Charles Fuchs http://www.charlesfuchs.com http://charlesfuchs.blogspot.com

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for a Fortune 500 company technology has made it easier to

do so. However, before you decide to work from home, you

must evaluate yourself to see if you would survive as a

home-based worker. Working from home is not for everyone.

EVALUATE YOURSELF

Following are several questions you should ask yourself

before deciding to work from home. If you can’t answer

yes to following questions, then you are not completely

ready to work from home. The questions are:

*Am I knowledgeable about Internet and email?

*Do I manage my time well?

*Am I easily motivated or do I need people around me to motivate me?

*Am I disciplined?

*Can I balance family, work, and everything else at same time?

*Am I teachable or do I like to do my own thing?

*Am I reliable?

*Do I have a specialized skill?

*Do I have all equipment needed to work from home?

*Does my spouse have health insurance coverage for family? If not, can I afford health insurance on my own? (If you need affordable health insurance, you can receive instant quotes from 114 different companies at www.insureme.com. Just type in your information and they will match you with specific companies based on your needs.) For dental plans check out www.dentalplans.com.

*Can I actually reduce high cost of health insurance by joining a group health insurance plan, reduce level of coverage, increase my deductible, pay annual premiums rather than monthly or quarterly, etc? (For more information check out National Association for Self-Employed at www.mybizoffice.com or www.nase.org/nase_benefits/health_benefits.asp.

*Can I contribute to a self-employed 401(k) plan? (Visit www.investsafe.com to request a free information kit on self-employed 401(k) plan for self- employed and small business owner).

*Can I handle waking up earlier or staying up later while children are sleeping to meet my deadlines?

*Would I be able to make enough money to pay bills?

If you are focused, disciplined, have a positive attitude,

highly motivated with excellent communication skills, can

answer yes to above mentioned questions, then you are

ready to work from home as an independent contractor,

freelance or telecommuter. If not, then you can either

learn these lessons along way or work outside home

part time.

It is very important that before you start working from

home that you have an office set up with a good computer,

phone line (you will need a second phone line for some

assignments), and a fax machine. Some computers come with

faxing features. Most jobs are done remotely, and

Internet is a conduit for telecommuting jobs.