Figuring out how to work from home in a realistic, sustainable and profitable way has been one of my main goals since I was at university.
And it hasn’t always been easy.
There’s been times when money has been short, stress has been high, and the prospect of going to a “real” job would keep me up at night.
These days, however, I feel more confident with my setup and have been happily working from home for quite a few years.
And I know a lot of other people want that too.
I’ve put together this guide on how to work from home to give you all the main tips that I’ve picked up over the years. It’s my hope that something here will help someone out there make a transition from a stressful job to one that they love.
Let’s dive in!
NOTE: This article will be coming from the angle of blogs and online businesses because that is where my experience lies. I am NOT selling anything and there are no affiliate links in this post. I just want to share some realistic tips!
A “no-bullshit” guide to working from home?
When I started researching this article I quickly learned how much rubbish there is out there on the subject of working from home.
There’s even a website built by the Australian Government devoted to helping people figure out whether they’re getting into work from home scam!
So I want to make it clear from the start:
This article will focus on general tips that I’ve learned from building my own sustainable online business. There is absolutely no get-rich-quick element to it. Unless you are willing to work hard in an systematic, legal and ongoing fashion then this post isn’t for you.
The thing is, I actually take these types of articles extremely seriously because it’s real people who are reading them and possibly making a decision based off of something they heard from me.
With that in mind I have worked hard to make it as useful and comprehensive as possible in order to combat some of the rubbish.
And that leads us nicely into the next section.
Some (very) important considerations to make before you quit your day job
If you want to work from home (full time) you’ll eventually have to quit your job.
And that is a really big decision.
The decision is even bigger if you have things like a mortgage, a family to support or some other debts that need to be serviced regularly.
Here’s some things you should know about working from home:
- A lot of small businesses fail
Unfortunately the stats don’t lie. Most small businesses will close in the first two years. You have to be realistic and acknowledge that it’s going to be tough. - Profits can be slow growing
It’s only recently that I’ve really started to feel like the money is where I want it to be, and I’ve been working at it for a long time. Some people make it happen in a big way really fast, others it takes a lot longer. - There’s no safety net
Unless you have savings or a spouse that earns a good income, there aren’t a lot of safety nets should your work from home business fail. Consider what would happen if you couldn’t make it work. - It costs money
Most businesses (even blogs, websites and online ventures) need to spend money initially on set up, advertising, stock, etc. in order to get started. Factor that in. - Sometimes it will be stressful
Being your own boss has its advantages (we’ll get to that soon) but it also can be stressful. Honestly speaking, a lot of people simply aren’t made for that kind of pressure and a regular safe job is a better bet.
Please read this article knowing that it isn’t a quick little decision that you should make in a week, month or even year.
That being said, it is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
So let’s get onto the positive stuff.
The major benefits of working from home
When you finally figure out how to make the work from home thing happen for your situation it is one of the most incredible feelings.
All of a sudden you realize that you are working on a brand and business that solely belongs to you. All the hours of creativity, late nights and hard work are going directly into an asset that you yourself own.
And that is pretty cool!
Here are some of the major benefits that I’ve found:
- You can set your own hours
Some people, no matter how they try, cannot get used to a 7am start. Well, when you work from home you can work from 12pm to 8pm if that suits you better. - There’s more flexibility
Just like setting your own hours, generally speaking you’ll have more freedom to pick up the kids from school, go to the gym or run some errands. You need to still work the hours, but it often doesn’t matter when. - You’re growing your own baby
As mentioned, when you work from home on your own business you are building something that is just for you. That asset is yours. - No office politics
When I catch up with my friends it’s only a matter of minutes before they start talking about some work drama. Sometimes it can be a serious source of stress. None of that at home. - The earning potential is more
Unless you are an investment banker or surgeon, chances are there is more potential income running your own business as opposed to a regular career type job. This is especially true for online businesses. Note that I say “potential income” – it’s not a guarantee. - You can do some good
If you are able to set your business up so that you have more time, and especially if you make a decent income, you’ll be free to do more things like volunteering, charity donations, etc. This is a huge motivating factor for me.
Everyone will find their own joys and stresses when it comes to working from home.
The important thing is to weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision based on a calculated risk, not a blind risk.
My essential tips on how to work from home
Okay, so now I’d like to just go into some detailed points about what I have found to be the most important parts about figuring out how to work from home and make it last.
Again, the focus will be mostly on using websites and web-based businesses as that is where my experience comes from.
1. Make a plan with a solid goal and timeline
I am always quite surprised at the haphazard approach that a lot of bloggers and website owners take to online business.
It shouldn’t really be like that.
If you really want to work from home you need to try and come up with a plan that includes a set of solid goals and an appropriate timeline.
Here’s an example:
I want to work from home in one year.
I will use a blog to collect 10,000 email subscribers within one year using PPC advertising in order to sell 300 copies of X product valued at $297 per copy.
Now of course there’s no way you can know all the variables within this equation.
You’re never going to be able to know how many copies of your product you’ll sell, what the conversion rate will be, etc. But without that concrete aim it is really not taking the process seriously enough.
Some elements you’ll want to try to incorporate into your goals:
- Why are you doing it?
Do you have a really good reason for wanting to do this thing and will it affect you in a positive way? You have to know exactly why you’re setting out. - How long could it take?
Is six months realistic to make $100k? Or will you need five years? - What will you be selling/promoting?
You need to have a product or idea ready for how you will make money. We don’t have the time in this post to cover all the elements of your product but services, affiliates, digital products, etc. are all viable options. - What technology will you use?
Are you going to start a blog and use that to promote an online store? Or perhaps you want to use Facebook Ads to send traffic to a landing page? Will this be on WordPress or Blogger? Consider the technology. - What resources will it take?
Do you need money to spend? How much money can you spend while still meeting your financial obligations? How many hours a day can you devote to your online business while still working in your current job?
Again, you don’t need to have all of these 100% solved but you really do need to consider all the important stuff just to make sure you don’t get a couple of months in and realize that you’ve forgotten something important.
And that leads us on to our next point nicely.
2. Dig deep into your industry and build your knowledge
A lot of the above information will come from one thing: research.
