Gone are the days of answering to anyone else but your self, but it can be
hard to make this transition in the beginning. You’re used to not taking
responsibility or not having to give input to solve problems.

That needs to stop.

One of the things that corporate life teaches you is that the only good ideas
come from those that are above you in the pecking order. Of course, you
know this isn’t true anymore. The best ideas are the ones that come from
people that are ‘below’ you. Rather, these ideas come from people that have
no financial interest in your company, but rather a personal interest in
getting what they want and need from you—your customers.

Although you may have thought your corporate life was teaching you to
listen to what consumers had to say, it was really about listening to them
enough to make a profit more times than not. This is something that you will
need to break in order to make your business work.

The customer is the person that you should draw ideas from, not your coworkers
or even your competition.

Corporate life also teaches you that you need to work for a certain amount of
hours in order to get everything done correctly. The days of that are over
too. Being in business for yourself means that you work until the work is
done and then you can stop. There isn’t anyone looking over your shoulder
or check up on you. Only you will know when you are done and can stop for
the day.

A lot of times this means that you will work longer hours, but in some cases
you may be able to work fewer hours and still accomplish what you need to
do. This might be from the result of scheduling your day around times that
you know are more productive to you—rather than just the 9 to 5 box.

And the last way that you can escape corporate life is to realize that results
don’t come from sitting in meetings all day, but from hard work and action.
You can’t sit around and discuss what you’re going to do. You need to get
out there and do it. Maybe it’s a phone call or a quick email, but as an
entrepreneur, you are fighting for your profits and finding that your success
is all the more gratifying because you are more hands-on.

DRESSING THE PART

A lot of folks are extremely happy about the idea that they don’t have to put
on the ‘monkey suit’ anymore to go to work, so they roll out of bed and into
their office, fuzzy bunny slippers and all.

While no one might see you throughout the day, the fact is that you are a
professional, even if you’re not sitting in a corporate office or at a cubicle.
And you need to dress the part.

You can forgo the tie and the suit, but dressing for your work day will enforce
a sense of professionalism and keep you focused on your job at hand. It’s
much too easy to go slower when you’re still in your pajamas and oversized
tee shirt. Having a uniform for the day will help turn your brain onto work
and out of bed.

Men should consider avoiding jeans and try wearing khakis and a nice polo
shirt. This isn’t a way to keep a bit of corporate life in you, but it is a way to
separate your home life from your current job. By changing into these
clothes, you are changing into work time when you are productive and
professional and ready to face your business challenges. This isn’t about
getting to sit around and make money doing nothing.

Women should try to wear something casual, yet professional as well. This
doesn’t mean that you have to don a skirt and hose, but you may want to
wear dressier pants and a nice shirt in order to keep yourself in the work
mode.

If you’ve ever felt a lack of confidence, at a job interview for example, you
may have worn something that you knew would make you feel more alert,
more together and more confident. This is the same thing.
You also want to project a sense of business into the way that you handle
your affairs during the work day. When you answer the phone, you want to
be fully prepared to be a business owner, not just someone who wants to
work from home.

And when your day is done in your office, you can signal to yourself to stop
by putting on your jeans and baggy sweats. Create a separation of your
work self and your home self and you’ll find that your happiness and
productivity increase.

SEPARATING HOME AND BUSINESS

If you’re working from home, no doubt you will have distractions. However,
in order to maintain your professional image, you will want to minimize these
interruptions as much as possible.

First of all, you will want to create a separate space for your work. This will
be an area where there aren’t any toys or televisions, just the necessary
tools to get you through your day quietly. You will want to instruct your
family not to bother you unless it’s an emergency—just as they would have
done at any other job.

Next, you will want to separate your business tools from your home
electronics. This means you need your own internet connection, computer,
printer, etc. in order to work undisturbed. Of course there will be days when
the other computer is down and the kids need to use yours, but try to have a
back up plan so you’re never interrupted.

Separate phone lines and answering services are great at keeping up with
phone calls when you can’t. You may also want to set up a post office box in
order to keep your business mail separate and from overcrowding your home
postal box.

Talk with your family about how you can deal with situations when everyone
is home. Is there a way to make your office quiet? If soundproofing is too
expensive, you may want to invest in a pair of ear plugs in order to keep
unwanted sounds out. Your family should still be able to live as they always
have, but respect that you need to be working at times.

You may also want to set up specific times that you will be working in order
to give your customers a chance to contact you. While these hours may
fluctuate for you, you can let your customers know that you can be reached
at a certain time. This will also help you to prioritize your work in order to
not work long hours each day. This is a rule from corporate life, but keeping
yourself to a schedule will help you minimize dawdling time.

In order to keep your peace, you will want to make sure that your home and
office life are separate. Don’t talk about work too much around the family
and try to give your self some time off when you feel exhausted (if you can).
You’re only as good as the environment that you work in.