Melissa Rich Author – Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality!

Social networking is the rage. You see everyone on Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. How much advertising do you want to do on social networks? I guess the question should be what you hope to do with the social advertising. Do you want to simply network with contacts or actually sell your company or services?

My thoughts are this: Facebook and the like are great for friendly conversations and posting comments but if you are a smaller company, you may want to hold off on encouraging your business prospects to join you and your 150 other friends on the social side of networks. Pick places such as Plaxo or Linked in for the business side and save Facebook for your friends and family. Nothing would be worse than a disgruntled customer venting on your Facebook page.

When I began working from home, my young daughter was only two years old.  It was difficult to manage her while focusing on business tasks.  Through strong determination and strategic plan, I was able to keep her engaged while I was working.   However, that plan had to be flexible to meet her quickly changing moods.  

Chapter 14 focuses on managing children and a virtual home office.   The Life Lessons Article also relays my personal experience with managing a toddler and a home based business simultaneously.

When we talk about loving what you do, it does not mean loving every second of working from your home office or that that you love every aspect of what you do.  Rather, it means having the ability to enjoy the journey and keeping motivated to keep moving forward.

For me, it means that I enjoy about 75% of my tasks.  It is believing in my core mission of helping others succeed from their home office.  It also means being excited about accomplishing my goals and being excited about the slow (but steady) progress towards meeting those goals.

When you think about working from home, you think Avon, Mary Kay or some other home party type scenario.  What about eBay? I know several people that make it a full time occupation to sell things on eBay. If you are a garage sale/ estate sale buff, this is a great way to go. When my grown children were smaller, I would take all of their old gently used toys and clothes and put them in a resale shop since there was not eBay.

This gave me extra income plus provided funds for next season’s clothing. Take the items you buy at a low cost and list them on eBay. Shipping is now available from home, so no real cost there and you are doing something you truly enjoy. I always tell people to discover your passion and find ways to make money at it.

School is underway and in full swing, just like my home office.  We are entering a very exciting period of growth here at YourVirtualHomeOffice and are exciting about the direction of our business.   It is always easiest to be excited when you love what you do.  I love helping people achieve their home office goals.

Are you doing what you love?   Are you meeting your career goals?  If not, right NOWis the time to take steps towards your goals.  Our book can be your roadmap towards success!

Managing your time wisely while working from home can be quite the challenge. Many factors come into play when at home. You have the neighbor that stops by to chit chat or the home room mom that calls to say “Since you are not doing anything, can you help me on Friday?” These are common scenarios with people outside of the home but you also have family that tends to think you are available all the time since you are home.

My day begins as a normal job would. I get up at 6:00am and get ready for work. I am in the office at 6:30am and begin my day. I work for 2 hours or so or until my 2 year old is ready for attention. I then set up my day around her schedule. It can be tough to set business hours around the family, but is something that is doable and well worth the effort.

We are working diligently to create a series of webinars that will help entrepreneurs prepare for working from home.  We are currently in the planning phase and should be able to release details by the end of the month.    Please continue watching our blog and website for upcoming announcements.

When selecting your work from home job-always choose something that you enjoy doing. If you are passionate about your work, chances are you are going to continue to build your area of expertise.

Studies show that people that choose an occupation based upon a well liked hobby, remain in the field longer. Take your skill set, likes and interests and and put together a game plan on how to make money with your idea.

Setting up a home office is so important. First you will want a quiet place to work without any interruptions. Select a location that is out of the main area of the house and gives you complete privacy when needed. If you are working with small children, using your private office for conference calls or uninterrupted work time is not only nice but necessary.

Set up working hour boundaries with the family and stick to your times. I know I am guilty of checking emails throughout the night and this can be unfair to family that has waited for you all day.