Now, unfortunately, the research stage can take up a huge portion of your time. When I really look back at my online business career I feel like probably the first 2-3 years were actually just me mucking around and researching things. It wasn’t until much later that I started to get serious.
It’s at this stage of the game that you need to answer important questions for yourself like:
- Who are your competitors?
Do you have many competitors out there and what kinds of things are they offering? - Can you make improvements?
You want to be able to look at what these existing websites and blogs are doing and figure out if you can do something better. That will help you make you distinctive. - How can you get in on the action?
Look at things like the level of competition on Google, whether you can use platforms like Facebook Ads to bypass the organic results ‘wait time’, and find out who you might be able to collaborate with.
Now there are a lot of websites and tools that you can use to assist you in this process (like AHREFs, Market Samurai, Majestic SEO, Google Traffic Estimator, etc.) but one of the main things you need to do is start Googling your friends and competitors and asking questions.
If you can meet and connect with someone on the “inside” it will speed your success up dramatically. You’ll often be really surprised at how generous existing bloggers and online business owners are to new comers.
More on that later.
3. Focus on how to get as many quality email subscribers as possible
Every smart business is focusing on email subscribers.
It doesn’t matter whether you run a blog, online store, pizza shop or even a little stall that sells cupcakes on the weekend – having an engaged list of subscribers is one of the best things you can do to ensure your long term success.
Quick interruption – If you still don’t have a blog or website with your own domain name and self hosted set up then you are way behind. All businesses need a website and almost every business should be active with content creation, social media and web advertising. Here’s my guide on how to start a blog that you might like to follow.
Back to the subscribers. Here’s why they’re so important:
- Instant (virtually) free promotion
Of course it costs money to build and store an email list but once you’ve got them you can promote anything to them for as long as they are subscribed unlike other forms of advertising where they see and advert once and are gone. - They grow your reach
The good thing about email subscribers is that they are there because they want to be. And that means they share your stuff. When I write a new post I email my list and get at least 1,000 visitors within a few minutes. Nothing else does that as regularly. - They provide feedback
Email subscribers are a good place to gather data about selling, promotion methods and what products you might want to launch in the future. These types of surveys are extremely valuable. - They are a multiple-sales stream
Once you get an email subscriber you can theoretically promote to them again and again and again. So as long as you are launching relevant products, websites or services you have an instant promotion base to tap into repeatedly.
Other than sales and reach, growing an active mailing list should be the main priority of most businesses.
Once you really appreciate the value of that mailing list it’s important to look into conversions and how we can really maximise the number of sign ups, email opens and then email clicks.
That is really important.
4. Continually aim to increase your reach (and never stop)
In his now-famous book, How Brands Grow, Professor Byron Sharp lays out some hard truths about how it is reach and not loyalty that all brands should be focusing on.
As their stats end up showing that loyalty is a by-product of reach, not the other way round.
What this means is that if you want to work from home in a sustainable and longterm business you need to be getting in front of as many relevant people as possible. The more new traffic you can get the more money you will make.
Simple.
Well, simple in theory.
If you want to grow your reach in an online scenario:
- Focus on evergreen content that solves problems
Don’t get too advanced with your content. Focus on simple problems that beginners encounter on a regular basis and solve them in a very genuine and clear way. - Spend money on advertising
Get good at advertising on Facebook and Google and try to continually improve your conversion rates and returns in order to keep advertising. Ever noticed who is doing all the Sponsored Posts on Facebook? It’s the successful, big blogs. - Get involved on other platforms, blogs and websites
Don’t write for your own blog that often. Focus instead on getting guest posts and mentions on other sites, writing in forums, making videos and podcasts and really getting your brand out there. Once a week is enough on your blog. Expand outwards.
The web is a really, really big place. And it’s getting bigger. If you want to have the work from home business then you need to keep reaching new people and getting your message out there on a continual and growing basis.
5. Try to build recurring income
Some of the smartest (and safest) businesses out there are the ones that have a recurring income from the customers.
If you want to work from home in the long term this is a really important idea to get your head around because it might mean the difference between a successful three year business, and a successful 20 year business.
Let’s take a look at the difference between two monetization methods:
- Selling advertising space
When you sell advertising space an advertiser will buy a spot in your sidebar and pay you a fixed amount for a fixed period of time. The income then expires and you need to find new advertisers or re-sell to that one. - Selling memberships to a premium site
When you sell memberships you generally charge a recurring fee (monthly or annually). What this means is that if you can manage attrition you are building an asset that continues to produce income instead of a once-off benefit.
One of the best examples of this is Yaro who built a pretty significant online business using a model that was based on recurring income. He hired a team of people to help him keep the membership filled with value and as a result continues to make money years after the launch.
Some other examples of recurring income include:
- Website hosting
Web designers might focus more on getting clients who pay an annual hosting fee instead of just a one-time design services fee. - Management services
Many small businesses pay people a management fee that covers website hosting, email hosting, updates, etc. - Social media services
Similar to above, I know a few people who do very well by charging clients a monthly social media services fee which covers posting to social networking sites, campaign creation, brand management, etc. - SEO services
Many companies do very well by charging a monthly or annual SEO fee to their clients to help keep them ranking for their business’s chosen keywords. - Some affiliate programs
Some companies pay their affiliates a lifetime recurring fee based on the referrals they make. For example, if you refer someone to a company that charges $100 a month they will pay you 30% of that for the length the customer remains.
This type of income stream is often a lot slower to build up because it usually necessitates a large number of clients. If, however, you can do this while building a short term stream of income you might be able to build a work from home business that lasts a very long time.
6. Diversify in various places
One of the best examples of this in the online space is Brian Clark of Copyblogger fame.
Copyblogger was once just a simple blog with a neat little sidebar and some pretty clever articles. It has since grown into a massive and diverse brand that sells memberships, hosting services, premium WordPress themes, etc.
Not only does this give them additional streams of income, it also protects them should something go wrong with one aspect of the business.
I have a personal story about why this is important.
When I was first starting in blogging I had a fitness blog that was starting to get pretty big. Unfortunately I didn’t focus on email subscribers, and I only had one method of making income – Adsense.
Well, one day I woke up and my traffic was gone. For a reason I still don’t understand (I suspect it was a competitor accusing me of something I didn’t do) I had suffered a complete Google ban.
