecting your personal phone line for the day might help reduce the daily distraction. DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS WHEN WORKING FROM HOME 19 By treating your home office like a place of business with set hours, breaks and limits, you’re more likely to reap the success and productivity that a disciplined office allows. • Keep your workspace clean and free of excess clutter • Work in a comfortable office chair, rather than a kitchen chair that would lead to discomfort or a lounge chair that would offer too much of the wrong kind of comfort • Ensure your workspace has adequate ventilation and sufficient lighting to help you avoid tiredness or vision problems • Make sure your working area is sufficiently large so that you feel comfortable rather than ‘cooped up’ within it 2. HAVE A CLEARLY SET ASIDE WORKSPACE Your chosen working environment can have a significant effect on your overall productivity. Make sure you have a separate room or enclosed area where you can work, preferably one that can be sealed off from the rest of the house in some way. If possible, invest in a separate telephone line for the business. This separation will help you to treat it as a place of focus and concentration. Here are some handy tips to keep you as distraction free as possible in your work area: • Make sure all the equipment and filing systems you need are kept within your working area to save you having to venture out of it unnecessarily during your working day • Try to avoid using this space for personal activities Write down your goals and mark them off as you achieve them. Focusing on small, achievable tasks may help you to work more vigorously. The more intent you are on completing any work-related task, the less likely you are to be distracted from that activity. 4. FIND AN ALTERNATE WORKPLACE IF THE NEED ARISES Should a short-term situation arise that negates your ability to work in your home office, such as a noisy home renovation in the next room, don’t hesitate to find a short-term alternative in which to keep on working. Rented workspaces, libraries and even some parks and coffee shops can offer adequate conditions for continuing your work, as long as you’re able to divert phone calls to a mobile phone or answering machine. Such places may also be more suitable locations for business meetings in many circumstances. 3. SET DEFINITE SHORT TERM GOALS One strategy that may help you to stay focused during your working day is to set clear and achievable time-based goals. Rather than set one big outcome, set yourself small hourly goals such as: • Writing one report • Calling five to ten potential clients • Processing ten invoices IMPLEMENT YOUR STRATEGIES AND STICK TO THEM It may take some time, and a large dose of willpower in some cases, to adjust to a regimented work-time schedule or an isolated workplace. Ultimately such strategies will increase your productivity and commitment to building and maintaining a successful home based enterprise. 20 DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS WHEN WORKING FROM HOME CASE HISTORY working." Reduced costs are another plus. "There are either no or very low overheads for a start-up business." Ellen was attracted to the home-based business work style because she already had experience in establishing her previous employer’s business from a home office. d-sipher pty ltd specialises in organisation and business improvement using market research and evaluation. It conducts customer and staff surveys, and advises on community governance and project management as well as communications strategies. Some clients, she found, had to be educated to accept the fact that a home-based business can be just as professional and successful as one with a separate office. "This was particularly so for me because my ‘office’ is at Noosa, a place associated with surf and tourism. Nevertheless, doing business remotely, including via the internet, has become more accepted than it was some years ago, and clients themselves are also so busy they require fewer face-to-face meetings or a shopfront access for advice from businesses like mine. In some situations, it would be good to have a professional meeting space to meet clients and suppliers, but it is not essential." Because she works long hours at a stretch, Ellen has paid particular attention to workstation ergonomics, and she has a regular program of stretches and breaks from the computer. She makes time for other preventive health measures, such as massage and acupuncture. Her advice to others? "Take time out for yourself. Your time is precious. Prioritise and manage your day, be disciplined in your approach so that you don’t waste time and have to work longer hours." Note: The photographs on page 21 of the Home Based Business manuals are not of Ellen Vasiliauskas. This reprint corrects that misrepresentation ELLEN VASILIAUSKAS – BUSINESS CONSULTANT d-sipher pty ltd Work is always there. That’s the main difficulty of operating a home based business, according to Ellen Vasiliauskas, who established d-sipher pty ltd two years ago. "I am turning into a workaholic because it is difficult to break away from work sometimes." In some ways, she says, this method of working has resulted in a deterioration in her lifestyle because she spends too much time in her office. Having the same phone number for work and home can be a problem, she says, as some people think you regularly work on a Sunday morning or at other "rest" times. Isolation is also a problem, and being a sole operator means there is no one else to bounce ideas off. On the other hand, there are major positives, she adds. "I am able to work longer and work at odd hours in a comfortable environment. It is very convenient, and I have the ability to do household chores such as putting the dinner on while I am Ellen Vasiliauskas BUSINESS CONSULTANT