Work From Home: Work at Home Job Strategy

A blog post by Duck on Fool.com made me realize something. For many of us who work from home, the work from home or telecommuting lifestyle found us. It wasn't the other way around where we actively sought out the lifestyle by applying for work at home jobs or starting home businesses, etc.

How Working at Home Found Me

I know in my case, I first started working from home as an insurance claims adjuster. I had to go into the office a few days a week, but otherwise I was on my own to roam my own territory. At first I had a difficult time adapting to the lack of structure and my performance at work suffered. Eventually I left to take another job, working from home on a part-time basis. Over time, I learned how to manage my work schedule to my benefit and my productivity thrived as a result.

I've had both office and work-from-home jobs since, including some that lasted several years where I worked from home 100 percent of the time. I began to love the lifestyle, but I would then find myself back in office jobs every few years as my career desires changed and matured or after I decided to relocate. I missed being home most of those times, but I learned to adjust. Ironically, just as I got used to being back in the office another opportunity to work at home would crop up.

Turning Working from Home into a Business

Since I've lost my last office job - now over 4 years ago - I've been working from home with my own home business. Again, I didn't seek it out - it found me after I got laid off and had to do something - anything - to make ends meet. I'd sent out resume after resume but the job market was so weak there were very few interview invitations forthcoming. I went back to working for some people I'd worked with at my last job on a contract basis and they let me decide if I wanted to work off-site or on-site. I chose to work from home on those projects, and eventually more projects found their way to me, but they were sporadic at best. Unemployment kept me going through the quiet times, but eventually my unemployment eligibility came to an end, so it was time to sink or swim.

At that point, I didn't feel like I had any choice but to start my business and find clients. So I set up my home business, registered my business name with the state and purchased business liability insurance. Taking these steps gave me added credibility with potential clients, who felt that I was more likely to consider their needs as a full-time business owner than I was as an occasional temporary worker. Additionally, the IRS wouldn't hassle them if they put me on contract for extended periods of time without paying me benefits - a practice for which Microsoft got involved in litigation several years back after it hired contractors for multiple-year, open-ended contracts. The contractors didn't have the ability to work for other employers and Microsoft wanted to save the cost of having to pay these workers benefits. So hanging out my shingle to officially start my business definitely paid off for me.

What's Your Work from Home Situation?

I'd be interested in hearing your comments. I know there are a lot of people out there who are actively trying to be able to work at home. They may or may not have a strategy in place to do just that.

Letting Work at Home Come to You

I'm also wondering if it might not be a better strategy for some of you to let the lifestyle come to you - by putting yourself in situations where you can show that you're trustworthy. Perhaps by working from home a few days a week at first until your employer gets a clue that you really can be more productive when you work at home and you deserve to be given considerable latitude in doing so.

Participate in the Work at Home Poll

Poll:Did You Find Work from Home or did it Find You? - Click One:

Check the Latest Work at Home Poll Results

In case you've already voted, you can use this link to check the work at home poll results:

Check the work at home poll results

Participate in the Forum Discussion

For those of you who would like to go into a bit more detail or voice your ideas, suggestions or frustrations, I welcome you to participate in the discussion on this topic in the About Home Business Forum.

Let me know: If you're working from home now, how did it happen for you? Did you have a strategy or a plan that work for you? Did telecommuting or your home business find you or did you go looking for the lifestyle?

If you're not already working from home and you don't have a home business yet, how do you think you're dreams will end up coming true?

More on Working at Home and Telecommuting

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Work From Home

Friday, September 5, 2008

Work at Home Job Strategy