Income gone.
Since that time I have always tried to be careful with relying on Google and careful with relying too heavily on one source of income.
So where should you diversify?
- Your website’s traffic sources
It’s vital that we have traffic coming from referrals, social and Google. This means more outreach, guest posting and advertising. - Your income streams
Don’t rely too heavily on one stream unless you are certain that you have something else that you can pull the trigger on should something go wrong. - Your backups and storage
If you are building an online business your website is like your shop. You need to protect it and that means taking backups regularly of all the important stuff and making sure it’s stored in various safe places.
Each business will be different in this respect so it’s a good idea to constantly think about the different ways in which you can diversify.
It’s not always an easy thing to do but it is well worth the effort.
7. Stay mentally and physically healthy (the business depends on it)
One thing that I don’t think we talk about enough is how important it is for someone who works from home to stay mentally and physically healthy.
Unlike a regular job where you might get sick leave and have people to cover your shift, when you work for yourself there is no safety net.
If you get sick for an extended period of time you’ll be in trouble.
The interesting thing about this type of healthy is that a lot of the symptoms are somewhat “hidden” until it’s too late.
So what do we need to watch out for?
- The back, neck and hands
The back, neck and hands (including the wrist and fingers) are area that all show signs of wear and tear from sitting too long. Often times it can lead to RSI and these types of injuries often don’t go away and often do show up til it’s too late. - Your mental health
Working from home can be isolating and extremely stressful, especially in the start-up stages or when something goes wrong. Watch out for signs of anxiety and depression like mood swings, appetite changes, lack of energy, constant catastoihpsing over small things, headaches, irritation, etc. Check out Beyond Blue for a good source of help. Don’t be ashamed – it’s just like any other illness. - Your waistline
New research is showing that sitting for long periods can shorten your life and contribute to disease. And if you have a large amount of belly fat you are at massively increased risks of cancer, heart disease and a whole host of other bad things. Unfortunately moving at the end of the day isn’t enough – you need to stay active during the day. Go for walks, do pushups, jump rope, stretch, etc. every 20 minutes or so. Make it routine. - Your patterns of sleep
There is strong evidence to suggest that poor and irregular sleep is linked to increased levels of body fat, heart disease and many other conditions. When you work from home you’ll want to burn the midnight oil when inspiration strikes you. That’s okay sometimes, but if you regularly don’t get deep, rested sleep you’ll find many areas of your life begin to suffer. - Your family and friends
If your work is beginning to impact on your friendships and relationships then you know something is going wrong. Nothing you do at work is that important. Prioritising social activities will replenish your energy, make the people around you happy and also help to stave off many of the bad guys I’ve listed above. Get out!
Again, there is no one else that is really going to look after this stuff for you. Part of being a responsible business owner who works from home is learning to deal with this other stuff that is related to work but not exactly work.
If you take anything from this post I hope it’s the fact that nothing is worth damaging your health and relationships for.
Please be careful.
8. Collaborate and outsource as early as possible
When you work from home it’s very easy to feel like you need to do everything yourself.
Well, please don’t.
Think about all the broad functions of any business: accounting, marketing, strategy, research, etc.
Now just think about marketing which might involve and offline and online strategy, and the online aspect includes website, blog, social media, security, advertising, content creation, design, etc.
The list is endless!
It’s really not a very good idea to try and do it all yourself.
Firstly, ain’t nobody got time for that!
Secondly, very few people are actually good at all of those things.
It’s best left to people who know what they’re doing.
But it’s not only about getting things done efficiently, it’s also about making progress in a really quick way by connecting with people who can help you out.
With that in mind, here are some big recommendations I can make about outsourcing:
- If you’re tweaking for more than 20 minutes, hire someone
If you’re spending more than about 20 minutes on a task and not getting anywhere, add it to a list and start looking for someone who can help you with those tasks. For example, I do zero WordPress tweaking on my sites and instead email CrazyHTML instantly who I have been using for years. - Start getting acquainted with outsourcing sites
Every outsourcing site is slightly different. Some focus on helping you find designers, others more technical things. I think Freelancer and ODesk are good places to start. Over time you will hopefully build a close relationship with one or two quality people. - Know that it’s an investment and a cost
Hiring people to the tasks that you aren’t very good at is an investment in your time and business. Thinking of that can make you feel more comfortable about spending good money. But, for many businesses it can also be a business expense which means you can claim it as a tax deduction. - Start with a small ‘test’ project
Please don’t start by hiring someone to do a $15,000 app development without testing that firm out first. They might be shit house. Perhaps set aside $1,000 or a smaller amount to do a test project first and look at their efficiency and/or any working issues that arise. - Make excellent instructions and reward good work
If you want someone to do a complex project then you often need to spend more time making clear instructions. Chris Ducker recommends doing a screencast video showing them what you mean while you talk about the project. And if they do good, consider sending them a bit of extra money as a bonus. This will make them more likely to do good work for you next time.
I really honestly do believe that finding the right people to hire can make all the difference between success and failure of a blog or a even a whole business. It took me literally years to settle on a good developer but now I will use no one else.
It’s also important to remember that it doesn’t always have to be a situation where you pay for services. You might be able to build and foster a relationship where you help each other out, team up for projects and really increase your output by making a clever little alliance.
With the internet the possibilities really are endless!
9. Learn to deal with failure
I really can’t stress enough how important it is to be okay with the idea of failing.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we are negligent and lazy with our business because we don’t care. Rather, it means that we never let the fear of failure prevent us from taking an action.
A few years ago I had pretty bad anxiety and as a result I spent way too much time worrying about things being perfect when actually I should have been launching and learning.
Failure happens (on some level) to almost every single business owner. The trick is to genuinely see it as just part of the journey and not the end.
And make sure you do learn from it.
10. Set up routines and systems to deal with efficiency
The topic that I want to finish on is actually probably the most important.
It’s all about your behavior.
One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that almost everyone has a good idea, but only a few people are disciplined enough to do the work that makes it succeed.
So what’s the first step?
Here’s some advice from someone who knows this well:
Make a schedule! Yes, we’re trying to “break away from the 9 to 5”, but the nice thing about the 9 to 5 is that at 5, you know you’re done and you remove yourself from the opportunity (mostly) to continue to do work.
