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The Changing Face of Business – Is Working at Home Right For Me?
By Bill Schnarr
Right now there is a movement within the business world that has been building since the first two computers spoke to each other and sparked what would one day be the “Internet”.
That movement has been strengthened by long early-morning commutes, expensive downtown parking, and the problems associated with working in the business world in the 21st Century. As the cities get more congested and more people move to them looking for work, a very basic need has arisen, with a single mandate:
To get as far away from all the grime, pollution, and stress as possible.
Surprisingly, it is the very thing that made the business world shoot forward like a healthy bean sprout in the summer sun that has also made it possible to escape the hustle and bustle of big city living.
The Internet has once again changed all the rules, and not in a way that many people would expect.
The Internet and good, reliable, high-speed internet connections such as Cable or DSL connections have made it so that trudging to work in a tiny cubic office every morning is a simple waste of time. For many companies, Telecommuting has been a much smarter answer to attracting experts from around the globe without having to relocate anyone.
At the same time, the Internet itself has given rise to a brand new form of advertising industry with nearly limitless profit potentials. Website publishing is now one of the single fastest businesses growing online at the moment, with direct sales and snappy web-content being the number one force that drives this new industry. Affiliate Marketing has been the phoenix rising out of the “Dot Com” fire.
But before embarking on either of these grand business philosophies, it is important to ask yourself, “Is working at home right for me?”
We have amassed some very good pros and cons of both telecommuting and website publishing, and it might be beneficial to take a moment and look them over before making that decision.
Telecommuting: Cutting Your Travel time to Zero
Telecommuting is the ability to work for a company in the comfort of your own home. Aside from checking in on occasion, all of your work can be done in your home office or on your home computer, and your pay check may or may not come directly to your house every week.
This is a very natural environment for independent contractors and “freelance” specialists, depending on the type of work they do. In the past few years, however, some businesses have seen fit to “de-centralize” their work environment and send their workers home.
These days, a business can operate quite efficiently in a virtual online work environment. Specialists can come together from all over the world and synchronize their jobs through text messaging and centralized data bases. In addition, freelance writers, IP programmers, and website design specialists have been able to sprout their own little companies and contract their work out of their homes.
A good thing about being a telecommuter is that, like in all home or personal business environments, you make your own hours. Work until the wee hours of the morning if you feel like it, or take the day off and go to the zoo with the kids.
It’s an extremely attractive bit of freedom, especially to parents and people looking to have family lives. This give you the ability and freedom to either “Plan your work around your life”, or “plan your life around your work”, whichever you find more attractive on any specific day.
Another attractive aspect of telecommuting is that the business environment can be extremely lucrative. You can be a hired gun and let companies try to out-bet each other for your services. This is especially true when you become better known in your chosen field.
The business world is always looking out for the next big talent, no matter what it is, and if you are that person you could be in for an exciting future. Also, the amount of work you put into a project is limited only by your dedication and enthusiasm, so your future is really in your own hands in those respects.
On the other hand, telecommuting has its own very real problems and stressful situations that may never come up in a more traditional business environment.
For example, working from home takes a tremendous amount of discipline, and as such it is much harder to succeed than people think. If you slough off your work load every time your favourite television show comes on or you need to go to the store for milk, you might have problems succeeding.
Also, something many people never think about is that when work is at home, it stays at home. You may easily find yourself in a situation where every time you sit down to a meal or try to relax you automatically begin thinking about your work problems.
It is extremely difficult to “leave work at work” for the night when your work station is less than 20 feet away and you have a big project sitting on your desk waiting to get done.
If you don’t finish that project, it isn’t going to get done and you are not going to get paid. Moreover, the company that hired will likely never hire you again and worse, damage your credibility by spreading the word that you can’t get the job done. There is absolutely no job security for most telecommuters and freelancers, something that can hang over your head like a cold frost.
Finally, Isolation is a common problem for any person working from home. No matter who you are, eventually you need some human contact, and sitting in your little home office by yourself for long stretches of time can be extremely stressful on people.
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