I love staying home! I cannot stress this enough. I am such a homebody that I decided I to make money from the comforts of my own bedroom – and I did not fail. For me, home is the starting place of love, hope, and dreams; we work hard to build it and make sure that everyone who lives in it is happy, cared and well-provided for.
Whenever people ask me where I work and I answer with a proud, “My bedroom”, I always get either the classic “What?” or “What do you mean?”. It seems that the concept of working from home is still a puzzle to some, but I tell you, it can be done. Let me enlighten you on how you can run your own business without leaving your bed.
- Don’t Slack Off!
This is first, and might I add hardest, on my list. Working from home has a lot of advantages and they surely far outweigh the cons, but it is easy to fall prey to laziness and procrastination. Since you are your own boss and can pretty much work anytime you want, it’s easy to think you have time until you don’t. It’s easy to binge watch your favorite show or just mindlessly lurk on your social media accounts, so disciplining yourself is entirely up to you. No big deal, it’s just your business on the line, anyway.
2.Bathe and Dress Up!
I have to admit that initially, my most favorite thing about running a business from home was not having to bathe or dress up. As gross as it sounds, but stewing in my own filth was my thing back then. Before, I would shower after I work. Until there was a time I had to conduct a meeting in my house; showering and dressing up were necessary. Boy, did I feel different while working! I felt fresher and more energized to take on and complete my tasks. I also noticed I felt more confident when speaking with clients. Bathing and dressing up can instantly boost your energy and confidence instantly – and it will keep the people in your home sane.
3.Adhere to Your Work Hours
Establish working hours as if you are also working in a real office setup. This way, you can easily do more. Au contraire, do not overwork yourself as well. This is also another trap that people easily fall into. Remember to set aside time for your family and chores, because these things won’t take care of themselves. Running a business from your home is the ultimate challenge in work-life balancing.
4.Make (Bed)Room for Your Office
You can work from your bedroom, but you cannot work in your bed. This is just a big NO-NO for me. It’s simple – the bed is for sleeping. When you bring work to the bed, it’s either you fall asleep or you will never sleep – both are bad things. Lying down affects the work you do, so do not make a habit of working in bed. What you can do is place a desk inside your room where you place everything you need to work.
5.Constitute a Workflow
An effective workflow is pertinent in the success of your business. Creating and running a business is no joke, so how you do it is correlative to your triumph. Establish a workflow: answer e-mails on the first two hours of your day, schedule posts on your social media accounts the next, and so on. Having a routine is key.
- If Possible, Get the Family Involved
The family that works together, succeeds together. I don’t know how you guys feel about this, but for me, getting my family involved in the business is a good thing. I think it makes them appreciate what they have more and they learn the value of money. I let them see what it takes to put food on the table, send them to school, and put a roof over their heads – and yes, for them to have a stable WiFi connection. It could also be a chance to bond and at the same time instill in them what hard work means and where it can bring you.
7.Know When It Ends
Every good thing comes to an end. In this case, the good thing here is working from home and NOT your business. Your home is a nurturing environment for the business, but unfortunately, it does not provide unlimited space. You should know when working from home is taking too much time and space, and your family can no longer adapt. And when it comes to that point, you should be ready to take your business somewhere else and grow it from there.
8.Ask For Help
Running the business on your own is well and good. If you do it right, it will grow. With growth, you will need help to make it grow bigger. Don’t take it upon yourself to do everything on your own because you can only do so much. When time comes and your business is ready, ask for help. If you think taking on another full-time employee is a little too much, then maybe you should consider outsourcing remote employees.
I hope these steps help you if you are looking to run your business from your bedroom. You may not have the advantages of working in an office space, but with extra effort and hard work, it can be done.
