Want to Work from Home? Ask Yourself These Questions First
Are you tired of going to your office every day and want to spend more quality time with your family? If your answer is yes, working at home may be the solution for you. Yet although it does sound very convenient, it's not as easy as you think. Before sending your resignation letter in, it's wise to plan ahead and consider your readiness for such a big change. To make sure you are prepared, we have formulated a few questions you should ask yourself before deciding to work at your most convenient time and place. Having positive answers to these questions will guarantee a smooth transition from office work to working from home. Want to Work from Home? Ask Yourself These Questions First We like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently, whether they [are] at their desk or in their kitchen. Yours truly has never worked out of an office, and never will. - Richard Branson What kind of work-from-home job makes sense for you? If you are already decided to work from home, don’t jump off the ship just yet. Ask yourself what kinds of home-based jobs you can do first. No one can really decide for you because it all depends on your skills, knowledge, and capabilities. Are you more into sales? Or maybe you are intrigued by those freelancing jobs? Do you need the stability of tenure of an office employee? Or would you rather just work part-time without quitting your current job? Again, the answer may be different for each individual. So you should carefully pick the one that will best suit you. Are you ready to give up office comforts? If you are working in an office, there are likely some intangibles your company provides that you cannot get when you are at home. For instance, you may not be able to look for Fridays to rest or for coffee-break conversations with someone. More importantly, you will have access to fewer networks. If you are working for a company remotely, you might have a difficulty in communicating with your superior or with the people you work for because since there will be no face-to-face interactions that will transpire. Mostly, you’re communicating just through emails or phone calls. Can you separate work from home? It is a typical challenge for home-based workers to split their personal and corporate lives. What you need is discipline. When you are at home, procrastination can be very tempting. So you need to plan ahead, including your breaks, and religiously follow your schedule. You may want to set your work schedule to whenever your kids are in school, so you will not be bothered by them and can still have time for them when they get home. Unfortunately, if they get sick or if you experience a problem with your internet connection, you may have to think of a contingency plan to be able to finish your job in spite of the setbacks. Are you ready for a pay cut or career shift? You should also consider whether you're prepared for a pay cut or even a career shift if you want to work from home. Before deciding, you may want to compute your budget with a lesser income and see if you'd still be able to manage your expenses. Moreover, this will probably slow down your professional growth and may require you to develop an additional set of skills. Are you equipped to accommodate corporate guidelines? Your office may have invested a lot in making everything in the workplace conducive for performing employees’ tasks. This might not be the case with your home. Some companies that offer home-based jobs have mandatory guidelines in place, like having a reliable internet connection, a designated work area, quality desktop or laptop computers, and sometimes a dedicated phone. If you do not have these yet, this may mean you have to spend money to invest in these things before taking on a remote job. Is it easier for you to work from home than having a full-time job? If you are thinking that working from home is a lot easier than working at the office as a reason to shift careers, you are probably wrong. While it is true that you will be able to avoid the hassle of commuting to your office, the traffic avoided might be the only stress that you will be able to dodge. Since you are at home, companies may observe your working time through software, with some applications even taking a screenshot of your computer from time to time at regular intervals. Since there are no given ‘office hours’ you may have to work more sometimes. Also, keep in mind that since you are never out of the office, you may receive phone calls at odd hours more and more.
Fly Free: 7 Tips for Becoming a Successful Freelancer
More and more people these days are making the decision to quit their day jobs to go freelance. In fact, according to Upwork and the Freelancers Union’s Freelancing in America: 2016 report, more than one third of Americans (55 million people) are currently freelancing, and that number is expected to bourgeon in the coming years. So why do these people choose to be freelancers instead of building their career within a company? Answer: being a freelancer means freedom, flexibility, and financial independence.However, as with most things in life, there are risks and rewards to freelancing. Although it may sound easy, there are always challenges and difficulties, and it can be especially hard when you are in the initial stages of your freelance career. But with good sets of skills, knowledge, passion, and the right attitude, it is not impossible to be successful in this field. A good list of tips and advice will help you refine your skills and work processes. Like this one, for instance!Fly Free: 7 Tips for Becoming a Successful FreelancerThe best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.- Peter DiamandisUse a contract for every projectEven if it is just a small project, having a signed contract before you do any work is important. Why? Because a contract will protect you and give you guidelines on how to do the job. So how are you going to design a contract? You shouldn't make it too complicated. Just include a general agreement that covers the vital details of the job that you and your client have agreed upon. The following are the basics that should every contract should include:An assurance that the work you will complete is original and that you will not plagiarize other people’s work.An assurance that everything about your client will stay confidential.Your payment details.A stipulation that once your client accepts the finished product, they accept full responsibility for any other processes in which the work is used.These are just some of the things that you should include in the contract, but you can always draft your own according to your needs.Always get a down paymentMost of a freelancer's transactions are done over the Internet. The tendency to get scammed online is higher since most of the time, you do not personally know your client or where he/she lives. You also do not know if he/she is using their own identity. Getting a down payment beforehand will help you protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud. Try to get at least 50% of the total payment prior to the start of the project and the last 50% before you send the finished product to your client. Do not send any of your work unless you are fully paid to avoid the risk of being swindled.Learn to say noIf you are just starting your freelance career, saying no may be an issue. You want to impress all your clients, so you will offer all the help that you can give to avoid disappointing. This will result in too much work and stress that will certainly lower the quality of your work.Whatever your decision is, one thing is for sure: You will disappoint someone. Whether it is the client because you can’t finish the job on deadline, your family since you have to work extra harder and spend more time on it, or yourself because you might get dissatisfied with your work. That’s why you should learn to say no if you think your workload is already enough to balance everything.Treat your clients wellYour freelance business should reflect who you are, because clients want to know who they are working with. So make sure you have the interpersonal skills to deal effectively with every client. Be sure to be personable enough. How are you going to do that? You should always be completely transparent and professional with them. Explain to them everything they should expect when working with you. Let them feel that you are not just interested in your earnings, but also in their business and in the client themself. This will help your clients build up trust and confidence in you and your work. Create a personal website or blogTo reach more clients, having a website and/or blog will really help. Try to put your work portfolio on there. You do not have to put every example of work you have done in the past. Just remember to post the types of jobs that you hope to continue working on, and most especially all projects that you specialized in.Know your numbersNumbers can serve as a guide for your business. Knowing your numbers means knowing how much your skillset, efforts, and work are worth. Additionally, you should know where your income came from (what clients, type of projects, passive income), and focus more on the areas that are producing the greatest results. Knowing these numbers will shed light on the aspects that you need to work on most, and help you understand where there's room for improvements.Save for the rainy seasonFreelance work is seasonal. Having enough projects to finance your daily needs doesn’t necessarily mean that you will get a steady income all throughout the year. Like any other business, there will be times when the incoming work will be insufficient to meet your needs. So to close the gap during those seasons, it's important to build up a rainy day fund by saving a portion of your income during the thriving period.