Working from home: Making your home-based business work

Working from home brings many benefits such as less travel time, greater flexibility and more freedom. But home-based businesses also have their challenges.

In this section we explore many of the issues faced by soloists who run a home-based business. From small business credibility and the psychology of working from home to what to wear in your home office, here fellow soloists share their experiences of working from home and provide tips to make your home based business work.

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Working from home articles

• Starting Out

  Work and family: Benefits of working at home

  I’ve discovered both expected and hidden benefits to my work and family in the 14 years I’ve been working at home.

  • Published 06 February 08
  • Kathie M. Thomas
  • 10 Comments

• Starting Out

  22 things you MUST do every day

  With so many self-help books around, keeping up with the latest tips can be a major challenge for the time-poor solo business owner. Never fear, Big Noel sat down in Borders with a super-size latte and summarised just a few of the gurus’ tips.

  • Published 14 December 07
  • Noel Ranger
  • 14 Comments

• Starting Out

  Dressing for success: The art of being yourself

  When you are meeting with the big end of town, do you dress up for the occasion? This is a dilemma many soloists are faced with when they need to move from their home office and meet in a corporate environment. How important is dressing for success?

  • Peter Morgan
  • 29 Comments

• Starting Out

  Confessions from the third bedroom

  The next time some well-meaning relative asks me how my 'little' business is going, when I’m getting an office, or, if I’m still 'just' freelancing, I’m going to chop down the family tree. It really gets my goat.

  • Noel Ranger
  • 42 Comments

• Starting Out

  Working virtually: A definition

  In recent years, 'working virtually' has come to describe the home-based worker. But not everyone understands the concept. For example when I tell people them I’m a Virtual Assistant, the typical response is ‘what’s that?’

  • Published 06 June 07
  • Kathie M. Thomas
  • 12 Comments

• Starting Out

  Does working in your bathrobe work for you?

  February 2007 was deemed the month for home-based workers to don their bathrobes to do their work. Whilst I appreciate the sentiment behind this idea, I’ve never worked in my bathrobe in the thirteen years I’ve been working from home.

  • Published 27 April 07
  • Kathie M. Thomas
  • 20 Comments

• Starting Out

  Working at home better than a 'real job'

  It can’t hurt us home business owners to reflect on all of the reasons why working at home works for us. Here we explore some of the best bonuses of not having a real job.

  • Published 05 December 06
  • Karen Morath
  • 2 Comments

• Starting Out

  Flexible working hours: Mowing on a Monday

  As a fairly new soloist, I am still coming to terms with the flexible working hours this existence brings. No longer am I bound to my desk from nine to five, having to find an excuse if I want to sneak out mid-afternoon to buy a book or wash my car.

  • Published 15 September 06
  • Tim Reid
  • 11 Comments

• Starting Out

  The highs and lows of working for yourself

  Working for yourself from home is often glamorised as a life of freedom, leisure & balance. A world where shiny silver laptops roam free and hours are spent at the beach. But what’s the reality? And is it all worth it?

  • Peter Crocker
  • 20 Comments

• Starting Out

  Small business credibility: You cannot be serious!

  A majority of soloists admit they are concerned about their small business credibility. But before changing our ways to suit others, we should recognise the legitimacy of our chosen workstyle.

  • Sam Leader
  • 12 Comments

• Starting Out

  Meet two types of home-based business

  There are two types of home-based business owners, the laissez faire homegrown and the ambitious solo professional. It seems no matter which we are, others assume our businesses are a mere folly.

  • Published 12 May 06
  • Karen Morath
  • 16 Comments

• Starting Out

  The psychology of working from home

  For most of us, going solo means waving goodbye to rush hour and saying hello to working from home.

  • Published 27 September 05
  • Ellen Jackson
  • 3 Comments

• Starting Out

  Working from home: 10 tips to make your home office work

  Soloists know the benefits of working from home. They tend to be more efficient, spending less time in non-productive situations caused by travel and traffic than their office-bound friends. Read on to discover 10 tips to make your home office work.

  • Published 06 September 05
  • Thomas Murrell
  • 3 Comments