Bianca Shellie-Robinson

Working from home is NOT glamours like you see in the movies…

Most think that working from home is a luxury. You get to wake up when you want, work in your PJ’s, no commute, no traffic, no money spent on gas, lunch money saved, and you get naptime as if you were in preschool. Those things I have learned easily become your curse instead of your blessing.

I am a mother of 2 and I work my business from home. My 6-month-old son stays home with me full time so I have to work and be a mom to him at the same damn time. I get so many messages on how I balance my two lives and make it look easy. I came up with four simple tips that help me stay productive since I am working from home.

1. Get dressed as if you have a 9-5

Working in your PJ’s the first week you work from home is life but after that high is over, you develop a pattern of always working in your PJ’s. You become unproductive and lazy because you have not fully prepared yourself. It is so true that when you look good, you feel good which makes you perform better. Stop working in your PJ’s and get dressed all up like you have a job to go too because you do. It just so happens to be your own business that you work from home.

I comb my hair, I beat this face, I wear cute clothes, and I get all dolled up to go to work. You don’t work from home, you work from the office that just so happens to be in your home. Change your mindset.

I wake up 30 minutes earlier than my children so I can get myself ready. At 8:30 am when I drop my 5-year-old off at kindergarten, I am cute in my office with my laptop and coffee ready to start my job at 9:00 am.

2. Create a top 3 to-do list

Life happens but life really happens when you work from home with children. I can’t control if my 6-month-old wants to be a whiny brat all day and all he wants to do is be held and cuddle. So, I come up with my top 3 things that I MUST get done that day. I have my day planned by the hour but my main priority is completing my top 3 task so just in case my 6 months old decides that he wants to be king of the day, I am covered. When my 5-year-old and/or husband comes home or when my son goes to sleep I can start to work on the other things on my list that I didn’t get to tackle earlier.

I also wake up in the middle of the night and many times I can’t go back to sleep so I will work on my top 3 things to get ahead in my day. So make your list before you go to bed.

3. Work in an uncomfortable setting

Don’t work from your bed, the coach, in front of the TV, or any other place in your house where you can get comfy because you will get tired and see a good place to take a nap in your house and sleep will be your business for that day. Don’t set yourself up for failure because it will work and you will be mad when you wake up. Work from your desk or at your kitchen table. If you were at a job, you would be working at a desk not your bed to act as if you are at a job

4. Buy cute stuff

Cute notebooks and pens motivate me to be productive. Get you some cute stuff that you like for your workspace to make it your own. If you were at a job, you would decorate your cubicle with pictures of your family. You also use your pink pens/pencils, glitter notebooks, and inspirational quotes so do the same thing for your home workspace. You need that décor to keep you motivated.

I had an office space in downtown Chicago on the 21^st floor. So, working from my office and working from home was a major adjustment. Having a new baby though and wanted to stay home with him and take my daughter to and from school. The fact that I am saving the $1,200 a month bill that I was spending on rent. I save money that I won’t have to spend on daycare for my son and afterschool care for my daughter is a definite win. Working for the home requires discipline if you plan to produce as if you weren’t at home. I run my home-based business as the cooperation that I am. Working from home has major perks but you don’t want to turn perks into an everyday ritual. If you need a 15-minute power nap, take one but don’t turn that into a 3-hour sleeping session.

Traveling has become a major part of my business. I am in and out of a different city every single month and you know when you are on a “mini-vacation” you always spend money freely. I have a lot of speaking engagements and I found myself going out of town to get money, only to go home broke. It wasn’t making sense to me until I realized what was happening. I have 3 things that I do now to save on business expenses so that I can go home with the money I just made.

1. Take one credit card

I am a shopper and I like knickknacks but those $3 items always add up. To avoid the just “buying because you got it” syndrome that I suffer from, I only bring one credit card and not my debit card. I just got my credit in order, so I am very conscious about what I put on my credit card. Me buying anything other than the bare minimum with my credit card is something I will not do. This tactic forces me to only buy what I need.

2. Don’t book a hotel

Usually, the speaking engagement is only one day so I book the first flight into the city and the last flight out. If they have a Q and A after or even go to dinner to celebrate, I am covered because the last flight isn’t until about 11:00 pm. Hotel stays get expensive and staying overnight forces you to eat, drink, and shop, well that was the case for me. To avoid all of that, I get off the plane and Uber to the location and I Uber back to the airport. I have saved so much money traveling this way. Am I tired? Yep, but I have all my money and I can sleep in the airport and on the plane. I find myself sometimes sitting in the airport for hours until the last plane leaves. I am completely ok with that because I have enough work to do to make my airport stay productive.

3. Pizza Anyone?

When I have to stay at night in other cities, I order a large pizza from the local pizza place. I only eat cheese pizza so it pretty much tastes good from wherever you order it. It is only me but a large pizza I can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Order a 2-liter pop, a pizza, and some chips and that is $20 well spent. I am not eating and drinking up all my money.

It is clear to me that money comes and goes. But you need to be smart about what it goes too. I used to go out of town and make $1,500 and come back home with $30 wondering where did all my money go? Since I have added these 3 steps in my spending, it has really helped me out so much. Try them and let me know if it works for you.

I’d love to hear about how you save on your business travels?