The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

Keeping focus is top priority as any self employed entrepreneur knows. You must keep focus in making goals, your motivation, attitude and staying on track. As a Freelance Artist, I have the privilege to be able to work from home, but this has several pro’s and con’s of course.

The pro’s to working from home are; the low cost, being able to work your own schedule and being more available for your family. The con’s to working from home are; the location, schedule and your availability for your family.

Being able to work from home reduces the cost of studio space. In this feature, if you have the space to dedicate as your own, you have no extra expense of an outside studio and its utilities. Another feature is being able to take some of your existing mortgage and utilities and write them off on your taxes as business expenses. You need to make sure and check with your CPA (person that does your taxes) or IRS what the rules/laws are on this. There are definitely guidelines how much you can expense out based on size, types of space and utility rates. The negative is a home based location can also hinder your business if you are wanting a space that will get/have client foot traffic.

Having the ability to work from your own schedule means, no more getting up an hour early to commute to work, working schedules around getting children off to school or getting important errands or doctor appointments scheduled after you get off work. It can create a less stressful environment compared to the normal rat race. On a negative note, it can be harder for some people, to maintain a good work-flow. Some find it hard to set a schedule to work, bringing procrastination into play. “Oh I’ll get to work after Good Morning America…”, “Just one more cup of coffee…”, “Just one more hour of sleep…”, “I’ll get to work on that project tomorrow, today I want to go golfing…”. This is a big challenge for sure for some. It’s important to keep focused and on task.

The most important thing for me is being more available for my family. With smaller children, I can be freed up to go to school functions during the day, take care of unexpected sick days and take them to doctor appointments etc. It’s nice when they get home from school that I can take a break from work and find out how their days went and help with homework etc. On a downside, being at home means the kids have the availability to come and disturb you whenever they want…he-he. It’s important to make sure your children adhere to your time in your studio/office and it is off limits or kept down to a minimum during your schedule. This of course can be easier said than done!

In closing, no matter what your work type, a home office/studio can be managed if you create a schedule, make daily, weekly or monthly goals, find your inspiration/motivation to keep you going and most importantly keep focus.