by nobby

Created on: August 28, 2008   Last Updated: October 05, 2011

Designate a work area:

A corner in the dining room may work fine, if it is quiet, private and accessible at all times of the day. You want to make sure that your family members won't accidentally throw away or delete important business information, you also want to be able to access your work related files and papers just in case a client calls with an urgent situation.

Determine your work schedule:

If you are contacting customers for a client you will want to set a schedule that includes some traditional work hours, and let your client know when you are available by phone or through IM. Remember to schedule regular break-times during which you use the restroom, grab a snack or just stretch your legs. It can be tempting to just work on your laptop during the commercials of your favorite afternoon soap opera, but maintaining a professional schedule will help you remain professional and ensure that you are producing top quality results.

Eliminate distractions:

For stay-at-home parents working from home can seem like a double blessing, gaining income without gaining childcare costs is a common reason many people choose to work from home. It is, however, very important that you are able to concentrate on work while you are working. Having an older child, or neighbor, take your younger children outside, or at least out of the room, can help you avoid having to explain to a client why a toddler was screaming in the background of your last conference call! You may also want to post a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door while you are working to ensure that chatty neighbors don't interrupt you.

Get organized:

Being organized is absolutely essential to a successful work from home business. If you can't find client information when needed, you may end up losing that client, not to mention being sued if you lose private customer information. Set up a paper and electronic filing system to make sure you can easily access information at a moment's notice. Invest in a shredder and an all-in-one machine to cut down on paper clutter. You can scan all documents that you don't need the original of and shred your paper copy. When you need a paper copy to send to someone just hit the print button. Try to keep everything within arm's reach or your desk so that you don't have to put down the phone to get something when talking to a client. And finally, always make sure your workspace is tidy before ending your work-day, trust me it makes it so much easier to get to work in the morning when you aren't staring at a pile of yesterday's work.

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