successful home working
Posts tagged networking
Why is an inferiority complex so often a home worker’s default setting?
242 weeks ago
by Judy
in Beating isolation
I’ve spoken to many home workers and freelancers over the last few years and one of the common themes that comes up time and time again is the speed at which the human brain spirals down into self-doubt and lack of confidence when left too long to its own devices. And solitary time is usually a big chunk of a home worker’s week, even if they are careful to plan for meetings and coworking.
‘Too long’ can mean a few hours of struggling with a piece of work, an hour of guilty procrastination, or a minute or two spent reading about other people’s achievements. From the dining table room table or spare bedroom it can quickly start to appear that other people ‘out there’ are cleverer, better connected, lavishly funded and possessed of a dauntingly impressive client list.
Our own horizons and ambitions shrink proportionately – how can we, with our family commitments and our small local clients, possibly compete? By squeezing that time alone to the absolute minimum, I’d say from my own experience.
This time last year I was co-organising The BIG Jelly with Jan Minihane and Fay Easton. It took far more time and energy than any of us anticipated and we experienced setbacks throughout the six months of planning, in fact right up to the day itself. There were many occasions when I wanted to cancel, but regular contact with Jan and Fay kept my spirits up and fortunately there was never a time when all three of us were down at the same time! The event was a huge success and I think all of us were thrilled and amazed by what we’d managed to achieve.
So I believe the best way to achieve your potential when you work from home is to stay connected, whether it’s through coworking, Jelly, networking or forming partnerships with other small businesses. Yes, it means drawing on skills we don’t have to use if we pursue the solitary life, but it also means the opportunity to learn both from other people and what we’re really capable of.
PS As usual this post is written because I need to hear it 
Your home working horrors – and how you make them into hurrays
181 year ago
Last week I asked about your personal horrors and hurrays of home working. Kyle Newman is the founder and director of The Move Beyond Group, which includes Beyond Health, a health and wellness consultancy that specialises in helping people improve their health, both physically and financially. Here he describes his own home working horror and how he overcomes it:
‘I think loneliness is often the hardest part for many, especially if like me you also live alone. It’s easy to go for days without seeing or speaking to anyone, especially when I’m having a bit of a down period. I also really miss the interaction with and bouncing ideas off of other people.
‘My guess would be that those that tend towards being more extroverted would find this more challenging than those that tend towards being more introverted… but that assumption has yet to be proven.
‘A few of my top tips would be:
a) develop a routine, so you get in the same habit as getting up, dressed and going to the office;
b) set a finish time, so when you hit a certain time, say 6pm, that’s it work is finished for today;
c) make sure you have a laptop and or smart phone, so you can get out and work from anywhere, and
d) I get out to a few networking breakfasts each week to interact with other business owners – 4Networking is my favourite choice, but there are plenty of options out there…’
There certainly are, and the number of options is increasing all the time, as workhubs and Jelly events proliferate around the country.
Many thanks to Kyle for sharing his insights and helpful advice, and I look forward to hearing more horror stories and how you cope with them. And a few tales of triumph and celebration wouldn’t go amiss!
But I was always told not to eat and talk at the same time…
02 years ago
by Judy
in Homeworking dilemmas
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at the breakfast meeting of the local branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, held at a rather smart hotel just outside Bath. As is usual at these events, everyone gathered in a reception room first for a cup of coffee and then we were ushered into the dining room and had large plates of full English set before us. I picked at mine – after all, if you’re about to address a roomful of people the last thing you want is a palate thick with egg and bacon – feeling bad about the waste of food.
I totally understand the principle of networking over a meal. It saves time in a busy day to refuel at the same time as meeting people, but I find that all too often I eat automatically without enjoying the food and maybe end up eating too much without even noticing till it’s too late. Or I eat almost nothing and leave with a rumbling stomach and low energy.
There’s also the potential for so much embarrassment when you’re meeting and eating with strangers. Juggling with drink and food, not to mention exploding vol au vents and canapés that drip filling down your clothes and onto the carpet.
Food and people are both sources of fascination to me and I prefer to concentrate and enjoy each separately, but I’ve never heard anybody else express this opinion. Maybe I’m socially inept. Or just plain greedy. Is it just me?
A must-read for homeworkers
02 years ago
I first heard about ‘Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty – The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need‘ years ago, but it didn’t appear to be in print in the UK and I didn’t follow up on it, partly because I share to some extent the British scepticism of American self-help books, despite having read and benefited from a few in my time. Then it was recommended again recently by Niki Hignett of www.inspired-entrepreneur.com, whose opinion I greatly respect, and this time I was able to order it from the wonderful local library.
It grabbed me from the first line and I finished it in a day. The style is friendly and down-to-earth and there are loads of stories. The chapters are short and so you keep reading on – just one more before I get back to the keyboard, put the light out etc. I think the book is so inspiring because it reminds you that business is first and foremost about people, whether they are customers, suppliers, employees or competitors, and actually they are probably much more open to being approached than you’d think.
Sitting in our back bedrooms, sheds and wherever else we perch, it’s so easy for us homeworkers to develop a kind of psychological split from the rest of the world and draw back from connecting with others. ‘They won’t be interested in me’, ‘I’m just a mum who does some freelance work’ and ‘What have I got to offer all those slick corporate types?’ are the kind of things we tend to say to ourselves.
So listen to Harvey and promise you ‘will never say no for the other guy’. Give it a try. If they do say no, try someone else. The other day I learnt that a large supplier of books has decided not to stock Work from Home because he believes it isn’t relevant to his target market. I was disappointed, but at least I asked, and actually the rejection didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. Just wait till his customers start asking for my book!
Thanks to Harvey, I’ve got a few ideas on other people to approach. I’ll let you know how it goes and I’d love to hear any stories of breaks you’ve got by being brave and chancing an approach to someone you might have thought was out of your league.
