October 2005, Vol 12, Issue 7
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Maintaining Your Professionalism at Home
How do you do it? How do you cope with family and working at home?
I was asked these questions recently at a networking breakfast but it's not the first time I've been asked such questions. Perhaps the answers came naturally to me, perhaps they were instinctive, or maybe they were something instilled in me at a much younger age, but it all seems pretty much common sense these days. And yet not so for others. Hence why they ask the questions I suppose.
What am I talking about? Managing my business at home with a young family of 5 daughters. The girls are grown now and 3 have left home, but when I first started working at home, they were aged 7-13, with the eldest in her first year at high school. It was a juggle, but the juggle of being in a corporate job and trying to work out club activities, RDOs, days of sickness, after school care, school holiday care and so on was more difficult to handle. It was easier for me to be at home, find work to do and get it done whilst they were at school, or in bed and be available for them when the running around needed to be done - and it was cheaper than paying someone else to do it. Not only that, but if the girls were sick, they could be in their own beds, where they really needed to be.
From the start the girls had to learn that they could not use the phone during business hours, and they had to train their friends not to call during business hours. If, however, they were on the phone and another call was coming in on call waiting at any time, they had to know how to switch over to that call and answer it professionally. I know that at least a couple of my daughters hated doing that initially but today it comes as second nature to them. I've been complimented by many people on how well the girls handle the phone. One of them ( 20 year old) works on a thoroughbred horse stud in country Victoria these days and her boss loves her answering the phone because she knows how to do it properly. What's more she also knows how to handle a computer, do web design, handle email, types over 80wpm and is a gem to have in the office - although she's actually there to work with her passion - horses. My 19 year old walked into a job quickly early this year, after leaving school only 2 months earlier, because she had good office skills - she'd been working part-time for me at home for 18 months.
But, it wasn't always that way.You have to set the ground rules and have a mindset. Do not allow the children to use the line you use for business during your business hours. Do not allow them to answer the phone, particularly if they're toddlers - they might sound cute, but your prospective clients aren't looking for 'cute', they're looking for 'professional'. And the most important 'do not' of them all is - do not let them touch your computer! The number of people I know whose computers have been infected by viruses or overtaken by spyware and adware - because their kids also use the computer and download music or other file sharing programs, that bring with it a multitude of other software packages; nasties you do not want on your computer!
My girls were not allowed to touch my work computer at all, and in 1994 a computer at home was not only a novelty, it was pretty much a talking point. Same with having a photocopier - their friends would come to visit just to see it. It was two years after I started my business that the girls were allowed to touch the computer - after it was replaced by a newer model and my business was no longer on the older one.
Today computers are quite inexpensive - I paid over $4,500 for a standard 425mg computer operating on Windows 3.1 with no other software programs, printers, scanners, modem or any of the extras that come today. It was a good computer in those days. But today, if you're running a business at home, you should be able to pick up a cheap second computer (perhaps even a second hand one) for your children to use so that you can keep them off yours. It's good insurance and you really need to do this.
Finally, set boundaries for yourself and your business. Have a room you can close the door on so that when you are out of the office 'you are at home' and not at work. If possible, install a second line and keep it for business use - where it only rings in the office and not throughout the house. Don't let the phone rule you. You are entitled to some time off! It took me a few years to learn this.
So my message today is - keep it professional at home, and encourage/teach your children to do the same. The benefits pay off as they get older, and it also helps maintain your professionalism.
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Look forward to hear from you soon.
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What is a Virtual Assistant?
It's a term for home-based secretaries, administrative and secretarial support, and others who supply 
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We are as close to you as your computer and can do almost anything traditional support staff do - except virtually. You don't need to provide office space, equipment, software or furniture - we have our own!
Location no issue as the work is carried out 'virtually' no matter where you are! See our newest members listed at VA Directory