When you’re working from home, it’s super easy (and tempting) to do work at anytime, and unless you create a boundary in your schedule you’re going to cross over between personal and business life, and it’s going to be bad. You can overwork yourself and remove yourself from other parts of your life that are also important.
Additionally, when you know you have X hours to work, you’re more likely to be efficient because you know you only have that amount of time. Without that boundary, it’s easy to just say, “Oh, well I’ll do that later because I have the time.”
– Pat Flynn, Smart Passive Income.
Something that Pat mentions in his quote is that working from home can have a huge impact on your personal life. As I’ve touched on above, it doesn’t matter how much you love your work, if it’s costing you a healthy relationship with your partner or children then it absolutely isn’t worth it.
Everyone deals with productivity and efficiency differently.
For example, I know Glen from ViperChill really enjoys the Pomodoro Method. Other people will prefer to work for longer periods and have longer breaks.
Whatever it is, try to figure out something regular that you can do everyday, and remember that you might be doing it for the next 30-40 years.
Can you help someone who wants to work from home?
Working from home can be one of the most rewarding goals that you ever set out to achieve. And I know many readers of this site are already living that dream.
What I’d really like to do now is turn this post over to the Tyrant Troops and ask you for some help. If you work from home either full time or part time and have a tool, resource, article or tip to share with someone who might read this post then please share it.
Let’s fill up the comments section with a host of useful and friendly tips and conversation. Please leave a comment below – you legends!
[…] (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Source link […]
Hi, Ramsay, (I promise to spell your name right from now to eternity!)
I LOVE this post. What a realistic resource to know whether having your own business from home is right for you.
I totally agree that building an email list is the key ingredient. The closer I get to 10,000 on my list, the more I sell and the more interaction I have on my blog.
Thanks for putting out the straight scoop,
Sue
P.S. I thought it was just my cat that liked to lay across keyboards!
Hey Sue.
Thanks for backing me up on the “realism” aspect of this post. That was something that I hoped would come across. It’s not easy or quick.
Cats are weird…
Great article! Sometimes a separate work area is beneficial. It could be a room in your home or if you need bigger, consider renting a small inexpensive trailer type place which you can use for working. A friend does this and she is able to distinguish work from home better.
Yes cats are really strange lil critters.
One more great post!
You always come up with great posts. And that really encourages and gives confidence to young bloggers like me.
By the working from home,
I have one great tip which I got from Amit Agarwal.
In his office, he sticks to a schedule i.e 9 to 5. And he got a white board in front of his desk where he writes about what he has done today and what he’ll be going to write tomorrow.
So by doing that he continues with the same momentum of next day also
Thanks for the feedback, Aman.
That is a really clever idea. I try to stick to a schedule but often I find that I’ll work til 3am on a brand new idea and then be too tired to start right at 9am. It’s not great, I know.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Ramsay
Now, this is what I call a mumbo-jumbo informative post. I really love the way you have outlined every detail in a crisp manner
In this short span of blogging, I have realized that we must start making connections with different people. We have to act smarter, rather than working hard only.
I didn’t know that you started with your fitness blog and you had to do some tiring shifts as a cleaner of the gym. Hats off to your dedication, buddy. It must be a tough journey for you.
I completely agree with Pat. In job, we have a defined time limit where we know our work boundations. While doing work from home, we must take out time for our family and relatives. We must take out time from a virtual world to a physical world also.
I will keep in mind the diversification part of the copyblogger. I am going to bookmark this page because it will really help me in building my blogging career
Hey Yatin – mumbo jumbo means it’s a bad thing! 😉
I have worked from home full time for about 8 years and feel you are right on. I appreciate your point on diversifying as that is what I am focusing on now. Business has it’s ups and downs and if you are focused on only one thing it can feel like riding a roller coaster.
One of the things I have noticed about working from home is that I can sometimes fall out of balance. If I am caught up in something, I may find myself at my computer on into the evening, feeling a little brain dead and not very effective. My muscles and back will be tight too.
The solopreneurs I work with seem to have similar issues. One works 7 days a week. I get emails from another at 2am. I think one of the biggest challenges for home-based entrepreneurs is being able to maintain balance and remember that your business is not who you are.
Oh man you gotta turn everything off at a set time each night, don’t you? So important.
Phew! Long article, though, but very valuable guide, Ramsay. I see that you really shared what you have learned along your way and we are so lucky to know it.
I’m a freelance writer and I could say that working at home is pretty difficult from the start especially that you work alone.
Also, I literally stood up from sitting in front of my computer and got to do some stretching when you just said that sitting all day may cause some serious health problems. Time for some fitness stuffs, probably.
Thanks for sharing! Always awesome.
Cheers,
Ha ha! So glad I made you do some exercise. That’s awesome!
Ramsay,
This is such a wonderful post. Love the,way you covered the 360 degrees pespective of the topic.
Thanks so much.
Asante from Tanzania Ramsay.
It does get lonely sometimes when one works from home but the field work to collect footage for documentary for you tube and research on features do ease the monologues that one keeps having when working from home.
I take time off each day to visit other bloggers and social networks, especially those with a social message.
Leila Sheikh
Dar es Salaam
Thanks for sharing all the way from your home!
Where was this 2 years ago when I set on this adventure!?
Great list to prepare ANYONE looking to quit their job and start working for themselves. I think people get too caught up in the glory of it and don’t take the time to figure out the details.
Having a plan is your best bet and can go a long way in ensuring your success. I have been working from home now for 2 years, and it took me the first 18 months to realize I needed a plan. After putting the plan into action over the last 6 months I have seen my business triple, and guess what, no more extra effort was needed. It was just all in the planning.
Thanks for the post (all though it is 2 years too late for me)
Chris
Thanks Chris. Sorry it’s too late!
I have two basic tips for working from home:
1. Plan your day (or even better, plan your week) in advance.
2. Focus on earning money. Spend part of your day doing activity that will directly put cash in your pocket. You can’t build forever.
I agree. I think it’s so important to have the bills paid. Then the stress is off to build the rest.
