Working from home interview, part 2

Last month I blogged about my interview with Margaret Adams on professional freelancers working from home. Margaret works with professionals to help them attract more business and win more contracts. Here is the rest of the conversation, from home insurance to supermarket shopping!

Are your mortgage and house insurance affected if you start to work from home?

Whoever it is who has an interest in your home, tell them what you’re doing. Then, if something happens further down the line, you’re prepared. If you have regular business visitors to your home your insurers might ask you to pay more for your insurance, for example, so tell them about your plans.

Remember to tell your neighbours you are now working from home – they will probably like the idea of someone being in all day. It’s better for security, for every one in the area.

There’s no problem with telling your clients that you work from home these days either. There was a little bit of a stigma attached to working from home in the past. It’s not like that now. That view’s old hat.

Now, home working has an aspirational element to it. More people want to do it. In the case of people working in the creative industries, or coaches, it’s almost expected that your home will be your base.

What tips would you like to offer people just starting to run a business from their home?

My first tip is that you shouldn’t pay too much attention to all the advice in the papers about home working. You understand yourself and your own situation best. What suits other people – including your friends and colleagues – won’t necessarily work for you.

I’d also urge you to be kind to yourself, and to rest of your family when you first start working from home. Discuss things with them. Be prepared for it to take a little time to get right. Talk to your partner about who’s going to do the household chores.

On a lighter note I’d encourage you to make sure you’re not hungry when you go food shopping. If the food cupboard’s full when you’re working at home, you’ll eat more and gain weight. Say “no” to those extra items when you’re shopping. If there’s nothing extra in the house, you can’t eat it.