Work from Home: How to Make Money Working at Home - and Get the Most Out of Life

193 Pages·2009·0.94 MB·English

by  Judy Heminsley

Visit our How To website at www.howto.co.uk
www.howto.co.uk
At youcanengageinconversationwithourauthors-allofwhom
have‘beenthereanddonethat’intheirspecialistfields.Youcangetaccesstospecialoffers
andadditionalcontentbutmostimportantlyyouwillbeabletoengagewith,andbecome
a part of, a wide and growing community of people just like yourself.
www.howto.co.uk
At you’ll be able to talk and share tips with people who have
similar interests and are facing similar challenges in their lives. People who, just like you,
havethedesiretochangetheirlivesforthebetter-beitthroughmovingtoanewcountry,
starting a new business, growing their own vegetables, or writing a novel.
www.howto.co.uk
At you’ll find the support and encouragement you need to help
make your aspirations a reality.
Formoreinformationonworkingfromhomevisitwww.how-to-work-from-home.co.uk
How To Books
strives to present authentic, inspiring, practical information in their
HowToBooks,
books. Now,whenyoubuyatitlefrom yougetevenmorethanjust
words on a page.
howtobooks
Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,
Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.howtobooks.co.uk

How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their books by sourcing their typesetting and printing in the UK.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for
purposes of review) without the express permission of the publisher given in writing.

© 2009 Judy Heminsley

First published in electronic form 2009

Judy Heminsley has asserted the right to be identified as author of this work, in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84803 3320

Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock
Typeset by PDQ Typesetting, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of material used in this book but if any have inadvertently been
overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted
for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the book. The laws and
regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities
before making personal arrangements.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
Part 1 Sounds Like a Nice Idea
Chapter 1 Why work from home? 3
Why work from home? 4
Who can work from home? 8
What’s so good about homeworking? 9
The downsides of homeworking 11
Is homeworking for me? 13
Questionnaire – are you ready for homeworking yet? 13
Resources 15
Chapter 2 Will working from home work for me? 17
Why personality matters 19
Why people see things differently 26
What makes you get up in the morning? 29
How do you keep time? 30
Decisions, decisions 31
Questionnaire – are you suited to homeworking? 32
Resources 34
Chapter 3 Can I make money at home? 35
Homeworking ‘opportunities’ – approach with caution 35
Is working from home as an employee the right step? 36
How to negotiate with your boss to work from home 39
Making money at home as your own boss 41
Getting to grips with the red tape of self-employment 47
Managing your finances when you’re self-employed 51
Useful people to know when you’re setting up in business 54
Resources 57
Part 2 Making It Happen
Chapter 4 How do I create my perfect workspace? 63
Setting up or improving your workspace 63
v
WORK FROM HOME
Should I invite people into my workspace? 74
Alternatives to meeting people at home 76
Resources 78
Chapter 5 Can I be productive at home? 80
Productive or fat, depressed and lazy? 80
Finding your most productive homeworking style 82
Creating a structure for your day and staying focused 84
Making the most of your time 88
Avoiding time wasters 89
Procrastination and what you can do about it 93
Resources 95
Chapter 6 What about my professional image? 97
The importance of confidentiality 97
Providing excellent customer service 98
Looking and acting the part 102
Keeping up with the game when you’re employed 108
Consistent branding for the self-employed 110
Resources 114
Part 3 Secrets of Success
Chapter 7 Won’t I feel isolated? 117
Coping with isolation 117
Staying connected 119
Getting out more 121
Why is everyone networking? 124
Online networking 129
Resources 130
Chapter 8 How do I separate work and home? 132
Taking care of yourself while working from home 132
Managing family and friends 139
Looking after your main relationship 140
Children and homeworking 145
Working from home when you have teenagers 148
Coping with customers in your home 149
Resources 151
Chapter 9 What if there’s a crisis? 152
What could go wrong? 152
Financial worries 153
vi
CONTENTS
Family and domestic emergencies 154
IT glitches 155
People problems 155
Bad luck 156
Getting stuck 156
Running out of time 156
A golden opportunity 157
Ways to manage crises while keeping your head 157
Get away from the problem 157
Have a plan 160
Put it in perspective 162
Use a fallow period constructively 162
Choose your response 163
Don’t ask why but do ask for feedback 164
‘You can’t win ’em all’ 164
Even super-successful people have failures 164
There is no failure, only feedback 165
Share the pain 165
Just get on with it 165
Understand what’s going on 166
You’ve got to laugh 166
Resources 167
Afterword 169
Index 171
vii
This page intentionally left blank
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IamgratefultoeveryonewhohelpedmetomakethisbookpossibleandIwouldlike
to thank: Nigel Heminsley who inadvertently got me started on the homeworking
path,SaraBarrettforallthecupsofcoffeeandmoralsupport,SusannahMarriottfor
herinspiringandthoroughteaching,RonTrewellardandMargaretChamberlainfor
givingmeusefulfeedbackandboostingmyconfidence,andallthehomeworkerswho
gavesogenerouslyoftheirtimeandexperienceintellingmetheirstories–Ihavenot
been able to mention them all but every one of you gave me vital information and
inspiration.
And especially Andy Britnell, who kept up a constant supply of tea, toast and
encouragement, and most importantly of all, who kept the faith.
ix