Traditionally working a full time job involved wearing a suit, a commute, and a cubical.
The landscape has changed so drastically, however, that many people who work for corporations (even large ones) find themselves working from home a few days a week, on a regular basis.
In addition, the number of home based businesses has increased in exponentially.
Therefore, we must recognize that working from home requires a different skill set from a traditional cubical job.
Each individual must ask, “Do I have what it takes to work from home?”
The 30 Second Commute : The Ultimate Guide to Starting and Operating a Home-Based Business lists eight essential personality traits of a home-based entrepreneur. They are:
- Is self-motivated
- Is a self-starter
- Has good time management skills
- Is able to set priorities
- Has small business management skills
- Has marketing skills
- Has finance skills
- Has good networking skills
As I was reading through this list I really wasn’t in complete agreement.
Here’s why.
Specifically the last four (management, marketing, finance, and networking skills) can easily be learned. They are skills that can be learned through experience and exposure.
In other words, just because I might not be great in one of those areas does not mean that I do not have what it takes to be a successful worker from the home.
The elements that will determine your ability to be successful working from home are the elements that are more ingrained in your nature, personality, and habits.
If you are not a self-motivated individual, for example, you will not be successful working from home.
Anyone working in an environment where there is structure and control who finds it difficult to get to work will not be able to work in an environment where there are no boundaries in place.
Because I was not completely satisfied with the list in The 30-Second Commute I decided to come up with my own list.
The Five Ingredients Necessary to Work From Home Successfully
- Discipline – A person who can be where he needs to be at the right time. There may not be anyone checking your time card to be sure you made it to work on time.
- Passion –Discipline alone is insufficient as it will eventually run dry if you spend your days doing things you hate. Instead, find something you are passionate about doing. Not only will you enjoy your work more, but the work you do will be more successful.
- Focus – A key part of focus is time management. But, focus is broader. It is the ability to know what needs to be done and to focus on the elements necessary. It is also the ability to ignore tasks and items that will distract you from completing your assignments.
- Rewards – For some who work from home you might not be able to control this ingredient. However, I believe the person who works from home needs to have a reward or incentive for results and success. You may have discipline, focus, and passion, but if you do not receive anything of value for your efforts you will not be successful.
- Environment – there must be a ‘work environment’ in the home. This might be an actual physical space in the home like an office. For others, they have physical triggers, like the freelance writer who always puts on his hat when he writes and takes it off when he is done. The environment dictates when you are at home and when you are at work.
What do you think it takes to be successful working from home?
Craig, I completely agree with your points. The biggest differentiating factor to me seems to be discipline. Without discipline I just don’t think it is possible to make it work.
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I agree as well. I previously worked at home and #3 and #5 are especially important. There are SO MANY ways to get distracted, tempted, off-track. Self-discipline is of key importance.
One think I’d add to the list is an understanding spouse/roommates. Your spouse/roommate could easily, for lack of a better word, disrespect your need to be focused. Their being sympathetic will help tenfold.
PS – We wrote a cover article on this topic this summer. Linked below:
Matthew´s article ..Making Money From Home
Craig, all good points, all necessary to succeed. But my own personal opinion is ability to generate a cash flow. Disciplines can contribute toward generating a cash flow, but there also have to be abilities to identify, reach and retrieve, so to speak.
So maybe we can add persuasiveness, money sense, hunger, and even a bit of chutzpah to the list.
I forget the source, but a book I read a few years ago stressed that lack of cash flow is the single biggest reason for business failure. So logically, the ability to generate one would be foundational. But it’s a big enough topic that if could be a separate post.
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And pajamas. You need pajamas to work from home, right? I wrote a pajamas fashion primer for work-from-home hermits at http://www.thehappyguy.com/pajamas.html
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I agree with what you have said and I know where you are coming from in regards to people being able to learn marketing, finance, and networking skills.
