Note from the Editor

Sorry I missed last week. Things were just a little hectic and that’s how thing go every once in a while. That is just the reality of home business, after all. But things have smoothed out now.

Shortly after posting the last newsletter, I heard from the mechanic on my car. $1200 for a new computer for a car that in repaired condition would be worth no more than $600. We didn’t fix it and we’re now doing the one car family experiment. It’s interesting, and it certainly gives me motivation to work harder.

Life working at home is up and down. I’ve had months where I’ve earned over $4000 and others where I’ve struggled for $500. There are few ways to predict what wil happen.

Creating a Family Friendly and Business Friendly Home Office

One of the major reasons people choose to start a home business is to be there for their family. But the actual execution can be less than family friendly. Or people go to the other extreme and work too hard for their family and not enough for the business.

The home office setup can really help with this. A good setup allows you to work at home yet still be with your family as you work. The details will vary depending on the age and number of children in your family, of course.

The first thing you need to consider is how open you want your home office to be to your family. Do you need a place where you can keep the door closed all the time or can you encourage the kids to be in there with you?

The answer to that question really depends on what you do at home and how professional you need to appear. The more professional you need to look the more you need to deal with the possibility of noise. However, odds are that you don’t need the kids completely out from underfoot all day. You can probably get by with asking them for quiet time when you need to speak to someone professionally.

It is possible to be professional even when people hear the occasional bit of family noise. You can tell people that you do work from a home office and most will be understanding so long as you give an overall impression of professionalism.

If you have an older computer, set it up for the kids to use. This works for kids as young as one year old. I use Google Earth as a way for my son to play on the computer without getting into things he shouldn’t. He’s played with it since he was about 15 months old. Older children quickly learn to love computer games and the internet.

Don’t be afraid to allow the kids to play in your office. Mine play around me much of the day. I also have my office set up so that I can watch them in the back yard. It’s wonderful to be able to be right there, to occasionally participate in their play, yet still be adequately productive.

Involve your children as appropriate. I have a website that once in a blue moon my daughter is interested in updating with me. It’s all about her. Working with me is currently only occasionally interesting to her but it does happen. Other times we just have a little fun on the computer together.

Do your best to keep your schedule flexible for your family. If the kids are in school you have some great work hours built into your day. If they aren’t you probably have nap times that are great for some focused work or contacting clients. If you don’t have any of that, pay attention to when your kids are most flexible and willing to play without you. That’s probably your best time for really working.

Make sure the kids… the entire family, actually, understands that you are working at home and that means you may need their cooperation. Set the rules. Working doesn’t mean you can’t parent.

There’s no one right solution. The plan that works for one family can be a major failure for the next. Work at figuring the best setup and routine for you, your family and your business and be prepared to adapt as necessary. Just as in business, home life is often unpredictable.

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