Photo: The Oatmeal
I work in my pajamas a good chunk of every day. There, I said it! When I’m not in my pajamas, I’m probably barefoot in shorts and a t-shirt with a few days’ worth of stubble on my face. Some days I may even be working on my back deck, but you’d never know it!
I may be presenting to a group of executives or training a team of call center agents, but my delivery is no less professional because of my lax dress code. I know I’m more productive and I love working from home!
But not everyone is cut out to work alone. Most people need social interaction to thrive and you have to be willing to live off small doses. Successful virtual workers are usually a strange breed of self-driven, organized, cost-conscious, and sometimes hermit-like people.
So is a virtual office for you? Take a look at my personal pros and cons list to see if you wanna make the jump to become a stay at home entrepreneur.
What to Consider Before Working From Home
The Benefits of a Virtual Office
- I save a ton of money. Literally $20,000 – $30,000 year.
- No commuting costs (i.e. parking, gas, and car insurance; I classify my vehicle as “pleasure only” for a big insurance break)
- I don’t pay for office space – HUGE!
- Very few lunches out
- No Starbucks trips (actually I hate Starbucks and prefer McDonald’s coffee, but you get the idea)
- Home office tax deductions
- I keep a very small professional wardrobe (I hate shopping for new clothes and don’t need to)
- No commute gives me an extra 2 hours a day for other activities.
- No need to shave means I can get away with a 5 o’clock shadow most days.
- I can talk hands free on my speaker phone and strategize about business without worrying about anyone overhearing my conversation.
- I can spread out. I have plenty of room for my full keyboard, wireless mouse, and my dual monitors to see all my documents at once.
- Less distractions makes me much more productive.
- It’s easy to get exercise. I can go for a bike ride, run to the gym or shoot baskets, and I have a place to shower afterwards.
- I have a flexible schedule and can work when I want and help out the family when things come up.
- I look young, but people don’t misjudge me since they don’t see me right away. I’m in my mid-thirties but look like I’m in my early twenties. That’s a drawback in the business world as age is an indicator of experience and means you’re often taken more seriously. If I work with people on the phone before I meet them, I tend to garner more respect.
- I can play with my daughter who goes to bed so early I’d never get to see her otherwise.
- Less politics and bullshit!!!
The Drawbacks of a Virtual Office
To be fair, there are some downsides to working from home:
- No IT department to help load software, configure email, fix viruses, install printers, etc. On the plus side, you become more computer savvy by necessity which is a good thing.
- You’ve got to back-up your own computer. You must be the one to prepare for the inevitable computer crash. I used to burn copies of my hard-drive on DVDs every week, but recently switched to using online back-ups through Mozy and find it much, much easier.
- Some types of meetings can be more difficult like business development and brainstorming sessions. Although I find these tools for stay at home entrepreneurs help considerably.
- With little face to face interaction it gets lonely once in a while. Not to mention that my social skills get a bit rusty when I haven’t visited a client in a few weeks.
- Less walking around means less exercise. You’d be surprised how easy it is to get out of shape when your commute is about 30 paces.
- Too much togetherness with the family. I love my wife to death, but sometimes you need a few extra breaks when you’re with someone 24×7.
So are you considering working from home? What’s stopping you?
loading...
|
Like what you read?
If so, get more smart blogging tips, nuggets of entrepreneurial wisdom, and get a FREE COPY of my eBook, 10 Powerful Techniques to Increase Affiliate Commissions!
|
|
Love the cartoon, that is so true! On one hand you hate all the alone time but on the other hand you love not having to deal with coworkers.
True – it can also be a challenge having enough paying clients to work from home. If you’ve got that though, and you’ve got your priorities straight, all the other issues should be surmountable.
Zac
@XakSullivan
Zac, I agree it’s a lot easier to find a client base first and then work from home than to find new clients at the start while working from home.
Thanks Amanda. I find you have to be the squeaky wheel when you are remote to make the extra effort to stay in contact with everyone. As a result, I’m on the phone for such a big part of everyday I often forget I’m alone!
I love working from home, though I have a VERY part-time real world job. I consider it my hobby and working on the computer as my actual job.
