Articles Home Alone

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The second edition of Ian's book, Consulting, Contracting and Freelancing: Be Your Own Boss, published by Allen & Unwin, was released in August 2007. The book is listed by Smart Business in Queensland - the State Government Business Advisory office as the recommended book for people going into small business.

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Ian Benjamin's Article - Home Alone? Is it for you?

- Your Life Magazine, March 2006

Picture this. Sitting at your dining room table, you are waiting for the clothes drier to finish. You must have three loads to drop off for ironing on your way to the city at two o’clock. Earlier, you had to wait until 10 to make phone calls as the dishwasher was too noisy. You should really be in your office but it’s in the south facing third bedroom and it is just too cold and bleak in there. It still has the children’s wallpaper when they lived in that room 15 years ago. Gee it’s been hard to get going today!

This is only part of it. The other part is that as a self employed person you have a business to run. More about this next time suffice to say that these matters all take their toll on the entrepreneur’s time and enthusiasm.

So, how do we effectively work from home, in a home office? Here are some that I have followed in my 15 years working from home.

1. Be “professional” at all times, meaning:

· Always answer the phone with your business name – none of this “hullo” caper suggesting that it is a private number rather than a business one.

· Have a business address – a PO Box in a business area, proper e-mail address (not a free one) and if appropriate, your own web site – however small. If your address is “15 Primrose Crescent, Suburbia”, it is very hard to do business outside Suburbia.

· Be positive in your attitude and appearance. You needn’t wear a suit, but you should be ready to leave within 15 minutes to go and see a client or prospect.

2. Have a separate space away from the major living activity. It should be a desirable space as you will spend most of your conscious hours there. It needs a view and at least a bright and appealing interior.

I recently visited two consultants who work from their house in Wellington Point, Brisbane. This is a finger of land jutting into Moreton Bay. The office is interesting architecturally: a simple open plan space built as an first floor extension. If you stand and bend your neck you can see the crystal blue waters and coastal mangroves that abut the back of their property but the normal view is files, reports and periodicals and some project GANT charts. It is painted a bright blue and it is a productive environment. This husband-wife team is about to build a new office to enable growth.

One of my best offices was a converted potting shed in the back garden of my house – generous with camellias, rose bushes and greenery. No clothes line in sight but there was one around the corner.

So get yourself a pleasant space - one of the best in the house perhaps.

3. Inside the office, appeal to your senses. Facilitate inflow of fresh air so that it smells pleasant.

Go minimalist so that it looks good. Clean surfaces on your desk top and shelving. Filing cabinets may be a luxury as they tend to be tombs. Try using ring folders with typed labels and move them out of the way when they are finished.

Stimulate your mood with a good music system. Try Classic FM or use your Broadband internet connection to tune into background music stations. Allow yourself the pleasure of the occasional broadcast gem such as a Margaret Throsby interview at 10 am on Classic FM or a Romona Koval book program on Radio National. These can be more stimulating than a visit to the city or a cinema.

4. Arrange for regular catch-ups with “people”. This is essential from the perspectives of balancing your personality and for business development. ‘Extroverts’ are said to get their energy from other people: I remember one such consultant in leafy Woollahra quitting because he could not function in his isolation. He blamed the economy, he blamed the PM, and he blamed his partner. Later, when back at conventional work he realised that it was the lack of everyday people contact that prevented him from functioning effectively as a home based business.

Conversely, the relative ‘introvert’, may be too comfortable being alone in their work place. Their interpersonal skills may become so neglected that they find it difficult to make and sustain contacts at a suitable level.

So we all need to have this contact by design with others. Local coffee shops are an ideal venue. Give yourself the “reward” of a 4 pm coffee or 5 pm drink. Or you may like to start the day with a coffee shop visit.

5. Boost your learning and continuing professional development in a self help way. Inexpensive seminars are run by the Institute of Managements, Professional bodies and government agencies.

Or, be really effective and set up your own network. Arrange for a group of self employed associates to meet once a month. Have a chairperson and an agenda and require attendees to bring along a presentation in typed format – no more than one page and allocate 10 to 15 minutes per person while you enjoy lunch or dinner. I belonged to one called the “Reciprocity Group”.

Must do:

1. Pleasant separate office

2. Regular catch-ups for energy, being positive and business development

3. Be professional – phone manner, address, you. Invest in these basics of branding.

Traps:

1. Blurring home and work

2. Allowing pets, children, dishwashers and lawnmowers to make their normal domestic noises on the phone (and sometimes Partners!).

3. Failure to maintain networks and normal social contacts.

Ian Benjamin is the author of Consulting, Contracting & Freelancing – Be Your Own Boss, Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2003.

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