Working at home may not be what you expect. Although it may be an ideal fit for some, it takes a particular type of people to succeed at home.

It is very important work-at-home wannabes completely understand what it really means to work at home. Sometimes I get the impression the idea of a WAH career is clouded with glitter and music. While working at home has its many advantages, it is not always, what many expect. The following guide will help anyone thinking of turning down this path of home based work knows if it is genuinely for them.

Working from home means WORK

There have been a number of people approach me to help them get started working from home. As we go through the many options they have, I begin to realize they are becoming more and more dissatisfied by the fact they will actually have to work! Working at home often requires you to work harder than you would in a brick and mortar building! You will read more about this as you continue.

There is no job in cyberspace that will pay you a substantial amount of money while you turn on your computer, in your pajamas and play Farmville. Generally, the more money you expect to make, the more work you will have to do. If you are looking for a get rich quick scheme…please exit this page now…you will not find one here! And once you find this scheme and are required to have 100 people signed up by the end of the month…DO NOT come to me with your business ‘opportunity’. I am not interested and anyone looking for legitimate work should not be interested in any marketing schemes either. Expect to work!

Your Attention is Needed

While there are the random small jobs that allow you to do mindless work, if you are looking for substantial income, please realize your attention will be needed. You may sometimes need a babysitter, a spouse to watch the children or may have to use every minute of time you have while kids are sleeping to work. Even non-phone jobs that do not require background noise generally require you to be able to have some sort of concentration and focus to the task at hand. So either expect the rate at which you work to slow down substantially or choose to work when you are alone. The flexibility of working at home is the best part for most of us! However, it usually means the work I could have completed at a job-site in 8 hours, will now take a complete day in between caring for my children, house and husband.

You MUST Have Motivation

I think any WAHmer can agree with me here. The hardest thing about creating your own schedule is sticking to it! When you have no one to answer to but yourself, it is easy to let work sit or give up the shift you signed up for. Then when bills come due or those shoes you have been wanting go on sale, you feel like an idiot. We all have to work out our own ways of keeping up our motivation.

You Are Accountable For Yourself

Many work at home jobs hire agents as Independent Contractors versus Employees. This means you are responsible for your equipment (computer, phone, headset…), your quality of work, the amount of time spent and most importantly your TAXES. As an Independent Contractor, you may find yourself owing taxes come April! So be sure to get in touch with a professional accountant who can help you plan for the year and hold back a portion of each check.

Of course, there are many upsides to working at home, from the flexibility to not having a boss breathing down your neck. Some people simply need the structure of an on-site job. There is nothing wrong with that. I just hope before making any life changing choices you can look at yourself and decide if you have what it takes to depend solely on yourself!

More About Today’s Guest Blogger:

Miranda Grimm is the author of the Work at Home Adventures blog, a work at home mother of two and Full time college student. After spending many hours researching the multiple home based jobs available online, she now shares her compounded information freely through her blog.

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