I’ve always been a night-owl anyway, so staying up late working on reports or posts is normal for me. And though I used to be a very social person, I do like the solitude working from home provides. I have become the hermit to a point, but when you get to be my age, it’s not all that bad (40s).
Christine, There’s nothing wrong with having a few hermit-like qualities
. I do my best work after 10pm every night when I can get in the zone with few interruptions.
The cartoon is funny, but a bit overdramatic.
I think there are definitely some people that can handle working from home while others cannot handle it (like the character in the cartoon).
I work in my pajama’s as well, but I can cope without seeing people during the day. I go out at night and on the weekends so I still stay sociable.
I understand your drawbacks, but I don’t quite agree with all of them. Having no IT and backing up my computer aren’t real concerns for me. I exercise every morning before getting to work. I also use Skype and in person meetings when I need to.
Working at home doesn’t have to be so difficult, as long as you plan accordingly for exercise and and make sure you’re not a shut-in.
Thanks for the post!
Morgan, it’s definitely easy to fall into the mode of being a shut-in and you gotta force yourself to get outta the house everyday.
And I agree, not having an IT deparment isn’t bad at all these days….computers are so much easier than they used to be. Back in the late 90′s when you had to use programs like Lotus Notes for email, broadband wasn’t commonplace, and you had to work with all sorts of challenging home-made Corporate applications it was a real challenge to do stuff on your own. Compared to that it’s a walk in the park now!
Great post, spot on! Every time I hear my wife rant about office politics I thank the stars that I’m allowed to telecommute!
Well, because my father runs an industrial business, I usually spend my time online at his office and though I know is not right to concentrate other stuff other then working what I should be working in an office hour, but still I cannot resist my love with the internet.
I prefer to work at home, but it will be better if I had a small office nearby with some people I hire to solve some marketing or technical difficulty problems and not to say, it’s great to have friends and family around… especially with someone you love around, don’t you think?
Wong, thanks for stopping by…big fan of your blog (just discovered it a week or two ago)! I can see how you might get distracted while working on your site
.
Well… I rather get distract then getting bore and feeling asleep, when the eye is open, there is always something you can see
“When I’m not in my pajamas, I’m probably barefoot in shorts and a t-shirt with a few days’ worth of stubble on my face.”
This pretty much describes me on my telecommute days. While I’m not self-employed, I relate
Wow, some points to ponder here. But freedom is sweet. I personally LOVE having ditched the politics. Can’t say much about 5′o clock shadow though. Not even on my legs! Lol!
Ahh, less political bullshit. Bingo!
You do look young mate. Haters be damned!
How come I can’t find a picture of you anywhere Sam?
I work in an office, but have been considering moving full-time to blogging / internet efforts. On a side note, I just have a beard. I trim once a week and call it good. I have found that once you are accepted as not being the most well-groomed person in the office, no one even cares.
True enough….people tend to get used to your grooming level and once a week for a beard is certainly acceptable. My beard comes and goes pretty regularly, but I do try to shave it before I meet with clients.
One of the best things about working at home is the freedom to create your own schedule, to do what you want when you want. Living in NYC makes it easy to get out and get at least an hour of walking every day for both exercise and entertainment with so much happening on the street.
SSB- I can see NYC being a great place to telecommute. Only downside might be the size of your living space…square footage is not cheap!
Though I had heard people say that working at home can be isolating, I have secretly wanted it most of life! Now that I have it, after ten years spent in a physical workplace, I love all the perks you mentioned–especially being able to have a career on my own terms while raising my toddler. That said, it can be very isolating, which shocked me, as I am a person who is typically fine to spend long stretches of time alone. Based on what I know now, working at home for everyone, and not for every stage of career. If you crave camaraderie, and lack self discipline, I’m not sure I’d recommend it. I’d also advise anyone just starting out in their career to appreciate the value and experience that good old fashioned “face time” in an office provides, painful as that cube life can be. But if you’re trying to juggle work and family, it’s a great gift that technology has allowed.
Hi Stephanie, excellent point about working form home being easier to do based on the stage of your career. It’s absolutely a mistake to start out working from home, you’ll miss out on a lot of things you can only learn face to face. I do think everyone should work in an office for at least a few years, especially during the early stages of career development…at a minimum you’ll understand what the other side is like!