Having a Support Network
Posted on : 01-04-2008 | By : Lyndon | In : Work From Home Articles
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Working from home can give you amazing freedom to spend time with your family, it can also give you more free quality time to spend as you please, but the one thing that working from home doesn’t give you is a work based support network.
What is a work based support network? And why do I need one?
When your working for someone else and you’re having a bad day there would usually be someone that you can turn to either for help or to blow off a little steam, but when your working from home, alone, who do you turn to?
Again, working from home, alone is, as the name suggests lonely – there is no social interaction with other co-workers, no leaving parties, Christmas parties etc.. – so if this website is here to promote working from home, why am I being so negative??
The answer is that I’m not, I’m here to try to help anyone who feels that way from time to time. I’m sure that we’ve all felt a little lonely or frustrated occasionally and the answer is as simple as if you were working in an office with 100 other people. Whether people are sat at the next cubicle or at the opposite end of the planet they can still make a big difference to your day and there’s plenty of ways to find them as well.
The first obvious choice would be to find a forum specific to your niche, i.e. if your a webdesigner then somewhere like DesignersTalk would be perfect, if you make scale models to resell then somewhere like Scale-Models might be a good place to start, you get the idea! Failing niche forums you could find yourself a nice general Work From Home Forum!
Also don’t overlook local support – almost every part of every developed nation now has business clubs, Chambers of Commerce, small business assistance groups all of which are excellent places to make new industry friends and contacts, go to as many events as you can – be sure to have loads of high quality business cards to give out and make sure to get as many back in return as you can – you never know where that next big sale will come from!
Sometimes the problem is just the opposite, trying to be left alone so that you can complete the tasks at hand.
There are times I wonder if I should rent a quiet place to go so that I could “work at home.”
I’d agree Felicia, I call them my coffee buddies! I’ve got a few friends that don’t appreciate the “work” aspect of work from home and frequently pop around for a coffee.
My brother in law is an architect and I’m forever dreaming about renting a spare office from him, but the benefits of staying at home are still far greater (at the moment!!!!!)
This is great advice. Finially someone who is on the same wavelength as I am. I recently started a new business and need all the support and encouragement I can!
I agree that there are times when one, who is able to work from home full-time needs support, there are others who may not. I am normally a loner and tend to enjoy spending time by myself.
I also have many hobbies and activities that I engage in that keep me energized. I usually break from my desk and go run for about an hour. I also will on occasions meet up with some friends and either go to a movie, or to dinner or do something fun. I also enjoy traveling. Since I am working from home, I can take my laptop, phone and other items with me and run my business while I am on the road. I think it helps to have outside activities that you enjoy.
Even if you can’t travel and there are times when I do want to, I like to read, draw and curl up with a nice book. All help to revitalize me and get my head back on straight so I can get back to work. The great thing about working from home full-time is you are able to build your business activities around your lifestyle. I was not able to do this while working at a job.
Thank you for letting me share….
It does get a big lonely at times, but I prefer my life to be the way it is. The freedom is the best thing ever, the money is great too. I sell on eBay and a few other sites (just made a website with hundreds of free articles and a product sourcing ebook I authored). Working at home really is the best!
I agree that one does miss the social chit chat of the workplace, however the freedom and benefits of working from home really make up for it. When I do get that feeling, I think back to the countless times I wished for the chance to work from home, then count my blessings.
People should also consider commenting on blogs. Sometimes, an informal network springs up. I know I’ve got to know some of my readers and that I’ve made contacts on other blogs this way, too.
I think having a the right combination of social interaction and alone time is the best solution.
It will depend on the person. Some days you may want social interaction and some days you may want to be left alone to get stuff done.
I think I’d have to agree with everyone here. Sometimes you need to be left alone, sometimes you need company, sometimes you need help, and sometime you just need sympathy. Why can’t we get everything we need, when need it, all the time?
That may be a pipe dream, but there are things we can do to be pro-active in getting what we need. I have written two articles that may be helpful.
The first is about Co-working which may be a helpful solution for those who need some more networking and interaction.
http://wahcenter.blogspot.com/2008/05/co-working-works-for-home-workers.html
The second is for those who need more support and understanding from those close to them.
http://wahcenter.blogspot.com/2008/05/when-people-are-not-supportive-of-your.html
[...] Do you have support Having a Support Network [...]
I love working from home, but sometimes I do really miss the ability to bounce my ideas off other people, and the ability to chit chat with someone who understands the life of a writer. A few months ago, I contracted a Virtual Assistant, and she has become my support network! She is my sounding board when I have a new idea, and she understands my business as well as I do. Plus, she’s become a good friend. If you’re considering working with a Virtual Assistant, one good place to link up with one is VAnetworking.com
Absolutely, it is human nature to feel alone when working by yourself. It is crucial to find some sort of outlet to let yourself be heard once and a while.
It all depends on what type of business you are running from home. I you are doing a business like network or multi level marketing, where you customers calling you, members of your down line calling you for help with questions about the product you are promoting or about signing up someone who needs more information. With this kind of business, you could have more than enough interaction with people that could tied up your entire day everyday. However. I must agree that there are some businesses like taking survey online that don’t allow a chance to interact with anyone.