Network. Join (or start) some quality FB groups. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of those who do what you do or what you want to do. (Google your questions first so you don’t waste people’s time unnecessarily, especially with tech questions). By thoughtfully commenting on other blogs in my niche, I’ve met some tremendously talented and helpful people, many of whom I’ve now met IRL and who, early on, invited me to guest post which helped my “resume” and Page Rank (back when PR was a thing 😉 If you can afford it (and maybe even if you can’t) attend a blogging conference. You might be overwhelmed and freaked out to see what others are doing under the hood (so to speak), but you will learn and should be able to network, especially if you’ve introduced yourself on line first. Lastly, what goes around comes around. Be as helpful, courteous and considerate with others as you can. Devoting some time to networking also helps some with the professional and social isolation that can plague those of us who work from home.
Yeah I totally agree. I really do think that networking is one of the most important ways to grow a business quickly.
Reading this great post a second time shows how insightful and well-rounded your information is, Ramsay.
The entrepreneur life does come with its unruly dissenter employees though. They are the mental chatter of fears residing in the mind that will rear their insubordinate heads with their uninvited spewing leaving a person feeling anxious x10.
It’s tough to just fire them. *smile*
When I finally figured the “fear staff” out (they cost us in terms of productivity!), I realized how to turn them around and feeling peace was so amazing, confidence bloomed and creativity burst forth that it became a passion for me to help others in this area.
Once the rules to listen to those fears are broken, a lot of folks may indeed have the chops for entrepreneurship and come back around to realize their dreams.
This is actually really beautifully put. Thanks so much for sharing, Christine.
Great post Ramsey. There’s no doubt as a small business owner you can get overwhelmed with everything you should/need to be doing. So, before I go head long into my day I make sure my first 3 tasks of the day are things that will add to my bottom line in some way. So this could be sending out an email with an offer to my subscribers, maybe crafting a Facebook ad or creating an enticing offer of some sort on my website. Only after I’ve done this do I do anything else.
The exercise tip is one I often neglect by the way!
I think this was a tip I got from Kim Roach.
Yep, well said. Making sure the bills are paid really does free you up to work on development and longterm projects.
I’ve just signed up on your list recently, Ramsay, because you offered a great deal of value in return. Your E-Book on blogging was very informative and easy to read for a free book.
I’m an artist, and I’ve been working from home full time for the past year. I ventured out full time in 2009, after having my sales/management job downsized. Being 32 years old, I figured now was the time to do something with the art talent God gave me.
I got several portrait commissions immediately, and then things dried up several months later. With two children to feed, and rent to pay, I panicked, and picked up some part time jobs which severely limited my art output. I had a wake up call in 2013, when while working nearly full-time at a scrap yard, one of the coworkers cut off his finger while using a hydraulic shears to process metal. It then occurred to me, “What am I doing here?”
Meanwhile, I had several portrait commissions piling up, as it was getting close to Christmas. I prayed for direction, made my choice to leave, and gave notice.
Now, over a year later, I am doing art completely full time, although again during the middle of last year, I had a lapse in commissions. This time, however, my mom encouraged me to stick with it and not give up. She even commissioned me to do a painting for her!
After that, the ice was broken and commissions came pouring in from other places. I even got a commission overseas from a lady in England!
I am wanting to take my art to a new level this year, and my marketing as well. That’s why I signed up for Blog Tyrant, because I’ve learned blogging is vital for artists to connect with collectors and form new ones. Thanks for helping us with this aspect, Ramsay!
So good to see you succeeding like that! I hope it continues to grow and grow for you. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome post Ramsay! I could not agree more about the hype and craziness out here, even today. But, I can hardly blame people for it, it is just lack of knowledge about building, branding and managing a business online… But, this article should give them the right direction to head in! Great stuff once again….
Hi David.
Yeah I agree. But I also think it is a lot of greedy people creating the junk. People who should know better.
Anyway, hopefully we can help the newcomers out!
I appreciate your no BS style Ramsay and this post is no exception.
I’m a newbie to full-time working at home; having been previously employed part-time PLUS working at home as many hours as I can squeeze in (very often with very little sleep) on various projects for quite some time now.
My new found full time work at home status was not planned this way but here I am, launching and learning!
It’s fabulous to see all of these reality checks in one place, I suggest that many of your readers will be printing a copy and checking off 1 by 1 each point you raise, I know I will.
Cheers for sharing so much of your knowledge, it truly is a gift to each of us that follow your blog.
Hi Mandy.
Glad you enjoyed the no-BS element to the article. Really wanted to keep it “real”.
Thanks for stopping by.
Nice post, Ramsay (as usual) – I chuckled a bit when I read “the ultimate post about working from home” because I have a blog about freelance and the topics are endless, I *know* a single post cannot possibly cover everything 😀
But you have done an amazing job summarizing the key points one should think about when playing with the idea of going solo.
And since you nicely asked about tips from work-from-home experience, I simply have to share two, which were not covered in your post but are very important:
First, figure out your work ethics and principles. While working as a freelancer/online business owner/solopreneur/call-yourself-whatever-you-like, you should be absolutely sure *why* you are doing whatever you are doing. And I am not talking about the goal you mention in your post but rather what kind of life you want to have and how your doings will change other people’s lives.
You should lay some ground rules and never break those rules so that others don’t get advantage of you. To illustrate my point, I’ll give a couple of examples…
I am a marketing consultant and one of my work principles is to never accept a project to market a product which I wouldn’t buy or use myself if I were a regular user. If I did, that would be misleading and sometimes, lying to the intended audience. Not cool.
Another example – I don’t work with unprofessional people. As an employee, I had to deal with a lot and different types of people. I didn’t have much saying into what my clients were, or what my boss’ mood was. As a freelancer though, I have full control over that. So if a client approaches me and I find his attitude condescending (or whatever), I turn him down for that reason alone.
What I didn’t have control over as an employee (in this case – working with unprofessional people), now I have the freedom to require from my clients solely on a principle.
If you make a compromise with yourself or your principles once, there will be a second time, third time, etc. – so simply know what you want, why are you doing it and stand by your principles, always.
And the second tip I wanted to add to your awesome post was about time management, productivity and working hours. You mentioned it’s good to set some kind of working hours – I second that! But I would even take it one step further.
