A homeworker has great opportunities to control his/her daily life. This article discusses the clouds and the sky of a homeworker.

Merits of working from home
As a homeworker, you have great opportunities to control a large part of your day-to-day environment. Many use home as a working base for at least part of the week and it's clear there's a number of benefits for business:

> reduced travel costs
> more control over your working day
> homeworking can help retain working parents with childcare responsibilities
> lower overhead costs for eg. savings on office space and other facilities
> increased staff motivation with reduced stress and sickness levels
> possible location of sales staff near clients rather than being based in your premises
> increase in comfort as we start to do what we like

Potential drawbacks for a homeworker:
Working from home is not an easy option as most of them do not have control over themselves and most lack discipline.
> increased lonliness
> difficulty of managing and monitoring performance
> lack of help and support when at times
> possible deterioration in employees' skills and work quality
> difficulty of maintaining staff development and upgrading skills
> lack of a rigid work day
> lack of motivation
> risk of information-security problems
> increased telecommunications costs
Better alternative is to split time between home and the workplace as that would be the most productive solution and you may want the homeworker to attend meetings to keep them fully involved and informed.

Qualities expected out of a homeworker
There are certain qualities that is expected out a homeworker and to list a few - a homeworker must be
> self-disciplined
> have effective time management principles
> be dedicated to his/her work
> have confidence in them
> have better communication skills
> be flexible to situations
> be trustworthy

Home and homeworker
> Location for a homeworker doesn't matter for those who needn't have to meet clients or expect suppliers.
> If your work involves meeting clients often then your home should be near a bus or a tube station or a airport depending on the travel that is expected out of you.
> Have better access to infrastructure needs - telephone, electricity

Time to THINK !!!
> Are you planning to work from home? List down the possible merits that will work for you if you become a homeworker
> List down the drawbacks of working from home. This will help you think how to overcome the possible disadvantages
> Write down an action plan stating the dates and the tasks that you would start doing on those dates
> List all people - bankers, solicitors, accountants that you will seek help from for your home business
> Specify a date by which you will start your new business