Mueller - Working seriously from home

A recent search under "home-based businesses' on Google showed over seven million results -- wow! Nowadays we can do just about anything from our home. I truly love the commercial where the gal is working from home in her pajamas, with curlers in her hair, hoping that the day when video telephones are the norm never comes to fruition.

Many home-based businesses are home show/direct selling companies. Many who work from the home are sales reps for one or several companies. No matter what type of business we are in, we must remember to use sound business practices, just as if our little home office were on the 11th floor of a corporate tower.

Yes, this just makes sense. But how many people reading this have a vision and mission statement? How many of you have a clearly defined statement of what you hope to become (vision)? And, how many of us have a mission statement that totally describes how you are going to get there? How many of us can recount it without pause? What exactly is your business plan?

Do you have the proper business licenses, etc., to operate as a true business? Do you have business cards, and other marketing materials? How about a logo? Do you track your expenses and monies in such a way as to make it easy to merge into your income tax records? There are many computer programs available to help in this area or contact another business professional who specializes in these areas.

Do you have a dedicated workspace? No, I do not mean the kitchen table or the corner of the basement. Studies show that productivity is increased when we work under natural light conditions -- if there is no window at your workspace we can invest in lighting that simulates natural daylight.

Hopefully everyone has the proper desk, credenza, file systems that we would have in an office outside of the home. And, even if you are only working part-time, a separate business number and fax are essential, equipped with the correct type of answering device. An office with a door is critical to block out distractions and minimize noise while on the work phone.

As a person who works out of the home, do you block time? For those in the workplace, there are always mandated meetings, etc. I have those blocked at home as well. One of the perks of working from the home is I definitely have more flexibility. I have certain days blocked for more flexible activities for social and business appointments.

Are your friends and neighbors aware of the regular hours you work so they do not interrupt or expect you to be available? My friends know that I return personal phone calls during certain times of the day -- otherwise I would not get much done.

As a person who works independently, do we have our goals written down for the month, quarter, year, three years, etc.? When was the last time you sat down and actually did some strategic planning with yourself? For those who are totally self-employed, the direction we take is the direction we make. Only the prepared succeed!

As one who works rather independently, what are you doing to develop your skills? We must be committed to regularly focusing our time and monies on personal and professional development. What about professional organizations? Getting out and meeting new professionals, exchanging ideas is critical to our success. It becomes very easy to just "hole up" in our home offices and forget about others sometimes. Also, do not forget to subscribe to periodicals that are relevant to your business, or your clients' businesses.

Just because we do not get up and go to an office to work does not mean that we do not work. However, it is all to easy to get comfortable and forget that although we do not have quite the same structures of others, we must have some structure to our thoughts, actions, workplace and jobs.

For those may people how work from home, this is just a reminder to look around at how and where you conduct your business, and keep it "businesslike."

Sharon Mueller is president of Success Skills, a staff development and training company committed to the success of a client's enterprise through improving the performance of employees and processes within the client's organization. She can be reached at 332-0900 or smuellerk@hotmail.com.