I was tagged by Deb Gallardo for a meme on why I love working from home, which originated with Kelly McCausey on Sparkplugging.com. The cool thing is, Deb won a $50 prize for the post where she tagged me! Congrats, Deb π
I have been working from home for almost 12 full years now, and I can definitely say that I love it! Its not for everyone, but as a single mother it has been the perfect solution to having a rewarding and profitable career while raising my 2 children at the same time.
There are probably dozens of reasons I love what I do, and where I do it, but I'll stick to the meme and give you the top 10...
Top 10 Reasons I Love Working From Home
1. I have a non-confining, super-flexible schedule. I sleep when I want to, eat when i want to, set my own work hours, and take a day off whenever I please.
2. I get to spend a lot of quality time with my children. I've been a full-time "stay at home mom" since they were 5 months old and 5 years old.
3. I have the creative freedom to choose my own direction, make drastic change, and basically manage my business without any outside resistance.
4. Nobody gripes if I decide to work overtime π
5. I get to connect with hundreds of cool people from all over the world during the course of my work day.
6. I get to be myself. I can dress funny, sing out loud while I'm working, put my feet up on my desk, and even talk to myself...
7. I can work from anywhere - from the home office, the back deck, in front of the TV on the chaise lounge. Or even from a local coffee shop or while traveling. There are lots of perks to having a mobile business!
8. I get to be at home, which is where I prefer to be more often than not. Especially now that I have a big new house to enjoy π
9. I absolutely love what I do. My career in Internet Marketing has been both fun and personally fulfilling. Even more than a decade into it, I still wake early - and cant wait to get the work day started!
10. I make money at it π
Best,
I'm tagging Melissa Ingold, Kara & Anita and Bonnie Lowe for this meme too. We'd love to hear the Top 10 reasons you love to work from home!
About Lynn Terry
Wow, Lynn!
Your top 10 reasons are wonderful -- especially number 10.
Sure. Put me to shame. I write about not having to shave my legs and you write about making money.
LOL
Maybe Kelly will ask this question again this time next year and we'll switch. YOU write about not having to shave your legs and I'LL write about making money.
Deal?
Kidding aside, I knew your list would be good. You've never made a secret of the fact that you love working at home.
Umm, that's why I picked you. I figured it would be a piece of cake. Looks like it was. Thanks for taking up the challenge and for the plug on my prize.
BTW, offering a prize like this of X number of dollars' worth of product from our sites is a great idea. I'm filing this one away for future reference.
Thanks again for playing along.
Deb Gallardo
I agree, that was a great idea! I loved your Top 10 too, and many of your points resonated with me as well - including not having to shave your legs π lol - Good one!
I love it! All of them apply to me, especially numbers 1 and 2.
I would add that I also get to work when I'm at my best, i.e. not based on someone else's idea of when I should be working.
Example: I'm not a morning person so I don't work with clients in the a.m. I handle email and reading blogs, etc.
Love to brainstorm and create late at night, so that's what I do.
Want to take a nap in the afternoon ~ then guess what? I do it!
P.S. Love the shaving the legs comment. I guess it's time I pencil that in!
Hey Lynn,
What a great read! Your top 10 list was just fantastic, you're so lucky to be doing what you're doing (and loving it!). A great reminder of why the WAHM life is so wonderful. Kudos!
Now, I'm an official Microsoft ambassador and right now we're really trying to scale up our connections with influential bloggers like yourself. I'd love to share with you some of the stuff we've been doing in the last couple months to help women entrepreneurs; we're really committed to providing all the necessary resources to help women start, grow and expand their business.
We just wrapped up a women's entrepreneurial tour across the US called Γ’β¬ΕVision To Venture;Γ’β¬Β the response and turn-out was great!
I'd really love your take on these offerings we have right now; I would have contacted you via email but I didn't know which was the best way to reach you.
Thank you so much, I hope I didn't overstep my bounds by directly contacting you. Definitely get back to me if I’ve piqued your interest-- I’d love to share more info with you.
Best,
Kimberly
Official Microsoft Ambassador
k-rosenberg@live.com
Sure Kimberly - you can reach me directly at Lynn-AT-ClickNewz.com. I'd be happy to take a look.
I'd have to agree with your top 10! I think the greatest thing is the fact that you can work from anywhere. The flexibility a home business offers is truly second to none!
I'm a young entrepreneur and networker and I'm loving working from home. My friends used to ask me why I stay at home?
I reply to them, "When there is work, I stay at home and when there is no work, I went outside to hang out!"
Definitely in my top ten would be not having to deal with office politics
I agree Katherine. My last "real job" was in 1996, and the office atmosphere was not the greatest. I loved my job (unix sys admin) but there were plenty of reasons to dread going into work every morning... π
i agree. it's the only way to work, be creative and productive, though i have several friends that tried but were not able to remain focused.
thanks for the tips.
Its definitely not for everyone, Rob. It takes a very self-motivated, self-disciplined person to be successful in a home office environment...
It's a shame that most failures occur because your #10 is their #1.
Now lets see a show of hands...who wants to see #6 on video! π
LOL π There was a video out awhile back, but it was only live for an hour or two, and only played after one of the weekly webinars - after the recorded hour, of course. A handful of people saw it before I pulled it π
Sounds loads of fun, Lynn!
You are a great mom, I personally enjoy "Most" of my time with my kids too by splitting work between office and home office π
Lynn,
What happened to the sweats and bunny slippers? :0)
BTW, I did see that crazy video, and you really do have fun! Good for you!
Thank you Maher π
LOL Carol - its usually flannel or fleece pants with fuzzy slippers - but they are retired for the summer months in exchange for shorts & flip flops! New videos are in order, I know, I know π
This is one of my favorite posts of yours. It is in my favorites list in Twitter. For many years I had my business in a professional office building, but it always made my work feel like a "job" that I had to commute to. I enjoy working, but I don't like to commute or have a job.
I finally faced the fact that when I work at home I'm a lot happier. So that's what I do. Sometimes I get criticized by the people who think I should have a fancy office. That's fine, they can always find something to complain about anyway. Meanwhile you make friends with people who appreciate the work at home life, like you do.
It can be turned into a selling point too. For some time I used to run an advertisement that explained how I was at home in my robe and slippers. People laughed but the response was high. I think many people secretly wish for a more simple and happier life.
The main benefit to me was that I got to spend a lot of time with my kids when they were little. We'd play in the sprinklers in the yard while other dads were at their jobs. And I'd often be the only dad among all the moms attending their school events. Yes, working at home has many advantages.
Keep smiling,
Mark Nolan
I agree Mark. And I too like "simple". Very, very much π
I would add the fact that you don't have to commute to work. That saves at least an hour or two a day for an average person.
No doubt. I went to Nashville yesterday for the monthly social media meet (Nashville Geek Breakfast) and hit MAJOR rush hour traffic. It was nuts... sooo glad I dont have to do THAT every day π