Working for yourself and online gives you the incredible opportunity to have control over your time and to not be bound to a single place (your work place). So go travel – see the world, learn things, meet people. That will only make you a better person and in turns, a better freelancer/solopreneur/blogger/whatever-you-are.
Plan your work and time in a such a way that you have at least 2 days off every week and at least 1 week every month away from your usual environment. And later when you are sure you run a successful online venture, you can simply pick up your stuff and travel all the time or as often as you want (why limit yourself to 1 week per month if you can do it for 2 🙂
Traveling enriches our lives in so many ways, many of which I didn’t even suspect before I started doing it.
I apologize for the super long comment but it was really hard to share just these 2 tips. Not sure if it is appropriate to give a link to my freelance blog here? A lot more tips on the work-from-home topic available there.
Anyways, thanks for a very inspiring post, Ramsay – sharing it across the board to help out more people and help you spread the word!
~Diana
Absolutely love this comment! I’m going to share it on social a bit later on. Such perfect advice.
Thanks, Ramsay – I am glad I could add value through a comment 🙂
~Diana
I LOVE your goal. My goal is to hit 1000 daily visitors, and get a 15% optin rate.
If you have kids, working from home can be tough (if they’re not in school yet). I’ve done it before and you’ll need a babysitter (or to work when the kids are napping!)
I currently have a full time job and blog during lunch and in the evenings. It’s tricky with young kids, and I’m growing my blog slowly, but I think it’s better this way.
As for the reason I’m doing it, you are 100% right that you have to be clear on the reason. For me, I want to build a blog that generates passive income so I can travel the and spend more time with my family.
I don’t want to quit my job, but I do want to be able to pay for overseas vacations without having to dip into my savings or use my salary. Giving my kids a chance to see the world means a lot to me and it’s what motivates me to get through the challenges of getting my blog off the ground.
Thanks for this post Ramsay.
Raza
Hi Raza. I think having a balance between a job and blogging income is a really smart idea.
Hi Ramsay, my eldest granddaughter (21) is working as an au pair here in South Africa at the moment. She is dreaming of doing her own thing and I will pass this on to her. Thanks.
Thanks, Gerrie. That means a lot.
I recently moved to Las Vegas, where I’m working remotely for a company and doing the freelance thing … I’m not making a living independently yet, but that’s definitely the goal so it feels like a bit of a precursor.
Now that I’m able to prioritize my projects again ( been off the grid the past couple of years ), I definitely need to set more specific goals.
Thanks for stopping by mate. Saw your new 12×12 the other day. Really love your stuff.
Thanks Ramsay – it feels really good to get back to it after so long.
bulls eye Ramsay, this is what my new year goal was but somehow i was lost . Thanks for making me focus again !!
Glad it helped!
Hey Ramsay. This article struck a nerve. It was exactly what I needed to read and process. I launched my site just one month ago and I was already giving myself a hard time for not being there yet (I haven’t quit my day job).
The funny thing is that six years ago, I wrote down my 10 year goals. I’m totally on track for everything but now I suddenly want everything yesterday.
Thanks for this article.
Ha ha. I know that feeling! Thanks for sharing.
Hey Ramsay,
This is an exciting post.
Presently, I’m working from home (from my couch, of course) where I run a successful freelance writing business.
For me, the best part of working from home is the fact that I’m my own boss and I can earn as much $$$ as I want, even within a stipulated time frame.
I also enjoy the “feeling” of running a business where I can work flexibly, don’t have to be involved in office politics, and can even outsource tasks I don’t enjoy doing.
Where I operate from, the concept of working from home isn’t that much popular, but thank heaven for this new model of making money, which as it seems, is certainly slowly trouncing the traditional methods.
I’m happy working from home, but it seems there’s something I may be missing: I don’t have a cat that sleeps on my keyboard. Notwithstanding, I still make that moola without a cat (actually, without a boss!)
Ha ha. The cat is not essential. Just a bonus. 🙂
Hey Ramsay
Wow, I’m astonished that why you haven’t promoted this post as an Ebook and sell it on Amazon. Amazing resource, for anyone who wants to work from home and that too for free. And yes, you are right that the Internet is full of those spammy sites. Thanks for this wonderful resource. Keep providing us with these important resources, I’m so glad that I found BlogTyrant.
Really glad you enjoyed it. I wanted to keep it free just to really show that it was written with the aim to help, not just get money from people who want to work from home.
One more thing…
Working from home is LONELY. I work in IT for a hospital in Chicago and lots of my colleagues wish they could work from home.
Having worked from home in the past, you start to crave human interaction. So unless you’re working in a cafe all day, or have other friends who work from home, or are taking a class in the evenings, or are traveling the world, working from home can become very hard.
I’ve learned that fantasy is not always reality. I’m very happy working my full-time job and slowly building up my blog. Even when I hit my goals, I can’t imagine ever leaving my job (especially since I have young kids)
Yeah that is such a true point. Socialising is very important for human beings.
Hey Ramsay, great post as usual.
Working from home is both harder and easier than working in an office.
I have 6 kids, 2 of them are under school age so are still home all day. From the perspective of someone with young children at home, being able to stay at home during the day and see them is so rewarding.
Sure, it gets hard to concentrate sometimes – especially during school holidays – but it is definitely worth it.
I wrote about some tips for working from home with kids if anyone’s interested http://www.learndesign.com.au/tips-working-home-kids/
You and Pat are right about it affecting your personal life. It will completely change it. It takes a different kind of willpower. You have to learn to both motivate yourself when you don’t feel like working, and also learn how to switch off and actually stop working for the day.
For someone in a creative industry such as design, writing or development, it’s an absolute god-send to be able to work at your most creative times. If I’m having a “block” I know to just stop work for a while. Sometimes I’ll burn through a few hours in the late hours of the night because I had an idea, producing amazing work I just wouldn’t have done at a 9-5.
That flexibility is harder to manage, but is way more rewarding than having rigid hours.
Most people think working from home means you run your own business or freelance. I started working at home while freelancing, but I now work for an agency in a completely different state. I have fully flexible hours and work from home full time. It is an amazing way to work and I urge any agencies or studios out there to give it a go with their employees.
