I want a Home-Based Business!

The holidays give us various opportunities to meet new people and learn new things.  In my last blog, I wrote about a young woman I met in a social setting that was adamant about not working at home because her career "demanded" that she stay in close contact with her co-workers....well, the day after Christmas while visiting family I met another woman who is in a different place altogether.   A fairly recent widow, she is only now emerging from her sadness and is looking for something to do...she once raised prized, award winning race horses, she grows organic vegetables, she has published a book - an enormously talented woman indeed!   She was not sure what she wanted to do in the next phase of her life; she was on a soul searching journey.  How does she want to spend her time?  Does she want to work outside with her animals and garden or does she want to work inside writing and editing?  Does she have anything else hidden away that she has always wanted to explore?  These are the type of questions I asked her to get her started with making some decisions.  Starting a home-based business at a later age is the chance of a lifetime....it allows us to make the changes we want to make to ensure that our time is finally our own.  This lovely women mentioned that she is now in the phase of "I want"....she had never experienced that before.  A childhood of being provided only with the basic needs, she had never been given gifts she wanted - books, art, music, theater, etc.  She was asked "tell me what you need, not what you want".  Taking care of her family as an adult, did not leave too much time or money for her wants either...so now, she is finally at the point of nurturing herself, by herself and for herself.  There is a blessing in that....we all need to take care of our inner self and there is no better way of doing it than spending our time doing the work we love.  It inspires us, it motives us, it speaks to us.  So, for 2011, I ask that you are blessed with work that feeds not only you and your family, but also your soul.

  Love what you do and live the life you love!     Helene, http://www.thehome-office.com/

Work at home...or not!

I met a young woman last Saturday night...we were in a social setting and we started to chat about this and that...we ultimately got to "what do you do"?   She said she worked in Television Production....and I said that I taught people how to work at home.  She stated rather intently that she "could never work at home"...I asked her why not...and she said  "I need a place to go to...I have go somewhere outside my house...when I am at home, I am at home and I don't want to "work" while I am at home."   Well, okay...but then she went on about their recent move to the suburbs because they want to start a family, but she still plans to work...work is about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours away in traffic and she works 15 hour days!  Her "plan" is to work 3 months and then take 3 months off...work 3 months, take 3 months off....she believes this would be a good balance.  I casually mentioned that when children come along we see things differenly and most women find it difficult to leave their babies....she flung her shoulders about and said "I don't feel that way - I always plan on working because that is who I am and what I like to do."   I then gently asked if "working at home" would be a good balance, as she is in a pretty good position and I'm sure she can accommodate some work that can be done at home.  Well, about this time she got a bit huffy - "NO, that will never work, I need people to see my work quickly and get back to me."  So, I backed off and silently asked for some divine assistance for this young woman.  Yes, of course, there are people who cannot work at home, but she wasn't even interested in exploring the options!  I knew of a woman who was in radio broadcasting; she was great at what she did but she just had a baby so she was torn between being at work and being at home.  Her station loved her and didn't want to lose her, so they built a mini-station in the basement of her home, about an hour away from the broadcasting studio....she loved it!   She did her show, she did her paperwork and she played with her baby afterwards.  She did go into the city for meetings and follow-ups, but for the most part she worked out of her basement...how great is that!  With today's technology, you can do practically anything from home on a highly professional level....it just takes initiative, it takes daring and it takes the mentality of : I CAN DO THIS!    So, let's make that our new motto for the New Year ahead....I CAN DO THIS in 2011!

Helene :)       http://www.thehome-office.com/

BALANCING A HOME-OFFICE

Okay, so today is another day where I get the chance to work those balancing muscles!   There is much to do in preparation for my new radio show: I just finished a training session with the tech people so I know what buttons are pushed and at what times...so I know what I'm doing on Friday 12/10 at 9:00am (pacific time)...now I am fielding phone calls and e-mail from my steady customers who are beginning to smell Year End Financial Due Dates!   On top of this I've got to confer with my Internet Marketing person who makes me look good online - her name is Erin and she is home-based....I also need to speak with John, my website guru to make the changes I need...he is home-based as well!  On the personal side, I've got thank you's to send out to the wonderful people who hosted us over Thanksgiving back in New England, as well as Andi and Steph who threw the Hannukah party this year.  I have also got to get organized for Christmas...presents, menus, invitations (thank goodness for e-mail!), etc.  It's a good thing that my husband, The Vice-President In Charge of Everthing, does his share, or at least the things I tell him to do!

How do I proceed with this long list of things to do:  I make a better list!   I've done this for years and it actually works for me.  You might try it and like it too!   I take a blank sheet of paper and draw a line straight down the middle.  Then another line right across the page, so basically I have 1 piece of paper with 4 squares.  In each square I give it a heading: Office, Home, Inside, Outside.  Office is of course my work and Home is my personal life.  I list things in both of these squares such as: Call Mark (producer of radio show) or Call Tine (my sister) about what she is making for Christmas.   The third square is Outside for things that need to be done outside the house: post office, bank, groceries, shoe repair, etc.  And the 4th square is Inside for things such as: move furniture and make room for tree.   I always feel much better when I have this list....even though I add to it throughout the day and it seems endless.

I always stop "work" (when I leave my desk) at 5:30pm...I start dinner, my husband bbq's and sets table, we eat and clean up.  He heads for the Sports Channel and I head back to the office; I pick up what I have set aside for reading and research and head for the living room....we are physically in the same room - he is doing his thing and I am doing mine....I have found this to balance my time in a way that nothing is neglected and I don't go nuts moving back and forth from one thing to another.....so now, tell me what works for you?   How do you balance out your professional live with your home life if you've got a spouse and kids?   Hey, why don't you call me during the show and we can talk about it then?   THE HOME-BASED BUSINESS SHOW, Fridays at 9:00am pacific time....www.voiceamerica.com        Talk soon, Helene