Work From Home - Work At Home

Which Is Best For You

Tim's Off On A Tangent Again ... See If Any of These Work From Home Tips Can Help Keep You Pointed In The Right Direction!

It may sound like we're splitting hairs ... but you might want to stop and consider the difference between the two concepts of work from home vs. work at home - how they might fit into your lifestyle, and your particular living and housing situation before you consider which home based business opportunity you decide to start.

Your choice can have a huge impact on your likelihood of success and your relations with your neighbors and local bureaucrats.

First let's consider work at home.

It's exactly what it say's.

You work at home during all of your normal business hours.

It's like being on call in a normal office. You are required to be there for your "shift."

For example let's say you are taking reservations for an airline as a telecommuting worker.

You basically have a job. It may involve computer data entry and talking with customers on the phone throughout your shift.

The point is you are tied to that location. You work at home.

Work At Home Equates To Stuck At Home!

Contrast this with a work from home situation.

When you work from home your home office becomes your base of operations that you operate from.

For example consider an Independent Real Estate Appraiser.

In smaller communities they may work from their home offices.

They might receive calls from realtors and lending institutions for appraisal assignments and then go to the client's offices to pick up documents related to the transaction (or have them faxed to their office) and then arrange for appointments to view the subject properties.

After viewing the properties they would return to their office to perform additional research and analysis, write up their reports and then submit them to their clients for payment.

Their experience as a home based business is substantially different.

They are in and out of the field all day ... and they may have clients drop by at anytime during the work day ... they must be equipped to handle office communications even if they are out of the office temporarily.

They work from their home base ...

They don't work AT home.

They aren't stuck there all day.

Plan appropriately.

If you live in certain areas, or communities they may have zoning regulations - restrictions that may limit your home based business activities.

Check your City's web site or with City Hall and Your Planning and Zoning Office.

Many communities now have their Zoning Regulations and Restrictions and their Building Codes online.

You should familiarize yourself with their restrictions and requirements.

Many of your neighbors may get upset if you are generating a great deal of commercial traffic to your residential location.

This can include Fed-Ex trucks, UPS trucks, DHL trucks, and US Mail Trucks, making an unusual number of pick-ups and deliveries.

Retail traffic and the additional parking congestion that it can generate will quickly lose you any local popularity contest and probably start a rash of complaints to City Hall.

Now if you live in a small town, out in the county, out in the country, out in a cornfield, or out in the middle of no where ... this can actually work to your advantage because people "out in the sticks" tend to relax a little bit more.

People in rural areas tend to live and let live.

"He's that guy ... it has something to do with computers and the internet ...."

As long as you have good internet access, access to a good delivery service, and financial services, you're in business!

Another consideration, especially for you folks who live in more urban areas, be sure to look at your Home Owners Association Rules if you live in a Condo or a Cooperative.

The agreement might be titled differently in different locations.

Often times these agreements restrict or FORBID commercial activities within the development.

My experience has been that as long as you don't have a flood of delivery trucks coming to the house to attract attention, or a constant stream of public traffic, coming and going, you will probably be O.K.

Basically, only a few people in my neighborhood know what I do ... "He's that guy ... it has something to do with computers and the internet ...."

Here are some other pointers ... >>>>

Also, check with you insurance agent.

You are conducting a business in your primary residence make sure that is permitted within your policy.

You may also need additional coverage's to protect you for additional liability for visitors to your "place of business" and to cover your equipment since you are now using it in your business and not just personally. Do not take my word for it check with a licensed agent.

In regards to any insurance, legal, financial or real estate question that you may have, whenever you are in doubt seek out a licensed professional (I had to put that part in there to cover myself)... but hey ... I always turn to professionals when I have questions ... so it is good advice.

When you work from home just be aware that there are some sensitive issues out there that you need to make sure you don't run afoul of.

If the home based business that you decide to start is basically a "virtual" web based business, you run a much better chance of fitting into you local enviornment without incident.

More progressive communities need to consider making allowances for this type of employment - economic activity, because it is clearly a wealth creation trend of the future.

Maybe more City Councils and State Legislatures should be crafting "Digital-Economic Homesteading Acts" to foster economic growth in depressed areas.

What do you think?

Note: this Article is Copyrighted August 24, 2007. As such it may not be reproduced without the written permission of the author.