An irreverent look at the ups and downs of running a business from home
Part 2: The Perks
OK so we’ve discussed the perils of home working. We’ve shared, we’ve cried, we’ve had a group hug “My name is Sarah and I am a work at home mum”. But it’s not all bad, there are some fantastic things about working from home. We can rejoice, celebrate and embrace our non conformist lifestyle! Here are my top 5 perks to working from home:
1. No commute! No getting stuck in traffic for us home workers, no sitting next to the smelly man on the bus, no road rage (although I have been known to experience ‘stair rage’ when one of the little ones gets in my way en route to the office!). We are doing our bit for the environment, we are maximising time and we can stay in bed a bit longer than the rest of the rat race!
2. We can have a cooked lunch every day if we want. 11am is spud-in-the-oven o’clock chez Ainslie and we’re not talking wizened up microwave ‘ping potatoes’ where the bottom is rock hard, the centre still raw and you can vaguely taste your colleague’s super noodles that exploded in there the day before, I’m talking crispy skinned, fluffy in the middle baked potatoes. Yeah baby.
3. You can still do the school run. OK so to many that may not sound that great but you save tons of money on wraparound childcare and you get to meet other mums and eventually become accepted into the inner circle of the ‘mums club’ and get invited to boozy nights out, yay!
4. No office politics. You don’t have to be nice to colleagues you don’t get on with. You don’t have to worry that your outfits are bang on trend or that your lunch is too smelly or that your boss is a misogynist who has no intention of promoting you. It’s a tightrope. I have worked from home for three years now and me and the wall have never had a cross word (see Part 1: Perils, item 5). Although the computer does sulk when I swear at it.
5. You can work all day in your pants! Good for you, not so good for the window cleaner!
So there we are. I personally love working from home and couldn’t imagine going back to a ‘proper job’. There are perils but there are a lot of perks and while I make light of them, being able to juggle my roles as mummy to two beautiful girls and dynamic freelance marketer extraordinaire is really important to me.
Are you a work at home mum (WAHM) or thinking of becoming one? I’d love to hear your comments about YOUR perils and perks and what you love and hate about working from home. Please leave your comments here or join in the discussion on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=17605&uid=329414422875
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