2009 April | HomeNetPro.Com's Work From Home Blog

Archive for April, 2009

Wednesday, April 8th 2009

Your Home Based Business Is Not Your Life

Your dream of working from home has finally come through. Before reality sets in and you find yourself facing endless hours, set guidelines in place so everyone understands that your home based business is not your life. These boundaries are designed to create balance between a successful business and an active social life.

Home Based Biz Guidelines -

One of the main reasons men and women alike enjoy the freedom of a home based office is a flexible work schedule. Workers still trapped behind their desk in the traditional office setting are under the misconception that home business owners sleep late and lounge around in their pajamas all day. In fact, many who work home based businesses find themselves putting in far more hours than they ever did before. This is where the guidelines come in handy, to make certain your life does not become all work and no play.

Stay on Schedule -

One of the biggest obstacles home-based operators face is allowing the work schedule to encroach into their home life until the business takes complete ownership. Set a schedule with actual office hours (not from when I wake up until I go to sleep) and keep to the schedule. Make time in the workday for scheduled breaks. You are not working for a slave driver anymore! You still have the flexibility to play around with the schedule since you are in charge but your goal should be to establish a specific start and end of the workday.

Designate a Work Space -

Designating a workspace is probably even more important than sticking to a schedule when you are working from home. You will find out soon enough just how popular you are with your family when you try to get down to business. Home based workers must have some place they can designate as "off limits" from the rest of the house, especially when you have deadlines to meet.

Make Certain Others Respect the Boundaries -

You may have encountered this dilemma if you have been working from home for any length of time. Friends and family will assume "since you are home" that gives you ample time to run errands for them. You will receive all sorts of requests from dog sitting to washing the car in your "spare time" if you do not put your foot down from the beginning.

Tips for ending the workday -

As important as making your home business productive, you need a definite end to the workday. Just as you expect your family and friends to respect your work time as your own, you must pay them the same courtesy during "off time". Leave all those emails sitting in the inbox until morning. Your family needs some undivided attention.

To help unwind at the day's end, make it a rule there are no business calls after hours. There will be exceptions but do not try your supportive family's patience with continual interruptions that could easily wait for regular business hours. It will be impossible to leave work stress behind if you have the cell phone nearby vibrating off the dinner table.

Creating a balance with your family's well being and the business's success in mind is a reminder that your home based business is not your life. Give yourself a break, you can do this. It took a creative genius to get you this far.

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Tuesday, April 7th 2009

The Internet Replaces Newspaper Classifieds For Job Hunters

If you are looking for a new job and still using the old method of newspaper searches and job finding services, then you are missing out on a very valuable resource to help you secure a new one. That valuable resource happens to be the Internet, and more and more businesses are starting to look online for their new employees. Additionally, many of them are accepting resumes and applications on line. By ignoring the computer in your home, you could be missing out on that job of a lifetime.

There are numerous places to go online to find job listings. Some areas even have dedicated websites that list the jobs that are in their area. All of these websites give you a great place to start your employment search. When you start to utilize these job websites it's a good idea to use a different one each time you log on. These job boards move at a regular rate, but not so fast that you need to check it every day. Bookmark the sites and check them every few days to keep up to date with what is going on.

Always start with the larger databases first as they are virtual libraries of information and many of them are great recruiting sites for professional jobs. Then you should move on to the smaller websites that are specifically dedicated to your chosen profession or the types of jobs you are looking for. You should check these sites at the beginning of the week and repeat your searches every few days. Additionally these sites can help you find new resources that are specific to the work you do, and you can also search them by company name if you are hoping to get hired with a specific organization.

Other places you can look for jobs on line or at least leads to jobs in your chosen field are through social networking sites and blogs that are about your expertise. You may not always find jobs within your area on these sites, but they can give you some valuable advice from people who frequent them and have been in your shoes. At some of these sites you can learn how to tweak your resume to attract potential employers and read up on ways to ace interviews, dress for success, and other information that will help you get the job you are looking for.

Since many companies now accept resumes online, it's a good idea to have your resume on your computer so you can e-mail it to the company as soon as possible. Make sure the resume is in plain text format so that you can add it to the text of the e-mail or as an easy to open, virus free attachment. Yes, it will not look very fancy, but the object is to interest your potential employer in your skills and experience and not the type of paper or font you used to prepare it.

The Internet is a valuable resource when you are looking for a new job. Don't forget this valuable asset. It could open a door to a whole new world for you.

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