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

Over the last few weeks, I have been deep cleaning my home and office.   In that process, I have discovered that I have a secret addiction……….yep, that is right.   I am addicted to office supplies and nifty organizational gadgets.

We all know that keeping organized is vital to our success, but I have gone overboard.  I have accumulated an excessive (perhaps lifetime) supply of office supplies and gadgets.  Moving forward, I promise to buy office supplies only when needed.   I promise to prepare a shopping list and to use that shopping list to control my addiction to home office items.  

In fact, I will print that shopping list on hot pink paper, attach that list to a clipboard, and keep that clipboard firmly attached to my bulletin board, so that I can easily access my list.

Wow!  This has been a tough week for me.  My daughter has been sick with Influenza B.   Her fever has been consistently above 101 and as of now, the flu has not shown any signs of letting up. 

Even though my daughter has been home all week, I have continued to work diligently from my home office and have remained focused on the tasks at hand.    I have worked from home for ten plus years, so I probably take my working arrangement for granted; but this week, I have given a lot of thought to parents that would be missing work due to a sick child. 

I only wish that I could help all parents find a position or business suitable to their background and skills.

If you are maintaining a home office and that office is used only for business purposes, you may be entitled to additional tax deductions associated with your home office.    The first step is knowing what percentage of your home is dedicated to your home office.  For example, if your home is 2,000 square feet and your home office is 200 feet, ten percent of your home is for your office and ten percent of the following expenses may be deductible:

• Utilities – gas, electric, water, trash
• Home owner’s or renter’s insurance
• Mortgage interest
• Real estate taxes

Please review chapter 19 or talk with your CPA to get more information.

Adhering to business hours from a home office

Lately, the office phone seems to ringing later and later into the evening.  While I am thankful that the phone is ringing and my home based business is growing, I have also found that those calls are steadily nibbling into family time. 

It appears I need to work on adhering better to my established business hours as stated on page 51 of Your Virtual Home Office Can Be A Reality! .  Even though I have had a home office for over ten years, I often find that I need to continually strive to place boundaries on my home life and work life to ensure the proper balance between the two.

Motivation is tough even working from my virtual home office. Ever have those days that you just can’t make yourself do what is needed to fulfill your work requirements. Something that helps me is to walk away from the office and get the blood pumping. Take a walk, go for a bike ride, or just get outside for some fresh air.

Drinking a glass of ice water while working helps keep my head clear and my mind focused. Turn on the tunes. If you are doing work that does not require a quiet area, turn up the music. Figure out what gets your juices flowing and put it into action before getting into a work rut.

Wow!  2010 is in the books of history, but tax time is just around the corner.   Hopefully, you kept your records filed neatly and can find the tax documentation that you need to fully take advantage of the home office deductions.

 It is also time to review your record keeping system and make modifications as necessary.   Home office expenses can be varied and diverse, but maintaining a strong paper trail is essential for minimizing the time involved with tax preparation.

Virtual employees or contractors can save a company many dollars in terms of reduced overhead expenses in comparison to onsite employees.   However, managing virtual employees also offers a unique set of challenges.  Managers often find that their employees are not fully realizing their potential from the home office and can lose their focus; therefore, many of these same companies are contacting us for help and training in the home office aspects.

If we can help your team fully embrace the home office environment through our training programs, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.

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!

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.