Categories: Advice

The Home Based Business Dilemma

The home based business dilemma.

Imagine – no commute, having time to read the newspaper, coffee brewed just as strong as you like it. Sounds nice, right? Then reality sets it – laundry, dirty kitchen, dog, kids, and so it goes. Working from home often presents a bitter-sweet dilemma. Here are three aspects to consider when working from home.

Control: The double edged sword…

When things are great in your home based office, it’s probably because you’re in control. However, when things aren’t getting done, it’s probably because you’re in control. The key is to recognize what makes for a productive day, and what hampers it. Control your whole day as if you were in the office, only making exceptions when you must.

Accountability: The best defense is a…

Because a five minute Facebook break can easily turn into 45 minutes, the best way to keep yourself on task it to report back to your boss – YOU. At an interval that suits your schedule (every hour, half hour, ten minutes) log what you have completed. This will achieve two things, you will become more aware of how you are spending your time and you will have a greater sense of accomplishment.

Flexibility: With great power comes…

But isn’t the whole point of working from home being able to do what you want? Yes! But work still needs to be done. Because there is only so much time in the day, if another must-do task creeps up, set aside a specific time to do what has been postponed. Instead of the typical 8:00am – 5:00pm work day, see the whole day, 6:00am – 10:00pm as your work day. Why cram it all into eight hours when you have sixteen?

While work is necessary, a lot of joy can be found when you take charge of your day. Recognizing that you control what happens, staying accountable to yourself, and maintaining the flexibility you desire can help make a home based business successful.

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration.

Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law.

Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others.

Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.