I had 20 years of teaching where everything was regimented, organised and planned. I had to be at school by a certain time, my timetable of lessons was given to me, staff meetings were held regularly on certain days of the month, lunch hours were at the same time every day and, of course, it was dictated to me when I had my holidays. I didn’t have a problem with any of that. In fact I suppose it was quite a comfortable position to be in – you knew where you had to be at a certain time and what you had to do and you worked within those confines.
When I left teaching and opened my first fashion shop, there was still that discipline, organisation and planning, but this time it was up to me to arrange everything. The shop had to be opened at a certain time every morning, buying trips had to be timetabled, deliveries had to scheduled, staff rotas had to be worked out and everything else that having staff involves. That was quite a learning curve.
It was whilst I had my fashion shops that I saw the benefit of earning a second income. I became a Telecom Plus Distributor. I was able to work that part time alongside my fashion shops without it impacting on those businesses.
Eventually I sold my shops and now work my Telecom Plus/Utility Warehouse business from home. Was working at home an easy transition for me to make? No it wasn’t. Suddenly not having to be at a certain place at a certain time, not even having to get up at a certain time, not really having anyone else to consider, took quite a bit of adjustment. I very quickly gave myself certain disciplines to follow. Plan the next day before you go to bed and prioritise your activity. Start the day by tackling the most challenging task on your list and the rest of the day will get easier! I would recommend anyone considering working from home to read ‘Eat that Frog’ by Brian Tracy.
Working from home can be very rewarding and it gives people the chance to earn an income whilst not impacting on home life, but don’t go into it without preparation, discipline and a plan!
