Working at Home on the Internet

WAH Tip #4 The Learning Curve

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This is a reprise of a post I had written back in January of this year. I felt that it would be a really nice fit with the Work at Home Tips series. So, instead of letting it languish in the oblivion of the past, I thought I should (hopefully) bring it back to life. Don’t worry, if you read it before, it should be worth your time as a reminder of what we all go through as Work at Homers.

We all go through it.

When we first start working at home, we feel free. So much so that we sometimes almost forget that we ARE Working. But, we have to remember, this is how we make a living.

Neighbors come calling

Neighbors know that you are home. You work at home. They have the day off, or may even be retired, so they might just stop by or call on the phone. They have the time, with nothing to do and since you are home all the time, they may think that it’s Ok to knock on the door or call you to “shoot the bull”. They probably don’t think you could possibly be too busy to talk, you work at home.

The Learning Curve

You have to learn to tell them that you are working. Let them know in a friendly way that you need to get your work done, get back to the office, were on the computer, or are in the middle of something important. These are not excuses, they hopefully are the truth. The neighbors aren’t going to pay your bills, you are. You have to remember, this is how you make a living.

Friends want a Freebee

If your friends know what your expertise is and they have a need for a service that you provide, they might ask for a “little” favor. They will probably not take into consideration that this is how you make your money. You work at home, therefore you have the time to do this “little” thing for them since you don’t have a real job. And since it’s such a small favor, they won’t expect you to charge them. And Don’t expect them to offer to pay.

The Learning Curve 

Everybody wants something for nothing. If a friend or neighbor needs your service, go ahead and do the first and/or second thing gratis. But, you need to let them know there will be a charge for subsequent services. Tell them that it is customary to charge X amount of money for this particular service. Let them know… This how you make your living.

Family matters

Sis, Mom or Pop calls and wants you to stop by during business hours to talk about what color to paint the living room (You are not a painter) or they ran out of milk, so they want you to get it for them for their morning coffee. It is like they think you don’t have a real job, so you have the time to spend doing menial things for the family. Everyone else works in an office or a shop and works regular hours. You work at home. So you are the one they call any time of the day, especially during business hours, because everyone else is “busy”.

The Learning Curve

Family is probably the most difficult to deal with when you Work at Home. They don’t believe that you have a real job. They think you have all the time in the world. It’s family, so you feel guilty if you don’t do what they expect. The family thinks since you work at home, you can break away at a moments notice and you probably can for the Important things. But you have to draw a line, even with them, that when you are working, you are Working. Let them know… This is how you make a living.

Moral

When you have any Business Working at Home, it is your Job. If you worked for someone else, you most likely wouldn’t be able to take the time off to do some of the things people ask of you. There would be no time off for doing favors, and there would definitely be no Freebies. Treat your Home Business the same as you would working for a big company. When you are at work, you are working.

Just remember… This is how you make your living.

I hope you agree that this really should be included in the Work at Home Tips series. I didn’t want to just write a small post and link to the original. Especially since there seems to be quite a few more new members of the community than there were 8 months ago. J.

Technorati Tags: Working at Home, Home Business, Learning Curve, Time Management

August 6th, 2007 at 05:59am | Posted by Joe | Tips, Work at Home | reader remarks | Print This Post