Six kids! Man, I don’t know how you find time to breathe!
Although, my best mate has five boys and he always jokes that they just raised the first one well and now he raises the other ones. Ha ha.
Great post. Got a lot out of this for my business and of course my blog. Thanks Julie
Thanks for the feedback Julie.
That was a fabulos article,thanks so much!
Do you work from home, Noel?
Great post – thank you.
One think I find after several years of working at home is that I miss the energy of having a team around me.
So one day a week I decamp to a local serviced office and take a hot desk. The place is full of other individuals and some small teams working on their own businesses. We chat over coffee and share ideas and tools.
It’s not only good energy, but different energy – less creative but more disciplined – so I tend to do any admin or routine tasks at ‘the office’.
Hi Maureen.
Yeah, my fiancee says the same thing. She’s always been in a great, friendly office until last year. Now she’s mostly working at home but doesn’t love it quite like I do.
Hey Ramsay,
A lot of great points in the comments about setting your hours, otherwise you can get sucked into working 25/8.
Two things that help me working from home:
1. A great tool to keep me on track and working effectively is Toggl.
It’s a free timer that records the hours you worked.
When you know you’re being timed, you work smarter and faster.
It’s easy to continue timing the same project the next day, and if you forget to turn it off, no problem.. it knows if you are AFK.
I get an email at the end of each week that shows exactly where I spent my time.
This is perfect if you get paid on a per project basis, because you can set targets to reduce your hours on a particular project, increasing your hourly rate in the process.
2. Invest in an adjustable desk. More specifically, a stand-up desk.
The couch is fine for working when the cricket is on, but it’s not particularly ergonomic 😉
Neither is sitting at a desk. Standing, however, is perfect.
You just have to get used to it, train your back muscles.
It’s much better for your posture, health and even productivity I find.
Of course sometimes it’s nice to sit, which is why adjustable desks come in handy. Lower it down, grab a swivel chair and you’re good.
Cheers
Joe
One more vote for Toggle for me – it’s super useful not only to keep yourself on track, as Joe suggested, but to learn how to estimate your efforts.
Sometimes tasks take you longer than anticipated and if you work with clients on fixed price jobs, not estimating your time right can cost you big money.
So when you track your time with Toggle or a similar tool, you are able to look back and do two things:
1) better estimate the time you need to do a certain task, based on previous experience, and
2) notice patterns of how you spend your time and further improve your time management – this is one tactic I used to kick off the habit of Facebooking (what an awful time-sucker!)
~Diana
Hey Joe.
Just quickly, I read somewhere that standing is actually about the same as sitting – we need to be moving. Do you have any thoughts on that after using a stand up desk?
Hi Ramsay
Standing is less impactful towards poor posture and flexibility. Especially your lower back muscles and hip flexors.
Hey mate I just came across an interview with Dr. Mellor while doing some research; thought of our discussion.
His study found that standing vs sitting – just in the afternoon – burns an extra 174 calories. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24297826
5 days a week and you’re getting close to 1000 calories. Recommended dietary intake is 2000 calories per day, so you can appreciate the potential long-term impact for those at risk of weight problems.
*I am sitting as I write this.
That’s a really interesting figure. I wouldn’t have thought it was that much.
Hey Ramsay,
You have very well covered the negative sides at the first, many sites are not telling this to newbies. A very honest post as usual.
But I wonder why the texts are not justified on your posts? And not only yours, many high traffic sites too have this or is this done purposely? I have been making the text appears justified both sides in my blog and it appears really neat.
I’m not sure what you mean. Can you send me a screenshot?
If you run a service based business get out and network. The most success we’ve had since we started our business has routinely been networking events.
As we try to grow our business through online marketing we’ve managed to keep the business profitable by connecting with people in person. It is a lot easier to convert on a client you’ve physically met then one who has found you online.
Yes, I hear this from a lot of service-based online biz’s. Can you suggest specific types of networking scenarios-do you mean chamber of commerce type meetings?
Hey Michael,
We’re heading to an event hosted by small business BC tomorrow. It’s an appetizers/drinks and a short 30 minute presentation. That type of thing.
My partner is then speaking at an international education conference next month. We’ll sometimes attend “Locobc” which is basically a group that networks to promote local businesses here. Etc.
We could easily attend one a week if we wanted to. We usually aim for 1-2 per month. And although I hate these things (I got into SEO because I’m introverted haha) they’re well worth while.
Yes! Precisely! I’m offering a service-based business and networking is probably the best option to kick off your career.
Absolutely! Networking wins.
Truly good work Ramsay, you obviously have a great work ‘ethic’ & the true grit to persist. For a great number of people I think the idea of blogging is just alien – they seek ‘business ops’ to try and attain the work-from-home dream. For many people, especially those over 40 having some kind of straight ahead selling platform makes the most sense. Blogging I always say has become almost a meaningless term – none of us keep a journal, or ‘web-log’ anymore; we create an information magazine, post by post. But whatever the semantics, it is always hard work to produce quality. Finding your tribe I think is the most difficult aspect – and it can be very discouraging. So my big tip is to just cultivate dogged persistence.
Hi Michael.
You are totally right. It’s not a blog anymore – they are full websites with stores and landing pages and all sorts of other things going on.
Really, a blog is just a means to find traffic and build trust. The goal has to be somewhere with the end-result – sales, etc.
Every time I have a deep discussion with my wife about the direction of my blog, or have a loooong deep think about it all along you come via Google+ or Linkedin with something like this which answers all of my questions or puts all my worries to rest.
You sir, are a champion.
Alex that means a lot to me. This is going straight in my feedback folder!
Hi Ramsey,
Great blog! I’ve been working at home and selling on Ebay for 8 years.
My advice is, if you want to work at home, just start. Part time, and don’t give up your day job.
Don’t knock yourself out planning, because it’s not going to end up what you started with. You are going to grown, and learn and keep making changes that will make your part time business grow, and better.
Set what ever time you can spare to work on your home based business and stick as close to that as you can.
Keep adding to your stuff to keep it fresh, and keep people coming back.
What I do is quite unique and I’ve developed it over the years. I now sell on Ebay, Etsy, my own website and post on Facebook. Two best weeks last November, $1,200 +!!
