I asked you guys if you should go full-time with your freelance work to see what the reaction would be like. Working from home seems like the dream to some. If you hate your boss, lose your mind on the commute to work, and get annoyed by the sight of your co-workers, then you’re going to want a way out. You’re going to want to work from home where you don’t have to deal with those issues.
The good news is that these days it’s easier than ever to start a home based business and make money from home instead of commuting an hour each way to work.
The bad new is that when you find a freelance writing gig or start any other side business, working from home isn’t always the hottest thing to hit the city since the sun. Most articles look at the positives of being “self-employed” or they treat lifestyle design as the solution to all of our problems.
What are the main problems with working from home? Is there really a dark side from working on your home based business?
The hours suck when you make money working from home.
They say that when you’re self-employed you can work any hours that you want. That’s any 18 hours of the day that you want. The thing that we overlook is that when you work a 9-5 you can base your life around this schedule. You know what time you have to wake up, what time you can hit the gym, and what nights you can go out on and get completely drunk. When you’re making money from home all of this discipline goes out the window to be honest.
When you first get started with working from home, you’ll more than likely find yourself winging it and finishing everything up last minute. This because more time doesn’t always equal more work being done. The dark side of being at home is that the hours are completely random.
You bring your work home with you.
You always have some work to do. The work never ends. You don’t know when to stop working just like you don’t know when to start working sometimes. At your normal 9-5 gig you can leave work and not have to think about anything work-related on the weekends or during vacations. When you make money from home, all you think about is your work. Can you handle this?
Being home all day isn’t that cool.
You can really lose your mind by being home all of the time. I’ve spoken with many internet entrepreneurs and self-employed friends that work from home and agree that it’s easy to get bored and feel lazy most of the day. After the first few weeks, the excitement wears off and being at home doesn’t feel so special. You might even start to miss your annoying co-workers after a little while.
The truth about working from home is that you can go crazy always being at home, especially in the winter.
You won’t get rich quick.
Sadly those commercials on the radio or the pop-up ads about making $647 per day online aren’t exactly accurate. You won’t get rich quick just because you’re not working for “the man.” You’ll make money working from home, but you won’t be able to retire at 30.
Here’s a quick story on starting on misconceptions with starting your own business. A few months ago I was with a friend who kept on bringing up the idea of starting his own business. I couldn’t figure out why he was so enamored with starting his own business. After a few more drinks, he told me how starting your business is the only way to make real money. I’m not sure where he got this information from, but he’s convinced that working for yourself automatically equals riches.
Working from home isn’t all that glamorous. I didn’t want to come off as negative but I really wanted to present to you the harsh reality of not having a steady office. You shouldn’t try to work from home just because you hate your job. If you do find a job that you can run from home, you might want to look into time management skills that you need to survive.
It’s true the grass always seems greener on the other side. Once you get there, however, the solitude and long/random hours may have you thinking a bit differently about the work-from-home option.
If you’re feeling cooped up and disorganized, I suggest taking your work outside. Bring your laptop to a coffee shop to get out of the house. Also, try making a work schedule – and stick to it! One of the most difficult things about working from home is keeping up self-motivation and discipline.
Once you’ve gotten yourself into a steady routine, working from home can be a great way to save money. Think of all the gas money you’re saving just by cutting out the commute!