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Feed5 Tips for Working at Home
By Cathy S. Cruz-George
THE ISSUE
► 1 “My children and pets interrupt while I’m working,” OR “My friends think I can yak on the phone all day.”
| THE SOLUTION Move your desk to the most remote area of the house. Or, if you have an office, put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door and keep it shut. To limit personal calls and time spent on the Internet, set up a clock timer near your desk to go off after 15 minutes. |  | REAL LIFE “I make calls during the day when my children are at school and do paperwork at night when they’re at home,” says Stephen Doversola, founder of Affluent Oahu. |
THE ISSUE
► 2 “I’m on my own when my computer malfunctions,” OR “I no longer have an I.T. department on-call.”
| THE SOLUTION Hire a computer-solutions company that is familiar with your home office setup. Invest in backup and storage devices based on your company’s needs. Educate yourself about technology online or take computer-related workshops. |  | REAL LIFE “I use a program called yousendit.com, a free service that allows me to e-mail large files to my clients,” says Aubrey Hawk, owner of Aubrey Hawk Public Relations. |
THE ISSUE
► 3 “I don’t want people to know I work from home,” OR “I’m concerned about my home’s security.”
| THE SOLUTION For security, use your home address on company letterhead but never print it on advertising and promotional materials. Get a P.O. Box but use it at your discretion, as P.O. Box addresses sometimes hurt a company’s credibility. Meet clients in public places or rent a conference room. |  | REAL LIFE “‘Hoteling,’ where clients rent office space or conference rooms on demand, is very common now,” says Daniel Kaneshiro, managing partner of Resource Suites, a virtual office in Waikiki. |
THE ISSUE► 4 “It’s hard to network with industry colleagues when you’re at home,” OR “I no longer bump into potential clients on the street.”
| THE SOLUTION Designate certain days of the week for industry luncheons and client meetings. Schedule dinner meetings and after-hours functions on the same day. Build a network with other home-based entrepreneurs. They may turn out to be your best support system. | | REAL LIFE “Set up a schedule for days when you make sales calls and go out on the street,” Doversola says. |
THE ISSUE
► 5 “The laundry basket is full, and the dishes need to be washed,” OR “Now that I’m solo, I find myself working 70-plus hours a week.”
| THE SOLUTION Hire an assistant to do housework and run errands several times a week. If childcare is an issue, set up an agreement with other home-based entrepreneurs to watch each other’s kids on a rotational schedule. Working nonstop or neglecting housework are common issues for sole proprietors. | | REAL LIFE “If you think about your hourly billable rate, it doesn’t make sense to fluff pillows,” Hawk says. |
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