05.16.08
Eight Tips for Working for Someone Else After a Home-Based Business
It’s harder to succeed in a home-based business than the
Internet hype might have you believe. If you’ve decided to go
back to work for someone else after some months or years at
home, it can be quite an adjustment. Not only must you give up
the dream, but you have to accommodate to some real changes.
If not always lucrative, the advantages of working from your
home, and for yourself, are legendary, and the adaptation to a
9-5 (ha!) can be monumental.
Here are some ways to prepare yourself:
1.Use the week before to get caught up on household repairs,
errands, and groceries. Get up and go to bed on the new
schedule. 2.Assemble a workable wardrobe. Gone are the jeans and
flip flops. Check on the dress code at your new office, as you
may be out-of-touch. Then assemble a wardrobe that’s
comfortable. If you haven’t worn heels all day for a while,
don’t try it the first day. You don’t need blisters! Wear
loose-fitting but smart-looking clothes, and layers. The
temperature in the office is sure to be different. Bring a
sweater you can leave at the office.
3.Do something about your hair. If the joys of home employment
included scrunchies or a do-rag, some changes are in order. Get
a haircut if need be, or a new hairstyle.
4.Think about your diet. They say every new job is worth 10 lbs,
and you don’t need that. Whether it’s eating lunch out,
“Wednesday is Breakfast Taco Day,” or the jar of KitKats on the
receptionist’s desk, you’re going to be tempted. Be prepared!
5.Brush up on your people skills, aka Emotional intelligence.
While homeworkers often lament the loneliness of working at
home, you may have forgotten what it’s like to be with others,
and accommodate to other wills. Just as you prepare your child
before they head for a birthday party, go over your “manners.”
6.Get caught up on your rest. It’s not that you weren’t working
hard and long hours at home, it’s that it’s going to be
different. This is stressful. Resist all urges to party like
there’s no tomorrow on your last days at home, and rest up
instead. You may be entering one of the many understaffed
offices in the work place today.
7.Talk to your family and friends. You have a big adjustment
coming, and you need support and encouragement. If you don’t ask
for it, you won’t get it. And be specific!
8.Manage your attitude. If your home-based business failed, or
failed to live up to your expectations, or simply wore thin, put
it behind you. Don’t attribute it to anything personal,
permanent or pervasive. Focus on what’s good in the new
situation - structure, camaraderie, a steady paycheck, benefits,
and a simpler tax return. There are many successes you’ve had
and will have, and a positive attitude will help you make a
success of your new job.
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