Should you make less money because you work from home? Are you less smart? Are you doing lower quality work? Not at all. In fact, you’re probably far more productive when you’re not distracted by the office circus.
Never Say You Work from Home
When I’m speaking to clients or prospects, I never say I work from home. I don’t say, “I’ll look into it when I get home,” I say, “I’ll look into it when I get back to the office.” I don’t say, “I won’t be home this afternoon,” I say, “I’ll be out of the office this afternoon.” If I need to mention it for some reason I will say, “I work remotely,” and never, “I work from home.” I don’t ever want my clients to imagine me at home in pink fuzzy slippers with a baby crawling around my feet. Even though this has often been my reality!
Banish Limiting Beliefs
My daughter was born in the early years of my consulting business before I had all my business systems in place. My first project after her birth involved a lot of interaction with a technical team and a little bit of follow up with the executive team. Our meetings were scheduled as follows: on days I needed to meet with the technical team I would call when the baby woke up and tell them I would be on my way in 45 minutes, after I fed and changed her. And I would bring her with me. I thought this was the greatest gift ever and it was! So, I discounted my rate. But the fact is, the technical team was busy with individual technical work most of the day and it was not the slightest bit inconvenient for them to be flexible with my schedule. It cost them nothing in dollars, time or productivity. So, should I have been grateful? YES! Should I have discounted my rate? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Flip Your Mindset
Your clients are not doing you a favor by hiring you. You are providing immense value and they are paying you for it. Imagine if someone like you had come along just when you needed it most? You would have been delighted. If you have something that can help, you owe it to the world to get it out there.
As long as you are doing good quality work and meeting your client’s needs, it shouldn’t matter whether you’re working from Disneyland or a spaceship orbiting the moon.
For more empowering inspiration see
Work Is Something You Do, Not Somewhere You Go
I do 98% of my work remotely. I have occasional on site client meetings but I never take up residence. I have some clients that I have never met in person.
Because I work remotely I am mostly available to all of my clients from about 7:00 am to 11:00 pm seven days a week. My core practice is project management (getting things done) so it’s a huge benefit for the client to have someone keeping things moving sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. But they don’t pay for sixteen hours a day, seven days a week; they only pay for what they use.
Billable at the Beach® Community!
You’ll need the support of others. As an introvert, I tend to think I can do everything on my own. But sharing the challenge and success of running a consulting business makes the experience so much better. Like-minded people give us support and advice. They’re our cheerleaders, but they also keep us honest. In the process, they lift us up, and themselves too.
You need the reassurance that your struggles are normal. Connect with people who understand what you’re going through because they’re going through it too. One way is with the Build Your 6-Figure Consulting Business Community, my LinkedIn group. Please join us.