I have worked at home since 2010. It can be lonely, it can be quiet but it can also be exciting.  Many people ask me how I do it.   I’m going to give my top five tips to being successful working at home.  

1.        Have an area of your home dedicated to working.  I have a home office off of my kitchen. I look at that office as the place I go from 9-5.   Although it is in my home, I don’t think I have to work 24 hours per day.

2.       Prioritize your life.  Do you want a family, relationships, friends?  If so, you need to limit when you work.  I prize my relationships as well as my professional life and I do think there is time for all of it.  When I hear a person is working all the time and into the late night, I think they must not be accomplishing much.  Work when you are rested and can think the best.

3.       Time Manage!  I make lists of objectives for the day.  I finish them.  They are not monumental objectives.  They are things I can complete in one day verses 2 weeks.

4.       Manage expectations.  Manage yours and others.  Make sure you can be successful with your objectives.

5.       Do what you love.  Before you start your business, sit down and figure out your passion.  What do you love to do?  Then develop a path and plan to start your business.

Those are my tips!  Small business life is not easy but it is very gratifying.

Don’t give up!