Welcome to the fantastic secret universe of the home office worker. Check your former ways of working, living, and thinking at the door.
If you’re like me, you’ve come to this new world of freedom from a 9-5 (okay, 8-7) corporate job. In my former career there were things I saw that made me want to hurl my laptop out the window. Office politics, blundering management, new policies that were too broad to be effective for everyone but enforced nonetheless… the list goes on.
Not one to point all ten fingers at The Man – I was guilty myself of some poor practices when I worked in an office. Complacency (sometimes), e-mail avoidance (often), procrastination (daily) were my main corporate vices.
©2009 Sparky Firepants Images
Now that I find myself sans boss, in my home office (studio) environment, I’m starting to get a handle on what it means to be in charge of my every day.
The advantages of being independent are obvious:
- No boss hovering around or scheduling impromptu unnecessary meetings
- I can plan my day around personal errands, meals, time with family
- My studio/office is my own to set up according to my comfort and convenience
- I decide what projects I take on, my rates, and how to approach clients
Just about everyone dreams of this world. It sounds like heaven to most people headed toward Independent Land.
While these things are all happy little pieces of this home office universe, I struggled at first, trying to understand how this was different from what I used to do. The only tangible changes were lack of a regular paycheck, no commute, and no co-workers.
Over the course of my first year at home I realized that this couldn’t be simply a shift in location, it was a complete mindset overhaul. I wasn’t just trading in my ties for a t-shirt and wool hat.
I realized that:
- Complacency kills, but when you’re on your own it hurts more
- I have to find my own “co-workers.” Networking, networking, networking.
- Sometimes I have to take on projects that aren’t my ultimate dream.
- My family comes first, but they also respect my need to work (it’s our nuts and berries)
- My bosses were good at challenging me. I have to find other people to do that now.
I no longer have the luxury of a large company’s sales force to fall back on. If I procrastinate or slack off in my marketing, I will feel the stress a month later.
The reality is that the Deep Pockets Corporation doesn’t exist. People are experiencing layoffs and belt-tightening because of the myth that large corporations have bottomless wells of cash. They act accordingly in their day-to-day “just get me to the weekend” mindset and at some point the bill comes due.
Those corporations are just like my small business, only the scale is different. Which reminds me of another realization:
The reality is, there is no weekend. That’s not a Zen koan, it’s just the truth.
Does that scare you? No weekend? No holidays? No paid vacation?
If you want to be a member of the super secret society of home office professionals, you’re going to have to realize that you cannot shut off your brain at 5:30 PM. You can’t “forget about the office” for the Superbowl.
If you’re going to really make a go of this independence thing, you’re going to have to do more than switch your location and your clothes.
That’s why I say “welcome to a different universe.” It really is.
David Billings is an illustrator, animator, and writer. He currently runs two businesses from his home studio near beautiful Mount Hood, Oregon.
Sparky Firepants Images is focused on building kids’ brains to ginormous sizes while they have a crazy time. David creates fantastic, colorful images that complement books and educational media for preschool and elementary-level kids. A unique perspective on children’s publishing and the business of illustration can be found on his blog.
He also uses his technical expertise in creating corporate graphics and presentations to consult with and assist presenters of all types, keeping their audiences rapt with attention. Prepared Graphics focuses on helping individuals and small business owners with great content who don’t want to mess around with that PowerPoint stuff.
David lives with his wife and children on an alpaca farm. No, they don’t really smell that bad.
This is so true! Whenever I tell people that I own my business and work from home they always get that wistful look on their faces. But the friend I’m currently staying with while in transition recently burst a group of our friends ’self-employment’ bubble. When they started saying how they wished they could work from home my friend said this:
“Are you kidding? She’s working when I leave in the morning, working when I get home and sometimes even when I go to bed. Sure, she gets to run errands, travel, etc. during the work week, but she has no concept of a weekend. I know I couldn’t have that kind of commitment and self control, I’d never make it as a home business owner.” When she was finished it was completely quiet at our table and no one mentioned wishing they were me again.
There are wonderful perks to working from home, for yourself, but you’re right, different universe. Thanks for another fantastic post!
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Well put - “there is no weekend”. That sums it up and I love it. I left an independent home based scenario for a larger established firm thinking I would work on more interesting projects, have a chance to specialize more and maybe get my weekends back. After dealing for 7 years with commutes, dsyfunction, bad management and leadership I’m back on my own and much happier.
Doug, you and Tina both picked up on the “there is no weekend” concept, which is awesome.
Some people get scared at that thought because they don’t want to be a slave to their own business - and rightly so. The thing is, as an independent you are in control of what hard work means, rather than a middle manager defining it for you. Funny thing is, you actually tend to work harder than you would for someone else. However, the time you do take off to go skiing, sailing, or taking the kids to the movies is that much more rewarding.
I have been a solo at home for about a year now and I must say I have no problem with it other than meetings with clients. You do not really give up your evenings and weekends you just have more control over whatever time that you take off. Yes I spend a great deal more time in my office but I do not consider myself a “slave”. I always believed in long hours but now I am always here with my family instead of sitting 20 miles away from them. Now I can do my work and still maintain a close tie to my family. As an Attorney I require little more than a computer and place to work in order to do everything which I need to do. The hardest part about this home office is knowing when to quit for the day but my wonderful wife watches and sometimes she will shut me down for my own benefit. She is also the one who quiets things down a bit when I let her know I am working on a brief or need to have a late evening meeting with a client. Home office work is great but having a spouse who supports you in what you are doing makes it work. Everything in life is a trade off but I find more gain with working at home than loss. chuck cochran
Exactly Chuck. I moved my office to my home in January, 2005 and I can not even imagine going back to a “downtown” office. The freedom you get by working out of a home office is unmatched as far as I am concerned.
Great post! I have been homebased for a couple of years now and am just now learning the tricks of the trade (including networking and the family/work balance). I’ve recently started a small ning network for us alternative-worker types and would love if you would stop by and join up: http://outofsite.ning.com/. Also, would you mind if I placed an RSS feed there for your (and your partners’) posts? We are a small (but growing) group, and I think that your expertise and insights could really add a lot of value to the site. Hope to see you there, and I look forward to reading more!
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