Keep up the good work Ramsey! People are listening. Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned!
Blessings ~
Linda
Thanks Linda! I agree about the part time aspect. That’s the way I did it and it took off a lot of the pressure.
Track expenses and income because come tax time, you don’t want to spend hours digging up stuff or regretting you don’t have records. As far as a few tips:
1. Keep an email folder labeled Receipts for storing email receipts for anything that supports the biz; a wordpress plugin, office supplies, whatever.
2. Track all income and invoices. You might do it in Excel or in paper form, whatever works for you.
3. Note you can declare some of the home stuff. For example, a certain percent of your home internet bill can be a biz expense. I have seen ways of declaring a portion of your home (and utilities) for a home biz but don’t suggest it for anyone who “blogs for a living.”
4. Spend the money on a good CPA. Yes, you can use software and pay $40 to do it yourself but my CPA has saved me thousands over the years because he knows the laws better than I do.
Very true. A good accountant is so important.
Of course, when I read the part about being your boss here, I thought of the good news/bad news joke about this topic which goes, “The good news is, you’re your own boss. The bad news is, is that you’ve now got a really shitty, dysfunctional, and incompetent boss.”
That’s funny to people who are honest about their short comings that they are faced with when they first go from being an employee to being their own boss.
Being an employee and being the owner of a business are two completely different functions. The difference between the two is as vast as being a child and being a parent. Just because you’ve been one, doesn’t automatically mean you know how to do the other.
The biggest challenge I think we run into when running our own business is managing ourselves. As an employee, no matter how high up you go, someone is always managing you and serving as adult supervision. As the owner, there is no more adult supervision. You’re it.
There is no more luxury of showing up for only 40 hours a week, doing just an “Okay” job and getting paid exactly the same as the guy who is doing the “Magnificent” job.
There are no more sick days, no more paid vacation, or any of the other perks that come with being an employee.
There is no one to complain to anymore if you’re not making all the money that you’d like to be making. Why? Because you’re the one determining how much money you make.
Being a business owner is the ultimate “If it is to be, it is up to me” scenario and this is why I believe a top priority for any would be business owner is to become comfortable with this reality and become a master at managing themselves so that the profit producing activities in your business are being executed in a way that sustains the business.
It’s very cool to see you being a force for good Ramsay (as is always the case) and helping make sure people are not deluded when it comes to this topic of being your own boss. I hope this piece goes far and wide. I trust it already has. 🙂
Absolutely legendary comment, as always. Really love these insights that you post. And I totally agree about the bad boss!
I think that balance is the hardest thing to achieve when you are a work from home entrepreneur. You never really switch off because your work is constantly there. I’ve been doing it for over 5 years now and I’m still working towards getting that balance right.
I’m glad you bought up the health thing too because that’s something I suffer badly with, as do many of my friends who run their own business. You end up working constantly because there’s no one else to cover/help you and it all catches up with you in the end. I wish I’d known that years ago and my health wouldn’t be in the state it’s in now.
Hope your health is okay, Fiona.
What or who is CrazyHTML?
Oh I forgot to link to them. My friend Viktor who is a brilliant WordPress coder – it’s his company. http://www.crazyxhtml.com/
I am still trying to see what your “squeeze” page looks like…
I’ve read all of three of your posts and feel like I’ve learned more about blogging than I did in the past two years. So thank you.
Now, off to the squeeze page….
Ramsy!!!! This is so dope and realistic.. Keep them coming…wana be you pal for life
Excellent article, Ramsay. I was afraid of the isolation that would come with working from home. But I find that some people don’t understand that when you say you are working from home that you are actually working. They feel free to drop by any time knowing I am home. It’s difficult to get your friends and family used to that concept, that I’m trying to keep business hours. I’m just not going to an office.
Thanks for sharing.
Yeah that takes some training. A friend of mine just has an open/closed door policy. If it’s closed, don’t interrupt.
Hi Ramsay,
I am a regular reader of your blog and amazed by your writing skills.
I have one indian devotional music website. I register 30-40 email subscribers daily. But have no clue on how to monetize my indian subscribers.
Do you have something to advice me?
I’m not sure, sorry. Maybe with books or other affiliates for music?
Hello Ramsey,
I have been reading your articles for some time now and I was inspired to join the blogging world as a result.
I am just over a month in and I am also finishing up school and working full-time. In regards to 7, I really think that it is important to realize that it’s important to relax and take time to just sit around and gather your thoughts.
Going 100 mph with no regard for your health and well-being will be detrimental. I am going to try and work on that in the coming weeks and hopefully I can figure this out.
Thanks for writing and I hope to continue our conversation in the near future.
Hope it helps mate. Good luck!
Awesome post. This should be sent to anyone you know who is considering their own business/freelancing. It could save them literally YEARS of messing around getting things wrong.
So much of this mirrors my own journey…so far!
Ah, Ramsay!
I seriously cannot thank you enough for posting this article.
I have been running an online school teaching the Korean language for just coming up to 5 years now, and after many issues and failures with trying to manage it all myself, I feel like I found this post at the perfect time. Thanks to you I am finally looking into outsourcing to help with the complicated coding and some much needed marketing advice.
Thank you again,
Char
P.S I suffer from chronic insomnia and can go up to 7 nights on no sleep whatsoever and I have to tell you that the part where you mentioned how a bad sleep pattern can add body fat on a person has really frightened me haha.
Nothing like working from home, only if we could incorporate professionalism of the work place there, right from systematic goals, business plans and periodic evaluation.
Working from home can be very helpful. However, if you’re having debts, then it’s not really recommended. It can be fun at the beginning. But to work from home regularly can be difficult for some people.
The main problem is if you fail on what you’re trying to do, then you need to have a backup plan.
Thanks for sharing these valuable tips.
I like Ramsay’s recommendation to find a part-time job while persuing the work-from-home lifestyle for this very reason. However, I wouldn’t recommend persuing this lifestyle if you’re overwhlemed by debt or other responsibilities as it’s all too easy to lose focus, energy, and determination when overwhelmed.
If I were to go full-time from home again, I would save 6 to 12 months of seed money to pay for essentials and fun and would look for a part-time job … extra income is great, but socializing offline is important and can lead to opportunity.