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

Many office supply retailers offer special discounts to loyal shoppers.     My local office supply store is  part of national chain, but the store personnel greet me by name.   I have been quite impressed with the rebates, discounts, and rewards programs offered to me in exchange for my loyalty.   In fact, last week my purchase equaled $90 in value (non-sale price), but I only paid $15 due to taking advantages of specials for repeat customers.

You may wish to check with your office supply vendors to determine what types of programs and discounts they offer to repeat customers.

Working from my virtual home office is the best thing I have ever done for myself and my family. However, not everyone feels that way. There are some virtual workers that need the everyday office drama and feel somewhat isolated from the day to day grind of the traditional brick and mortar job.

I personally have more interaction with people working from my home office than I would if I worked outside of the home. By working virtually, I am able to pick and choose my working relationships. In a traditional office, I would be required to interact with everyone.

On these cold days, many long daily commutes are even longer due to treacherous and potentially slick roads due to snow and ice.    But I can certainly smile as look out over the snow – knowing that my home office is easily accessible and the weather will not affect my ten foot commute to my home office.   

When considering your career and working from home, it is certainly hard to measure the intrinsic value of working from home.

Some telecommuters that work from a virtual home office are able to gain access to the main computer at the office with a virtual log in and secure server. For larger companies, remote access is a plus since they can see what the employee is doing on a regular basis.

They can monitor log-ins and actual work completed during the day. Working virtually with remote access still requires the home worker to have virus protection and all of the other safe working components. When choosing to work remote or with remote access, weigh all the options available with your employer.

It seems that business is really heating up and I am keeping plenty busy to meet the demands and needs of my growing business.    I have been working 50-60 hours each week lately.   While that can be overwhelming at times, the convenience of my home office makes the long hours more comfortable and less stressful.   

I am thankful for each and every day from my home office!  Hopefully, you are achieving that same level of satisfaction in your career.

Hard to believe that we just started another new year with renewed visions and renewed goals.     We also need a strategic plan to reach each of those goals.    Deciding to increase your 2011 earnings is certainly a worthy goal, but how will you reach that goal?   Are you ready to market more aggressively?  Are you prepared to full embrace your work at home environment?  

If you need help along the way, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.  Our book and our webinar series will certainly accelerate your success!

Working from your virtual office is essentially your business and you should market your business similar to that of a traditional store front. First, get business cards with a catchy slogan. Put your business cards in local businesses for optimum exposure.

Join your local chamber of commerce and become an active member of your community. Whatever your business or industry is, let community organizations know. Many people choose to work with local companies and contractors that they can meet in person.

We are pleased to announce our upcoming certification webinar series.  This exciting webinar series will jump start your work-at-home journey and prepare you for your work-at-home journey. This six week course will allow you to embrace the work at home office environment; and therefore, increase your home office productivity and success rates.  For more information, please review our website.

Building your work from home resume is a little different than the traditional resume. Working from your virtual home office allows you to add more education and training to your resume.

For example if you become certified in web design or database development, list this on your resume. Work from home is not only a job but your core business. Listing all of your education and certifications can help land an account or position that normally would not be a consideration.

When I am working at home in my virtual office, I often struggle with managing my time. It is not always the family or work that causes issues. It can also be the weather, society or general everyday distractions that keep me from performing at my best.

Every morning before I start my work day, I sit down and plan my day by priorities. This allows me to know what has to be done for the day and what could be put off to a later day or evening time when the family is in bed or occupied.