Working from home

FireInTheWire · Jan 15, 2019

So the wife made some noise the other day about working from home after an Amazon ad popped up about hiring from home. Was wondering if anyone's spouse works from home?

Pro' and con's?
Pitfalls to watch out for?

She's not looking for anything too demanding since she takes care of the kids. Just wanting to make a little mad money for herself.

As always... you folks are top notch at shedding light on a subject.

Thanks

toddnjoyce · Jan 15, 2019

I have the ability to WFH with my employer. WFH can mean many things. Self employed WFH is one thing, scheduled WFH is no different from being in the office, except your commute is measured in steps and work attire can be pajamas.

The continuum is pretty wide.

Brains · Jan 15, 2019

My wife is a SAHM, and has run a small business for some years out of the house. What she does has changed a little over time, but the biggest consistency is how she manages it. She sets herself up a dedicated work space, that is her office. Technically it's the entirety of our "game room" but that's the only thing it's used for. Makes it easier to be 100% honest with the IRS come tax time too, if they ever sent an auditor it'd be pretty darned clear. As for the work, she interacts with her customers 100% electronically - no phone calls or in person. So while we can't write off a car or miles, it does allow her the freedom to schedule her time and availability as she needs to.

Looking forward though, she's looking for what is next. She would like to continue to work from home, but in a different capacity doing something that is a bit more profitable vs. the time invested. Right now she's marketing and manufacturing products with a very low profit margin, in a space that is being heavily encroached upon by the Chinese.

In a nutshell, what she's found so far is that creating products and selling them on Etsy can be fun for a while, if it's unique and the copy cats haven't ruined the game yet. Selling direct to consumer is tough because people have the Wal-Mart mentality and think you can give them anything they want if they cry hard enough. She's ready for a new challenge that isn't so much 'customer service'

EZ-E · Jan 15, 2019

I had a friend whose wife worked from home... she was a phone sex operater.
She made pretty good money doing it. She said most of the calls were quick & didnt have to work to hard :banana:

Byrd666 · Jan 15, 2019

I did the work from home thing for about a year, year and a half about a decade or so back when the economy took a dump and I had gotten laid off. Doing the CAD type design work I was doing, and the industry I was in, made having a built in, albeit small, client base a decent starting point. And it was decent for a while. Until the economy caught up with the people actually spending the cash. Suddenly, they weren't.

I suppose, if I had had a separate building to go to and really, hustled, and spent the days digging and digging for an ever expanding client base, I could have made a true living out of it. But, to be honest, it took, and takes, a lot more discipline than I have. Walking seven or eight feet to go to work, it just made it way too easy for me to tell me I wanted to go F-off that day.

On the other hand, I've got a friend, and ex-coworker that does work from home in the same industry that I was in years ago that is making a very nice living doing it. Last we talked, he was in the comfortable six figure range. Then again, he is quite self disciplined and much better at finding the one-off clients that I couldn't.

Guess it all depends on what kind of mousetrap you are trying to provide, and to who.

Brains · Jan 15, 2019

I worked exclusively from home a couple times in my life, and both times were pretty awesome. The first time I was doing purely consulting work, with a small client base. I loved the work, not so much the hustle of sourcing new clients and billing. Second time I was a remote employee with a regular salary. I loved that work too, other than the company I worked for was a bit dishonorable in my opinion. I do well working from home, staying on task and keeping regular hours isn't difficult at all. I still work from home from time to time in my current position, and I usually get 10x the work done due to the lack of distractions.

sharkey · Jan 15, 2019

EZ-E said:
I had a friend whose wife worked from home... she was a phone sex operater.
She made pretty good money doing it. She said most of the calls were quick & didnt have to work to hard

There is also web modeling. Great for when the kids are asleep.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Vaquero · Jan 15, 2019

I'm gonna guess that if she does find a "work from home" job, the time that the job demands will come from "your" time with her. It's gotta come from somewhere, and it won't be the kids.

EZ-E · Jan 15, 2019

sharkey said:
There is also web modeling. Great for when the kids are asleep.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

This was early 1990's, before internet.
Lets just say she had a nice voice for radio....lol

toddnjoyce · Jan 15, 2019

Byrd666 said:
I suppose, if I had had a separate building to go to and really, hustled, and spent the days digging and digging for an ever expanding client base, I could have made a true living out of it. But, to be honest, it took, and takes, a lot more discipline than I have. Walking seven or eight feet to go to work, it just made it way too easy for me to tell me I wanted to go F-off that day.

This. I am way less productive when I WFH.

pronstar · Jan 15, 2019

The three biggest obstacles to working from home:

Refrigerator
Couch
TV

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TxStetson · Jan 15, 2019

I have been officially working from home since June of last year. Unfortunately we had several key people leave the company right after I moved, so I have been traveling pretty extensively. But, when I am home I am far more productive than when I am sitting in an office. Far less distractions. I have been at this company for quite a while, and everyone comes to me for historical and technical assistance. If I’m home, they call, ask their questions and we end the call after they get my answers. When I’m in an office, they come in and BS for a while afterward, then someone else sees them in there and they join the BS party and it grows from there.

TxStetson · Jan 15, 2019

pronstar said:
The three biggest obstacles to working from home:

Refrigerator
Couch
TV

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Add all 3 to your office and those obstacles disappear.

FireInTheWire · Jan 18, 2019

Vaquero said:
I'm gonna guess that if she does find a "work from home" job, the time that the job demands will come from "your" time with her. It's gotta come from somewhere, and it won't be the kids.

Ouch... good point V

FireInTheWire · Jan 18, 2019

Thanks for the replies all. My wife is a hustler. I know she would do a good job wfh. We'll look into it some more. She has her own photography business.... but the clientele isn't the same out this way as it was for her closer to the metromess.

sharkey · Jan 18, 2019

A hustler and owns a photo business? You are halfway to the whole internet modeling thing, cue 80's porn music. Do you have a stache?

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toddnjoyce · Jan 18, 2019

FireInTheWire said:
.... She has her own photography business....

Dear God man. What’s her specialty? Please tell me it’s not weddings.

skfullgun · Jan 18, 2019

I had a job that was WFH years ago. Not for me. If I don't have to get up, get dressed, and be somewhere, I ain't gonna get much done. Any, and EVERYthing distracts me in that situation. Hell, I would take a break and end up mowing the grass or mopping the floor!

FireInTheWire · Jan 18, 2019

toddnjoyce said:
Dear God man. What’s her specialty? Please tell me it’s not weddings.

She use to average about 3 weddings a year. She did a lot of family, senior, Christmas and a couple risque shoots for her girlfriends. It was some mad money for her. Professional Photography takes up too much of her time nowadays.

FireInTheWire · Jan 18, 2019

sharkey said:
A hustler and owns a photo business? You are halfway to the whole internet modeling thing, cue 80's porn music. Do you have a stache?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Yup... and I already have my screen name picked out. Johnny Johnson

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