Working from Home

Sam Willoughby owns What's On 4 and has worked at home full time for 4 years and has a team of parents that also work at home.  She shares with us some no nonsense advice on how to make working at home work for you.

Your work space

You don't need a full blown office at home but a separate space from family life is necessary.  The corner of the spare room or dining room are ideal as you can shut the door from work and your computer when it is "home time" and shut the door on family noise when you are working.

You will need a desk, proper office chair and somewhere to store paperwork too.

Your equipment

Your computer will probably be the most important piece of equipment.  So ensure you have one that meets your needs.  If in doubt get some advice and if you haven't a clue about computers a maintence and help desk contract might be worth buying. You will probably also need a printer and maybe a scanner.

If you are employed your company may supply some or all of this equipment.

Staying connected

Second only to your computer is your broadband and phone services.  Looks at packages that offer both and mobile as well.  Also consider SKYPE as a low cost alternative but test before commiting as call quality can be an issue.

If you are employed your company should supply some or all of these services.

Insurance

Check if your household insurance allows you to work at home, it probably covers admin at home but not having clients visit or stock.  Also your equipment is unlikely to be insured as it will be classed as business.

Planning your day

You'll likely to be someone who gets their head down and works flat out or someone who is distracted by things to do in the home.  Neither is good.  You still need to take regular breaks but it's also easy to find yourself doing household jobs because they are "there".  The key is to plan your day, allowed time to empty the dishwasher or put some washing on and make this part of your break.  Plan to walk the dog or go to the shop but see these things as a formal break in your day.

Sharing Information

Take a look at ways to share information more efficently.  This could be your diary or documents and your company may provide this for you.  If not Google has several tools that are free.

Stock

If you are working for yourself you are likely to have stock.  The scale of which will vary.  When you start your business it's common for your house to become full of stock in every available space.  But this is not practical so consider storage of some sort, and bear in mind insurance issues mentioned above.

Some issues you might have ....

Interacting with other people You may find that you miss other people so try and make regular trips to your office or meet up with colleagues/your team on a regular basis to keep in touch.  Face to face is always the best form of communication so try and include some of this with your suppliers, customers and team.

Friends popping in Family and friends may not understand that you do have to work when you are at home so may pop in unannounced or ask favours because you are at home.  Be ready for this and try to explain that you do have work to do and schedule in visits when you are not working.

Not clocking off You will find yourself checking email and working in the evenings and weekend especially if this is your onw business.  Try to keep to regular hours and plan your week around other commitments to keep out of hours working to a minimum.