Lots of people want to work at home. For most it has nothing to do with going green and everything to do with dreams. The dreams of a more leisurely lifestyle. The dreams of more time for their family. The dreams of an income they can barely imagine.
But working at home isn’t all about that. It can also be about being more eco friendly.
I’ve worked at home since late 2001. It’s mostly been fun, but also stressful, and I’m still far from the wild dream so many have of hitting it rich. But then I haven’t always had a home business either.
If you’re looking at working at home and wondering if there’s a shortcut to getting started without getting scammed, I’ll tell you the answer right now:
Maybe.
Whether or not there’s a shortcut depends on what you do right now. You see, it’s possible that your current job could become at least a partial work at home job if it’s the right sort of job.
That’s right, you could telecommute from your current position if that’s possible within your company.
This is obviously not possible for everyone. If you have to deal with people face to face, it’s not going to happen. If your job otherwise requires your physical presence every day, it’s not going to happen. But if that’s not the case, it might be possible. Or not. Much depends on the company you work for.
Go in and talk to your boss. Find out if telecommuting even one day a week is an option. With luck, you’ll get a positive answer.
If it’s a no, but you think you could telecommute to your current job, start working on changing the policy. Find out why the answer was no and figure out how to counter those arguments. Sometimes it can be done.
What If You Can’t Telecommute from Your Current Job?
Many people just don’t have that telecommute option for one reason or another. It’s a drag, but it’s real life.
If you’re serious about working from home, it’s time to start looking.
When you’re considering the eco side of working from home, be sure that you consider that as you job hunt. There’s not much eco to working for companies that generally don’t respect the environment.
You’re also going to have to learn about work at home scams. The dratted things are all over the place. Be extremely skeptical of any and all job offers, especially the ones which sound too good to be true. I run another website, Home with the Kids, which has a lot of tips on avoiding work at home scams you might want to read.
Most work at home jobs pay on production rather than hourly. This makes sense, as it means that they don’t have to worry about if you’re being productive during the hours you said you’d work. If you’re not productive, you’re just not getting paid!
What About a Home Business?
It’s amazing how many home business opportunities there are out there. You could join an eco friendly network marketing opportunity. You could do affiliate marketing. You could start your own website. You could do some other kind of business.
There are so many ways you could start a home business if that’s what interests you. The internet has opened things up tremendously.
The challenge is that there is never a guarantee that your home business will allow you to make a living. Running a business is hard work. If you want to succeed, you’re going to have to give it everything you’ve got and keep pushing through even when it seems like nothing is going right. Expect it to be hard and you won’t be disappointed.
Don’t trust any of the people who tell you it’s going to be easy to earn six figures in a year (or worse, a month!) working from home. People who earn that kind of money are very much the exception to the rule. Just as with any other kind of business, most home businesses fail. If you want to do a home business you had better be prepared for that.
Set Up Your Work Space
If you can telecommute or otherwise find a way to work from home, you’re going to need a good space to work from home. A dedicated home office is best, especially if you need quiet for your work, and some jobs do have that as an absolute requirement.
You can work from any place you can set your computer up if your work allows it.
You will want to be as free from distractions as possible wherever you set up. You don’t want to get started working and find that you’re unproductive because the TV is on or the kids are playing or anything like that.
Make sure that any supplies you buy as as eco friendly as possible. You shouldn’t be buying new gear unless it’s absolutely necessary. That includes your computer, which of course will be tempting to upgrade, but do you really need a newer machine or is the one you have quite capable of doing all you need it to do?
This May Take Time
For most people, getting to work at home isn’t something that happens overnight. It may take months to find the right opportunity or to get your current job to start a telecommuting program. Be patient.
If you’re starting something new, don’t be surprised if it takes time to earn an adequate income. Even when it’s a job rather than a home business it takes time to figure things out well enough that you earn what you’d like. Work hard at it just the same and find something that works for you.