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Renowned Author and Business Woman Cleans Up in the Home-Based Industry
There’s that common perception of the home-based entrepreneur, toiling away in a makeshift coat-closet-turned-home-office, clad in slippers and a bathrobe. Millie Szerman, author of A View From The Tub: An Inspiring and Practical Guide to Working From Home, strips down this image even further, exemplifying that there really are no limitations on when or where a home-based entrepreneur can get down to business.
In 1996, Millie turned a few heads when she appeared on the cover of Money magazine, taking a luxurious bubble bath and conducting business over the phone. Since then, the president of New Directions (www.NewDirectionsPR.com), a successful home-based public relations and marketing firm, has been considered a valuable resource in the work-from-home sector.
Millie, the daughter of Czechoslovakian immigrants who fled the Holocaust and landed in New York, knows what it takes to survive in the business world and make the most of opportunities that arise. She recently shared with HOME BUSINESS® Magazine what’s required to become a successful home-based entrepreneur.
HOME BUSINESS® Magazine (HBM): You state that not everyone is cut out to run a home business. Who is?
Millie Szerman (MS): Working alone, as is often the case particularly when you first start your business, wreaks havoc on the person who enjoys the social side of “coffee breaks” and “going out to lunch with co-workers.” Understanding all the details of the work-from-home environment will send some right back to corporate America. And, while others will find themselves eager for the experience, after a while, will recognize that it takes a very dedicated and motivated individual to be successful from home.
HBM: What are the necessary personality traits and skills of a home-based entrepreneur?
MS: Although there are several personality characteristics that contribute to a successful work-from-home individual, I’ve identified four personality traits that are essential. These are: patience, flexibility, discipline, and motivation.
HBM: Even if you have the “right stuff,” what are other issues you need to consider?
MS: Unfortunately, we are not islands unto ourselves. So, what we do in our working life surely has an effect on those around us. Family, friends, and neighbors are tremendous considerations when working from home.
What about the location of your “work space?” Or the equipment you might need to get started and move forward? What legal issues might you encounter, relative to doing business from home in your city or state? Do you have enough of a financial cushion to support you, until your business puts you in the black? These are just a few of the questions you’ll want to ask, and answer, yourself.
HBM: What are the first steps you need to take to get started?
MS: My recommendation is to “know what you know…and know what you don’t know!” Make a list of skills that you bring to the table. You’d do this if you were interviewing for a job with someone else’s company, so why not do it for yourself?
Now, make a list of the types of things you enjoy. Can you bake sensational pies or cookies, make mouth-watering jam? Do you love being outdoors, in your garden? Are you good with numbers?
Once you’ve established your skills, you can apply these skills to the type of work you’ve always dreamed about. Be sure to be honest with yourself, and encourage yourself to go beyond the boundaries of what you “know you can do” to what you “know you’ll be successful at.”
Perhaps you need more schooling for your dream job. That’s where the “know what you don’t know” comes in. Take yourself back to school, even if at night. Colleges and universities throughout the country have special programs for already working people who want to better themselves.
HBM: What are the most common pitfalls new home business owners encounter?
MS: Two situations come to mind immediately: equipment and finances. It is likely that you’ll need some type of equipment at home in order to be efficient in your work-at-home environment. Be aware that you don’t have to have everything all at once. You’ll want to watch your financial outlay, and equipment is costly. You don’t have to buy the most expensive computer, with all the bells and whistles, with all the programs that you “think” you’ll need. Be frugal in your guess-timation, and remember that technology is running rampant — the computer you buy today is likely to have an essential upgrade tomorrow, or next week.
Another pitfall is taking your business seriously. Believe it or not, unless you do, you’ll find others — specifically family and friends — who don’t. These are the folks who want to chat on the phone for a long period of time during your business hours, simply because you’re at home and more available. Be firm in your resolve, and hold to your business hours. That’s not to say that you can’t get a call or a visitor for a short time. Just remember that this is a working day, and you need to work to be successful.
HBM: How can home-based entrepreneurs better balance their work with their personal lives?
MS: Key to organizing your life to work at home is recognizing that your life has a wide variety of segments that make up the whole — you have a social life, a family life, a personal life, a business life, a community life — and the list goes on.
Visualize your life as a garment — an apron, a jacket or a vest — with each segment being a pocket in the garment that you can pick from as you choose. In the context of all these pockets, your work life is only one pocket, and its importance changes, certainly daily and often hourly.
The fact is your work life needs to have a pocket in the garment of your whole life. It has a location, a time, depth and breadth, a beginning, and an end. What’s different now that you’re working at home is that you’re the one who sets those parameters — and you have to be the one who enforces the rules.
HBM: What do you consider the greatest advantages of working from home?
SM: There are the obvious advantages, of course — keeping the hours that suit me, working in my pajamas or work-out clothes, being able to hit that special sale at the mall. For me, it’s the flexibility that I truly treasure. I am the only one who is totally responsible for my success. And, I can choose the clients I want to work with. How hard I work depends solely on me, and that feeling of autonomy drives my success. You will never work harder than when you work from home in your own business, but you will also never experience as complete a satisfaction as when you’ve done the job right, and those around you acknowledge your success! HBM
Working-From-Home Tricks of the Trade By Mille Szerman
Being organized is an essential part of every work environment, but if you’re working from home, it is THE single most important aspect. Here are some specific “Tricks” for staying on track:
1) Designate a certain amount of time to a particular project. Stop working on it after the time is up, and move on to something else.
2) Maximize your time out of your office. If you’re picking up the mail or going to the bank, pick up your cleaning or your kids at the same time.
3) Utilize the “multi-story house” principle. When you leave a room, try to bring something with you that needs to go into another part of the house. You’ll cut down the number of trips that way.
4) Work on what has to be done first today, and tackle tomorrow’s projects tomorrow. This sounds overly simplistic, but you’d be surprised how many people waste time worrying about projects that are due way in the future, and ignore projects that have to be finished right away.
5) Be sure to give yourself some breathing space. When things are stressful, it’s often a good idea to simply get up and away from your work space. This might be a good time to play with the kids in the middle of the afternoon. Take a walk, have coffee with a friend. You’ll find that when you get back to the project, it’ll flow more smoothly. HBM
Previously published in the October 2006 issue of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine, an international publication for the growing and dynamic home-based market. Available on newsstands, in bookstores and chain stores, and via subscriptions ($15.00 for 1 year, six issues). Visit www.homebusinessmag.com
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