Who wouldn’t like to sleep a little late, commute from their bedroom to their home office and save money on gas?  Sounds enticing…where do I sign up?  Some people call it laziness, I call it pure genius.  If your type of work allows, you may want to consider working from home especially in this economic climate, where cash is king.  If you can combine your office rent with your home mortgage you can save some serious money for other important expenses, such as marketing your business or paying a consultant.

It’s not all gravy, however, as there are some serious setbacks to working from home.  Many home-workers I’ve talked to note the lack of separation between ‘home’ and ‘work,’ since it’s easy to sit at your computer all day when it is in your own house.  On this note, it is very important to clearly define your work day, including any breaks and meals you have.  If in a traditional work environment you would eat lunch at your desk, continue doing so.  If not, don’t.  If you can’t distinguish between personal time and business time, both will be equally as unappealing.

Another common issue with working from home is concentration.  If you have young children and a family who are home all day you may find the environment extremely distracting.  The idea is to keep your home office similar if not identical to a not-at-home office; it should be quiet, calm and conducive to getting your job done.  Having a television in your office is also probably not a good idea, nor is anything you wouldn’t have if you had a corner office in a high rise.

If your business has several employees, YOUR home is probably not a great office.  While you may feel comfortable in your own house, your employees may not.  An actual office is much more public and essentially belongs to everyone equally, whereas your house is yours.  If your employees have to worry about stepping lightly around and asking to use things, it may take away from their output.  On the other hand, if you only have a few employees and the business as a whole can still be productive, you may explore allowing everyone to work from their own private space.

A good strategy to follow for working at home is to make yourself a to-do list each day, so you know what needs to be done and by when.  Keep yourself on track, and like I mentioned earlier, leave your office when your work day is over!  Working from home is a great privilege for many people and you don’t want to ruin your own personal experience.