My partner, Paul, used to visit a 90 plus year-old man twice a week to help him run errands and do anything else he needed. The old man’s name was Ron. I met him a few times and would consider him to be a very nice, generous, wise and mentally sharp man, even though he was in his 90’s.
Paul met Ron at High school due to his study of art. Quite often all Ron needed from Paul was someone to sit down with him and chat because most of his friends had passed and his family did not visit often (if at all). Ron would chat with Paul for hours about all kinds of topics and enjoyed passing on his wisdom. One of the biggest pieces of advice Ron gave Paul is, “Know thine self”.
As the years pass me by, I’d have to say those three words have become more significant to how I live my life. The better I know myself the more understanding I have as to how I want to go about living my life. It’s because I’ve learned so much more about myself that I decided to start working online.
Listed below are what I feel are 7 great reasons to work online which I will elaborate on:
- The Money Bonuses
- Flexibility
- Convenience
- Time Efficiency
- Better Work-Life Balance
- Be Your Own Boss and Work On Your Own Terms
- Better Health
The Money Bonuses
Cheaper Startup Cost
The more time you have, the cheaper your startup costs will be. As long as you have a minimum of a laptop computer and good internet connection you’re pretty well set up. Websites can be built for under $500 these days. Your business may not even need its own website, for example, you may be selling goods or services on sites such as eBay or Amazon.
Earn While You Sleep
One of the best things about running an online business as far as money goes has to be the fact that because the internet runs 24/7 you can generate income while you sleep. Gotta love that 🙂
Save Money
They say money saved is money earned. When you work from home there’s no need to eat out for lunch. The fact you can wear whatever you like when you work from home means you are not spending money purchasing uniforms or business suits which results in even more savings due to no longer dealing with any dry cleaning costs associated with it.
All costs associated with commuting are eliminated. If you usually drive to work, money is saved on fuel, as well as car wear and tear, not to mention the cost of parking. If you use public transport then there’ll be no need to pay for that anymore, or the cost of Uber or Taxi. If childcare is part of the equation there’s another a huge saving of around $100 /day.
Flexibility
Set Your Own Hours
One of the main reasons I decided to go online was to take back control of my day. Working as an Air Monitoring Technician entails finding out what jobs I do on any given day at 6 pm the night before and then finding out an estimation of how long the jobs will take upon arrival on the day. And then there’s the emergency call out jobs and unscheduled jobs to deal with. The ability to plan anything is pretty much non-existent unless you choose to schedule a day off, therefore, forego any possible work opportunities that come up (resulting in no income).
So the idea of being able to set my own working hours was absolutely golden. I had no idea what I wanted to do career-wise before deciding to work online, but one thing I knew I definitely desired was to be able to schedule work around my lifestyle. When I reach my success, that being living on a country property and owning a couple of horses, I know I’ll need a job I can schedule around the time I need to attend to my horses, not to mention house and property maintenance, my exercise regime, social time and of course shared time with my partner. (I’m glad Affiliate Marketing is a part-time deal).
Work From Anywhere
So long as there’s good internet connection you can work from anywhere your heart desires. I love working from the comfort of my own home and I’ll especially love it when living in the country – I couldn’t think of anything worse than having to travel into town for work. Some of you may like the idea that online work allows you to work from a cafe if you choose, or whilst travelling around the countryside (or worldwide for that matter). In general, once set up, many online businesses only require maintenance which can be achieved from anywhere you like to hang out that has internet access.
Create Your Own Working Environment
When you work from home you are able to set up your own work area, styling it how you like with appropriate lighting that suits you. You also get to control air temperature. Can’t say I miss working in an air-conditioned office environment that was always kept far too cold for my liking. When winter arrives I love being able to crank the heating up to keep my work area toasty warm.
Choice Of Ways To Work Online
From affiliate marketing to network marketing, freelancing to selling your own products, e-commerce to the provision of online training…the options are endless, and with a market to cater for every niche, you are able to make money online from things you are truly passionate about.
Convenience
Staying Home
I’ve worked in factories, kitchens, restaurants, grocery stores, and fitness centres. I’ve worked outdoors with both my employment in a car yard and with my air monitoring work, I’ve had jobs that involve travel such as aerobic instructing, hospitality and again with air monitoring. Having done all this I gotta say, I absolutely love working from home.
It’s the small things like eating from home (so not having to prepare food for work the night before), being in my own comfortable environment, getting some home duties done when I need a break from working – from cleaning to gardening, being able to wear whatever I like even if it is P.J’s during the colder winter months, and I get to hang out with my fur baby which is great for him too – he has company and attention when he wants it.
I’m not a Mum, but from what I’ve heard from Mum’s I’ve spoken with, the ability to work from home would provide many with a more comforting experience. There aren’t too many Mum’s out there who enjoy having to leave their child at childcare, especially if it’s a case of sneaking away whilst their child is distracted. I am well aware of the fact there are many mothers who would feel much more at ease with being able to look after their young children at home rather than send them off to childcare.
My partner has a widowed, minimal-English speaking elderly mother who suffers from a lot of pain. She refuses to move out of her large old home with over a quarter acre block (even when we believe a retirement village with a small unit would be far better suited). She also refuses to spend money on such things as yard maintenance or Taxi fares.
