There's more to moving from an employee lifestyle to a
work-from-home entrepreneur lifestyle. The transition
process of leaving the corporate world and working from
home can have unanticipated effects on family relationships
and business life.
Home business owners roll out of bed in the morning and
head off for work--still wearing their pajamas. They work
from their dining room tables, move inventory in their
cupboards and arrange meetings in the lobbies of their
local hotels. They set their own schedules, jog on the
beach during their lunch breaks and some even give out
their house keys to employees across the city.
This is what life is like for Andrew Aussie, co-founder of
Honest Foods, a natural foods company; Stacey Roney,
founder of Beauty on Call, a staffing agency for the beauty
industry; and Meg McAllister and Darcie Rowan, co-founders
of McAllister Communications, a PR firm.
Using their homes as their corporate headquarters, these
entrepreneurs, along with more and more others, are running
successful businesses without have to walk out their front
doors.
A February 2004 study by the Independent Insurance Agents &
Brokers indicates that approximately one in 10 U.S.
households operate some type of full- or part-time home
based business. And these businesses are more than holding
their own.
A May 2006 study released by the SBA's Office of Advocacy
reveals that America's home based sole proprietors generate
$102 billion in annual revenue. As it grows in popularity
and profits, home based business is being perceived in a
much more favorable and acceptable light.
According to Beverley Williams, a home business advocate
for the past two decades, running a business from home was
once frowned upon or dismissed as a hobby for moms seeking
extra money.
Now, home based business is widely accepted and is
attracting both men and women. Aussie, Roney, McAllister
and Rowan learned from experience, learn operating
technique from those who have successful done what they're
trying to do and have mastered the discipline.
Here, these successful entrepreneurs open up about the ins
and outs of running a business from home, including how to
ward off loneliness, set up shop, deal with zoning laws and
insurance issues, bring employees into the home and project
a professional image.
How They Made the Transition
Deciding that the quality and taste of their product or
service was more important than the luxury of their
workspace, Aussie, 39, and Mark Oliver, 58, decided to
launch Honest Foods in April 2006 from Aussie's Del Mar,
California, home. This made it possible for him to invest
the majority of their startup capital into two years of
research and development.
This distinct work environment change, a major adjustment
for Aussie, was much different from the highly social
office environment to which he was accustomed. For 11
years, Aussie had worked in sales and marketing for Kashi
Co., where he managed a team of 12 people and was
surrounded by 60 to 70 coworkers.
During the transition, Aussie had to figure out how to
stimulation social interaction from his home office. He
relies more than ever on phone and e-mail to stay connected
with customers and industry mentors, regularly arranges
in-person meetings with vendors and suppliers at his home
or a local restaurant or coffeehouse, and has even thrown
parties for his previous coworkers. "I thrive on
camaraderie and social interaction, so it has been key to
realize that it's now my responsibility to set that up,"
says Aussie. "I set up a lot of lunches and gatherings that
maybe I wouldn't have set up before as a way to bring some
more social interaction to my daily experience."
Coping with loneliness is one of the top challenges facing
home based entrepreneurs, according to Williams and Paul
Edwards, author of numerous books on the topic, and
co-author of The Entrepreneurial Parent: How to Earn Your
Living and Still Enjoy Your Family, Your Work and Your
Life. Williams recommends seeking out the advice from the
local chamber of commerce or other small-business groups.
These can offer good support networks as well as serve as
invaluable resources of information.
Aussie also has learned that when working from a virtual
home office, over-communication is required to keep
everyone on the same page. Information, which is so
effortlessly transmitted in an office setting through
impromptu meetings or nonverbal communication, isn't always
transmitted as intended among Honest Foods' independent
contractors who work almost exclusively from their homes.
"It means following up in writing, following up with voice
mail, sending another e-mail, sending out reminders, doing
all those weekly meetings," says Aussie. "These may have
seemed superfluous in the office setting but are absolutely
critical in a home office."
Another transition you'll have to make is equipping your
home office, rather than depending on your IT guy to make
all the network office solutions. Scrimping and saving is
good, but even a home office needs a minimum investment in
terms of equipment. As tempting as it may be, Edwards
believes you should resist the urge to go all-cellular or
depending just on Skype and instead recommends equipping
the home with at least one landline.
Aussie began his home office by recycling his father's
office equipment and furnishing his office with
hand-me-down furniture. Yet he made sure his copier was
high speed, his phone had a speaker on it and his computer
was top quality. Says Aussie, "People may underestimate the
need to make that kind of investment in your home office."
Setting Up
Honest Foods is flourishing with year-end sales projected
to reach $1 million and product already on the shelves of
major natural food retailers, including Whole Foods Market
and Wild Oats Markets.
This success may be due in part to the physical setup of
Aussie's office. He runs the business from a separate room
in the house dedicated as his office space to keep his work
life separate from his family life. It may seem
insignificant, but separating family life both spatially
and time-wise is crucial, according to Edwards, who
recommends using a screen or a divider if a separate room
can't be spared.
Other key questions you should consider before choosing
where to set up office: Does it interfere with the family
foot traffic, and does it offer the solitude needed to
work? A little planning beforehand could greatly increase
the productivity of the business. Aussie has learned he
works best by shutting everything down and closing the door
to his office at a set time each day.
Work schedules will differ according to the preferences of
the entrepreneur, but no matter what your preferences are,
Edwards strongly recommends setting goals for each day, so
the business continues to move forward despite the hundreds
of daily distractions.
----------------------------------------------------
Paul McBride is a business consultant who specializes in
helping entrepreneurs start and operate part or full-time
online businesses from home. He focuses on financial
education, not currently taught in public schools, so his
clients not just receive increased business cash flow, but
also a knowledge of how to invest wisely and make
profitable long-term financial decisions.
Learn more at http://www.jpwealthintelligence.com/?t=ar7
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