However, I do know people who have all of the other attributes who just don’t get marketing. Or just don’t get finance. No matter how much they try, they don’t “get it” in re: to how to market their product/service or how to acquire financing and leverage debt. With that being said, I wouldn’t completely strike those off your list.
Perhaps a single bullet for all of them titled “Business savvy-ness” or something would be more in order.
Great post! I have been working from home for almost 5 years now, and I would also add that it is important to have a willingness to learn. This way, you can acquire skills that you may need, but do not yet have. And I agree with David that pajamas are a must :)
Good stuff! Don’t forget a good coffee pot to brew up a cup o’ joe to keep you from crawling back into bed for an afternoon nap!
I like the environment point – a good clean workspace away from other things is helpful.
Great article and comments. Some more points:
– Saves on gas
– Make sure to tell your auto insurance rep that you do not drive to work (makes my premium lower)
– Your work-space may be tax-deductible (if that’s all you do there)
– Be sure to get out of the house (cabin fever is all-to-easy to catch)
Craig, I have enjoyed the privilege of working for a large corporation from home as my second job for a few months now and have really enjoyed the experience. While I have the accountability structure in place that many more self-employed work at home employees might not have, it still requires a very high level of discipline. In my case, it is also important that I be an outstanding employee that my employer can trust. If I were, for some reason, to be viewed as untrustworthy, it is likely that I would not only lose the opportunity to work from home, but also the job in general.
Hey all,
Thanks for some great feedback.
I should have been a little more specific as I wrote this post. There are really two completely different work from home situations. There is the entrepreneur who works from home and works for himself. Then there is the employee who is a salaried worker who works from home. Both work from home, but the similarities end there.
Your comments reflect the type of person who works from home – small business owner and employee. In this post I focused on the skills necessary to work from home not necessarily to work for yourself. Nevertheless, I think as the discussion was a little broader than I expected it has added a lot of valuable content to this discussion.
I work from home, but receive a regular salary. This is becoming a more typical practice. The nature of my job does not allow me to wear p.j.’s as I often have people coming into my home office for counseling, mentoring, or training. Furthermore, I am not a coffee drinker. My one weakness is that I often do not shave first thing in the morning. I just make sure it happens before I head out or someone is coming by the house. That is my main perk of working from home instead of in the an office.
Thanks again for the great discussion!
Craig Ford´s last blog ..What is the Cheapest Way to Exchange Foreign Currency?
I recently started working 1 day / week at home. I now work 4 days a week at my “real job” and 1 day on my blog. I must admit it requires a lot of discipline. There are so many distractions at home!
In order to improve my efficiency I decided to isolate myself in a room. I close the door and put on music. Hence, I am getting into my “bubble” and I am able to work several hours in a row without wasting my time on household stuff.
I would also add that I plan my day ahead so I now exactly what to do when I wake up on that day.
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I agree with Mike. Working from home takes alot of discipline. I work part time outside my home and I’m a new blogger. Sometimes I feel like home distractions are knocking on my home office door; however, once I’m in my zone, I’m there for hours. Great post!
The “new and improved” list of 5 necessary ingredients to working from home are excellent, but if I had to add one thing, it would be: organization. I think this could be a sub-category under ‘environment’ but it is key. It may seem bias, coming from a professional organizer, but it’s so true! For years, I’ve seen incredibly brilliant home office professionals, get lost in their own chaos. They will have the main ingredients listed above, but struggle with the distractions from the piles of paper on their desktop or wasted time looking for things. Disorganization is a huge infringement on people’s long-term success. Having an organized office, along with passion, focus, discipline and rewards, is a winning combination for the home-based business!
I’m in 100% agreement with you on this… I’ll especially say that discipline and having a specific “work space” are two of the most important.
Also knowing how to determine the difference between a valuable chunk of time and an invaluable one. Yes, it’s learned over time… but it’s something that should be learned quickly lest you find yourself years into something and finding yourself no better off than you were when you started.