The result of this is that Paul needs to be responsible for much of the house and property maintenance, her transportation to places such as medical centres for Doctor appointments, shopping centres to buy food and to the bank on pension day, not to mention the fact he needs to be there to provide her with the company she lacks from living home alone.
Many employers out there are not willing to provide time off to their employees to look after elderly parents. I know people who have lost jobs for this very reason – even my partner. Being able to work for yourself from home provides you with the ability to care for any family member when needed and not lose income.
Travel
If you love travelling then you can travel as much as you like knowing that the way you earn income is very portable so long as you have a good internet connection. You can work from a beautiful beach resort or a hotel room amongst the city action.
Time Efficiency
Working in an environment where there are other workers about can be very distracting. Co-workers may be very interrupting, be it to ask questions, for general office banter or a gossip session. Dare I mention having to deal with office politics (don’t miss that at all). Having to attend unimportant office meetings or training requirements – massive time wasters as far as I’m concerned. I know I get a lot more achieved when I work home alone.
Better Work-Life Balance
We see it everywhere now and I believe it’s only getting worse. People working 9 – 5, or perhaps more like 7 – 6, to fulfil their job requirements, ensure their continued employment, and earn the money they need just to meet the ever-increasing costs of living. I know this is not the way we were designed to live. We are designed to be happy. Working for 2/3’s of our lives, or more is no way to be happy. I’ve even worked 12 hour days in a job I was passionate about – but passion can diminish when work-life balance is not there.
The case with many online businesses is that once your online business is set up, and you have the traffic and sales you require, it’s then just a matter of maintaining the business. This may only take 1 – 3 hours a day. So, how many hours a day does that leave you to pursue the things you love?
Be Your Own Boss and Work Under Your Own Terms
Ditch The Alarm Clock
Firstly, as your own boss, you get full control over when you start work.
Waking up naturally is awesome. I love it and I know it’s the way it should be. For me, waking up naturally means I get up no later than what I would if I was headed to another location for work anyway – sometimes I even get up earlier. I find I feel a lot less motivated if I start my day lying in. It seems to set the tone for the rest of the day.
Having the choice to keep warm and cozy under the covers on a winter’s day is always welcomed. And that’s the thing about running your own online business, it’s your choice. It reminds me of an old saying that goes, “it’s easy when you want to but hard when you have to”. There’s a big difference between choosing to get up early to start my day and having to get up early “to go to work”.
Fire Your Boss
They say finding good workers is hard. Coming from a position where I hired staff to now being an employee, I’d have to say finding a good boss is just as hard. I don’t mean to be arrogant, but when you dedicate time to becoming aware of your thoughts to change them for the better, you are organised and on the ball, and you are someone who takes care of themselves through good diet and exercise, it can be difficult to find a boss who resonates with your own energy.
If I were able to choose a boss, they would have to be someone I could look up to and feel as though I could learn from. From my experience, and from what others have told me about their bosses, I’d have to say there aren’t too many bosses out there I’d want as a boss. At this stage of my life, I’m the only boss that’s good enough for me.
Obligation Free
Who truly enjoys feeling obliged to do things. “Yes, I’ll pick up that extra shift that no-one else wants on a Sunday of a public holiday”, “yes, I’ll run that errand for you which involves having to drive during peak hour traffic”, “yes, I’ll stay back late to complete that project earlier than you initially wanted it and won’t see my kids before they go to bed”. I’m sure you know of other scenarios which you have experienced yourself.
How needs ’em! No-one, that’s who. Why do we do them? Fear of losing our job perhaps. Well, when you are your own boss there’s no way you’re going to fire yourself for not taking on that extra workload that you really do not want to do.
Better Health
Peak hour traffic, unfriendly co-workers, workplace bullying, office politics, long hours, too large a workload, unscheduled jobs…All these things cause a lot of mental stress and, as they say, “stress will kill ya”. If it doesn’t kill you it will cause a lot of destruction, not only for you but to loved ones too.
Unfortunately when we feel stressed, or when our work-life balance becomes all work no life, the first thing to go for many people is exercise and a healthy diet. Unhealthy habits may increase such as an increase in alcohol consumption or cigarette smoking. All and all, what we are left with is a less than a healthy body and less than a healthy mental state.
Working an online business eliminates most of the stress caused by going to work and it provides the time to make exercise a part of your daily ritual. As an outdoor exerciser myself, it’s great to be able to time my sessions with the weather too. If the forecast says rain clearing by the afternoon, then I’ll wait ’til the afternoon to fo for my run.
Final Words
Sure, there are cons to working from home. It does take a lot more self-discipline, self-motivation, and it can be a lonely game. Being born an only child has given me the ability to be quite comfortable in my own company. My upbringing, together with my passion for exercise, has also given me the self-motivation and self-discipline required to successfully work on my own. I also know that self-discipline can be learned, it’s just a matter of setting a schedule. I also know the self-motivation will be there when your desire for success is strong enough. My desire to leave my current job and achieve my dreams is extremely strong. This ensures I am consistent with my business.
Knowing myself has given me the ability to confidently choose to opt in for a career that sees me working from home. Sure, I’m not earning all my income online yet, but I’m certainly working on it, and the time I do spend working 100% from home, I absolutely love.