How to Convince Your Spouse of the Value of Working from Home

Your spouse is an important factor in your decision to work from home. If he or she isn't happy with the arrangement, you won't be off to a very sound start. Getting them on side is an important first step to creating a thriving home business. Steps: 1. Talk to your spouse early on. Once you have formalized the idea of what it is that you would like to do from home by way of business, form a good plan in your head or even on paper that clarifies what it is you're planning to do, what finances will be required, what type of office and storage arrangements you'll need and how much time you think will be required. Think about how the family living arrangements might be interrupted and how you can accommodate any changes that might be disruptive for the family. Armed with this reflection, talk to your spouse about the entire idea, your belief in how it can work and be ready to answer his or her questions. 2. Think very carefully about space issues. A spouse is probably going to think immediately that stockpiled goods in the spare room isn't going to allow room for guests, or quiet study space. Think of the things that you can do to ensure that the normal family routine and living spaces are not disrupted, or consider how you can compensate for loss of space by agreeing to create more space through renovating once the business starts bringing in profits. 3. Talk about the things that will improve if you work from home. It means that someone is always there to look after the children, provide security by being about the home, and it will be a much cheaper option to test the viability of the business than looking for paid premises at the start. In addition, offer to cover additional benefits such as better internet access since it is likely you will need good internet access as part of your business. 4. Listen to your spouse's concerns. They are valid because running a business from home does create change - there will be additional clutter, possible noise, possibly people visiting and you are likely still relying on their income until the business takes off. Respect their concerns for privacy and viability of the project. After listening, offer sound and well-thought out reasons that address their concerns where possible. Where you realize that some of the concerns have not yet been considered, just say so and let your spouse know that fixing these concerns is now a major priority in order to ensure that the home business idea works for everyone. Tips: • Be considerate about your pets and your spouse's feelings about pets. If your business involves bringing clients to your home and you keep pets, it is unfair on both your spouse and your pets to insist that the pets suddenly live outside in case clients might be allergic. In this case, you might need to explore the options of building a room at the front or to the side of your home, or even above your home with a separate entrance, that can be kept pet-free and used just for your business. In this case, you will need to find out the costs of such renovation and prepare a sales pitch for your spouse on doing this - if it requires an increase in the mortgage, there may be some convincing required! originated by: Isabelle C, Maluniu Source: www.wikihow.com