Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Distractions Can Kill A Home Business

By Sarah Parker

Many adopt the idea of working at home because they like the idea of being with their children and their families. This can often be a problem.

If you do not take steps in the very beginning, you are going to be in big trouble later on. You must immediately set boundaries. You must ensure that business matters remain separate from family matters.

Remember that family and friends are not viewing your new work at home business as you are. Consider holding a family meeting so you can discuss it immediately.

Tell them that even if you're at home they must act as if you are not. In other words, they can not call non-stop with a transmission of a thought and they may not ask you to watch their children while they are doing things just because you're at home, and they are not to visit during business hours uninvited.

Explain that you have a schedule to keep and this is how you get paid. You, yourself need to understand that this venture is not going to be all rosy either.

You will have to put forth a lot of effort and time, especially in the developing stages. This could eliminate you from some family and social events for a while.

You must have an area of your house that is for you to work in. It is your work space, not for children to color or do their homework in.

Explain that you have all your work related material and everything that you need to stay organized. Even keep separate bank accounts, because if you merge bank accounts with business family bank accounts, you will ask for a large number of tax problems.

Try as best as possible to maintain all hours worked and try to keep a schedule organized. You need a lot of breaks during the day to stretch.

It can be very difficult for children to understand that mom or dad is at home but can not be harassed, especially for younger children. They can be very distracting, which may lead you to become worse.

You may have to hire a babysitter for a few hours here and there. Even spouses and older children can find this difficult to adjust to. Especially if you only have one computer, you will likely hear a million times, them asking how much longer until you get off the computer.

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