As we live in quarantine, thanks to the nasty spread of COVID-19, more and more people are considering working from home to protect themselves and their families.
I think this is a wonderful idea because working from the comfort of your own home provides many benefits beyond ensuring your safety during the pandemic. Creating your own schedule, organizing your work day, getting to work in your pajamas all while making money?! That sounds like a great gig!
However, I believe there’s been misinformation spread about the realities of working from home. I’ve seen people posting about how easy it is, how it’s all passive-come with little to no capital to begin. How it’s literally just being on your phone and magically earning $10,000 a month!
Now, that does sound incredible.
Unfortunately, it’s not the entire truth!
Yes, there are plenty of opportunities to earn significant income while working from home.
Yes, you can start your own business with little resources and capital, and grow it into something more substantial.
But it takes a lot of hard work!
Like anything we strive to achieve in our lives, it involves effort and time to see it through. It seems people want to see a large amount of cash in their bank account each month…but only want to do a small amount of work. That’s not how it works, my friends. If you lack patience and seek instant-gratification when pursuing your goals, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
You can’t take shortcuts when working towards your goals! You know the saying, “You can’t rush perfection?” Here’s another one: “Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well!”
“Yes, we do work in our pajamas…but we work really hard!”
When you decide to work from home, you’ll need a few things to guarantee your success: time, mindset and passion.
It’s not realistic to make income with a simple routine. It will require you to invest serious time in yourself! Consider your other responsibilities such as caring for yourself, your family, maintaining friendships, tending to the house…now add in your working hours.
It’s a lot to juggle but working full-time (especially in the beginning) is what will lead you to your business breakthrough. You must treat your business like a full-time job! Crafting a work schedule of 20 to 40 hours (or more!) a week will aid you in making the living you desire to support yourself and your family.
Your working hours are filled with networking and pitching potential clients, organizing your business, working with clients and other duties unique to your profession. You won’t be able to “relax” until the money starts coming and even then! This is your job and it will always demand your full attention if you want it to stay afloat.
When I launched Virtual Angiie almost two years ago, I was working late nights and early mornings. I would breastfeed my 3 month old while working because I was determined to push myself. I didn’t even have an office at that time. I would sit on my bed and use my dresser as a desk! My clients didn’t know my struggles, or that I had to put in extra hours.
I work from my home office and I have more flexibility now because of the work I put in at the start.
“If you’re really passionate about something, then you 100% will find the energy to keep pushing.”
Your passion for what you do will directly affect your mindset! If you began your business with specific goals to meet, you must allow that passion to carry you to the finish line!
Perhaps realizing how much effort goes into working from home may discourage some people from getting started. Maybe they imagined working in their beds without a care in the world! Maybe they assumed the workload would be lighter than that of a standard job.
The work will become overwhelming at times, especially if you’re working alone. But if you really want it, you’ll find a way to push through! If you believe in yourself, your vision and your business, you will find a way to make it work.
Mindset is everything if you want to be successful. If you get met with more nos than yeses, or if you don’t meet your profit goal right away, try to shift your mindset from defeat to growth. With each stumble, you learn something new. You improve your methods and refine your skills.
Keep in mind your end goals! Why are you starting a business and working from home? For me, I wanted to provide for my family and be with my son! Every time a client gave me a compliment, or paid their invoice, that gave me the push I needed to keep it up.
Working from home can be a blessing and a challenge. If you’re serious about starting a business, get ready to work hard and reap the benefits in time. Just don’t forget: you have to find the drive to keep going no matter what!
“You have to start somewhere so start, start, start.”