The following is a guest post by James Adams

Oh, the temptation to wax sarcastic is upon me! Since becoming a successful homepreneur I no longer get to enjoy the scenery of my former 45 minute commute to the office, a stop and go affair that kept my attention riveted to the bumper of the car in front of me or to the signs telling me how long the construction zone would be. And yes, I miss that special moment of being reunited with my child after a long day apart, when picking him up from daycare or the babysitter! Of course, now each day is filled with multiple lovely moments. I could go on for an hour!

Instead, I’ll try to be helpful by pointing out 7 real-life disadvantages of working from home, so you will know all sides of what you are getting into when you make the move to homepreneurship.

1. Home life is full of distractions

Those who find it hardest to make the transition to working at home often talk about the interruptions, the intrusions, and the temptations to turn on the tube instead of getting to work. The keys to overcoming the distraction bug are personal discipline and dedicated scheduling.

• Tune out the home phone.
• Ignore the postman’s knock, unless you are waiting for something important.
• Reject the remote control.
• A sick partner or child should never be a considered a distraction, so when those issues arise, be thankful you can be there to nurse them back to health.
• Schedule a lunch break with children or an afternoon snack. Help them learn to use their time well, too, without being overly dependent on you. If infants and small toddlers are at home, again, be thankful you can be there for them, and learn to schedule work time around their nap/sleep schedule or when your partner is there to take over the parenting tasks.

2. You don’t get paid for sitting around doing nothing

Salaried or hourly in your former position, the pay kept coming whether you were busy, productive, essential to the company’s success, or not. At home, you now get paid only for your productivity. The upside? You experience the deep satisfaction of knowing you truly earned every dime you make. This feeling will become one of the chief highlights of working for yourself.

3. There are no paid days off

Holidays, vacations, or an afternoon playing hooky at the park are all on your dime. Let this reality inspire you to maximize your productivity so that you can create a fund to “pay yourself” for the time off you take. Adopt the following principle, which most in the traditional work force know nothing about: Work extremely hard in order to earn a break – and then enjoy that break to the hilt. If you are a workaholic by nature like I am, this will be a special challenge. But now that I really feel like I’ve earned some time off through sustained, focused work of the highest quality, the feeling of deserving a day at the beach or a week in the mountains is intoxicating. I have never enjoyed my breaks more.

4. Low starting pay

It takes most homepreneurs 3-12 months to reach the level of pay they were receiving, and to move beyond it. And that’s for those who succeed. The rationale is to enjoy the advantages of being at home and weigh the financial offset of spending far less on wardrobe, fuel, parking and car maintenance, daycare, fast food, and in some cases, city or county taxes. Plus, you’ll get a tax deduction for maintaining a home office.

5. Added responsibility

If you don’t want to take personal responsibility for your success, then homepreneurship is probably not for you. But if you want to prove your worth and maximize your potential, there is no better way than to start your own business. Embrace the challenge!

6. Additional expenses

At home there will be no company supplied laptop, or even so much as a free pen. You’ll foot the bill for all you need. Look on the bright side, however. First, much of it can be deducted on taxes, and secondly, you’ll learn to budget to the bone, making the most of what you have which will maximize profitability.

7. Lack of motivation

While many homepreneurs express this problem, I confess I don’t get it, being pretty self-motivated. If you are used to competing with colleagues in the race to exceed sales goals, as a means of motivating your best efforts, learn to compete instead with yourself. Determine to surpass last month’s totals. Aggressively pursue new customers and clients, knowing that even though you can’t see them, there are many others out there competing for that business. Every time you land a contract or even make a small sale, know that you won that battle. Take a moment to celebrate it, and then dive back into the fray, fighting for the next success.

Homepreneurship is not for everyone. But don’t give up on the dream until you have given it your absolute best effort. Be dogged, disciplined, enthusiastic, and smart. The same qualities that allowed you to win while working for someone else will translate into carving a winning business working for yourself … and your family, your future, your dreams!

James Adams is a blogger who works for an online company specialising in ink cartridges. Check out their design blog for more of his writing.