May
24
Working at home takes ‘Team’ to a new meaning
Filed Under Brunch | 5 Comments
Each weekend a new "Brunch" post will feature thoughts about balancing family and self care with working in an always-on Internet environment. This "Brunch" post is by Paul Steven.
They say an Englishman's home is his castle. We'll, here's a Scotsman whose home is his office. My water cooler is the kitchen sink where half the time you'll find me sticking my head out the kitchen window sucking on a cigarette (I'm not allowed to smoke in the house) and drinking black coffee while thinking about world domination and what to make the kids for their supper. Yep, working from home sure has its benefits.
I mind once when I was chatting on the phone to a big jewelers from London. The on-line marketing contract was going to be huge and the person on the other side of the phone was warming to what I was offering as a service. Then the voices started. Muffled at first because I have my own room set aside for my business. But the voices began to disturb my train of thought. Lapses in concentration were affecting my business mode as my fatherly ear trained in on the argument happening right outside my domain.
Skye (1), Robyn (15), Jay (5), and Brooke (5) my wee niece who is never far away
My thoughts of bling bling marketing were soon overwhelmed by cries of "its mine" which were rebuffed by "no, its mine." Then, the yank of a handle and the cry of "Dad, tell her!" as my 5 year old son appeared before me with a look of devastation on his face only a 5 year old can muster. I never called them back after I hurriedly made my apologies and hung up. A door latch now bridges my office space and domestic bliss.
However, working from home has been the best move I have ever made. Witnessing for the first time my youngest daughter take her first steps in life was heaven-sent. I make time to take and pick-up my son from school no matter what me schedule says. I could never dream of doing that before.
My thoughts are that you take the rough with the smooth when working from home. Sure they'll be moments when you wish you were tucked up in some office environment and they'll happen frequently, daily. However, most business related memories I have shared over these last few months have been instantaneous with the ones I love most, my family. Its a feeling that takes the term 'Team' to a whole new meaning.
Thank you, Paul!
Paul owns NorthSouthMedia, an independent Online Marketing company specialising in Search Marketing and organic SEO.
He would like me to say that he is contactable there, except on Sundays when he sleeps a lot, but I happen to know that he has slept during the week at least twice.
Comments
5 Comments so far
Hi Paul, thanks for sharing. I think we’ve all had moments like this, lol. I can think of one instance where the gruff tones of a 17-year-old demanding: “mum, did you wash my jeans” put a serious dent in the impact of my end of a conversation with an important client. Sigh.
Guess I got lucky. Back when my daughter was a child I was doing freelance jewelry design work for the trade, meaning single pieces for individual shops or entire lines for manufacturers.
Due to security issues, none of my clients ever actually knew where my workshop and home was located. My neighbors all believed my entire livelihood was from sculpture. So I was not ever a dead or robbed jeweler, which did happen to some of my peers.
Anyway, my little daughter was excellent at answering the phone and taking messages. My clients all thought she was great.
Of course, she would have been grounded for life if she had pulled any foolish stunt, and she knew it.
Lexi
Thanks for the comments guys, its good to know that I ain’t the only person who had had those dreaded moments. Thanks as well to Elizabeth for giving me this opportunity to share my early experiences of running a business from the home
Working from home is just peachy if it floats ya boat and you really know what your doing!
Recently I am seeing more and more people working from home claiming for example that they are in the online media business or social media experts.
There rational is because 83 people a day come to a blog and they {Might} get a few ad clicks..
Utterly ridiculous.
So I did a test I actually have spoken to (otp) a few people who have made these claims.. Well the results were astonishing none of these people were qualified to sell even rat traps, let alone tout themselves as media experts of any kind.
I’m concerned that this fad is growing and is confusing Advertisers & Consumers alike as to who has skills and who doesn’t.
The one thing that is so attractive to people about social media for example is the lack of accountability.
Lets face it you could big the biggest looser on earth do a blog about cleaning cat pee get 100 mutuals and next thing ya know your a superstar.
The truth..
Unlike real media experts where someone is responsible for success or failure. Thats not true in social media as those involved are independent people who have no outline for success or any regulatory standards.
So a person involved in social media can fail everyday multiplied by millions of people failing this same way and before you know it theres another industry completely destroyed.
Thats my 2 cents about stay at home.
I want to say on those calls to those so called social media impostors I interviewed, I ended the calls with get a real job.
Cheers
@Gene,
Running a business is hard, if you’re a full time, at-home professional like Paul, or if you’re trying to balance having a life with getting a business off the ground after coming home from your other “real” job. The more roles you juggle, the harder it gets.
You won’t see posts about how to get rich online on my blog. You also won’t see posts about how to work your tail off getting “passive income,” unless they’re a spoof.
This post, and this series, is about balancing online life with the rest of living.