5 ways to build the best work-at-home community
Building a network is a great way to overcome remote work loneliness and strengthen your business.
Have you ever wanted to work from home, but don’t know where to start?
Do you dream of the day you can roll out of bed in your PJ’s and walk to your home office to make money online?
Are you sick and tired of your daily commute and terrible boss?
If you answered yes to any of the following questions, I have good news! I’m here to help you make your dream of working from home become a reality.
My name is Kelan Kline and with my wife Brittany we run the popular personal finance blog The Savvy Couple. Together we took our online side hustle and turned it into a six-figure business in less than three years!
Now we get to spend more time together, travel more, and reach our financial goals together.
This would have never been possible without the love and support from the work from home communities with which we’ve surrounded ourselves.
What is it like to work from home as a freelancer?
I’d be lying if I did not say I was living my dream life. I get to wake up every day excited for work, set my own hours, earn my own income, and stay at home with our beautiful daughter every day.
Yes there are challenges and it’s not perfect, but it’s far better than commuting to a job, getting underpaid, and dealing with a boss breathing down my neck.
Creating a livable income working from home is the ultimate freedom in life. In today’s digital society, for those who are inclined, there is no excuse not to spread your wings and break out of the traditional employee arrangement to pursue a home-based income. And within that digital society, you’ll find amazing company among other driven professionals rooted in supporting each other.
5 tips to build your work-from-home community
Starting something new and taking on a new challenge is always easier when you have the support around you to succeed.
Starting to work from home is no different! There are challenges and hurdles to overcome and the best way to move past them is by joining some incredible work from home communities focused on whatever niche you find yourself.
1. Join Facebook groups
When I made the jump to working from home I found Facebook groups to be incredibly valuable! So much so we started our own community called Blogging with Purpose helping bloggers and business owners make a full-time income from home.
Some of my favorite work from home communities on Facebook include:
2. Ask family, friends, neighbors
Believe it or not, you probably have people in your life that are already part of the work from home community. Start to network before you make the jump and ask questions so you know exactly what you are getting into.
For me personally, my sister has worked from home her entire adult life. I was able to ask her dozens of questions and get some incredible insight into what it was like to work from home before making the leap from my traditional job.
One of the biggest challenges she mentioned was staying disciplined and removing distractions.
Find someone in your circle or network already working from home and interview them. Get all your questions answered and possibly even ask them if they want to meet up at a coffee shop once a week to stay accountable.
3. Go to conferences
When it comes to networking and really throwing yourself into a community, nothing beats going to a conference.
Working from home can be lonely. If you have the opportunity to go to a conference and meet people face-to-face, do it! The lifelong connections you will make can be life-changing.
Some conferences to consider:
4. Start a mastermind
The word “mastermind” tends to scare people off who are just getting started working from home. But in reality, there are mastermind groups for just about everyone, including beginners.
Masterminds are a small group of people with similar interests, goals, businesses, and drive. These close-knit groups are extremely valuable in growing your skill set and achieving your goals.
Put yourself out there and start asking around in Facebook groups, slack groups, and in the community where you live. You may decide to form your own mastermind. You can set it up to be intense or casual, meeting weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or even quarterly.
5. Find a mentor or coach
If you want to grow your income fast, the absolute best way to achieve this is by working with a mentor or coach!
Without our many mentors and coaches along the way, our online business would not have grown nearly as fast.
Learning from those that are already successful is the fastest way to find success and grow your income working from home.
The absolute best action you can take is to put yourself out there, start to network, and surround yourself with successful people.
With some serious hard work, you can find yourself living your dream life working from home in just a few months.
Looking to adopt the work from home lifestyle? 5 quick tips for getting started
1) Create a good workspace
First and foremost the most important thing you can do it make sure you have a good workspace set up. One of the biggest misconceptions of working from home is you can do it lying in bed, watching TV, or lounging around the house.
Yes, it is possible but for most people, you will need to be super disciplined and have a good workspace to get work done from.
For me personally, I need as few distractions as possible to be an efficient worker. This means having a designated home office is a must.
Find a quiet spot in your house or apartment where you can set up a desk and have it feel as much like a regular job as possible.
One of the most difficult things to do when working from home is “turning it off” and leaving work at work.
Creating a workspace will not only help you get more done, but it helps set up personal boundaries so work life does not leak into your personal life.
2) Make sure you have the right equipment
If you plan on joining the work from home community it’s critical you have the right equipment to be successful.
The equipment required to work from home is fairly basic.
Here’s a quick list of equipment most people need to work from home:
- fast internet (10mbs or greater)
- good laptop or desktop
- webcam
- phone
- headset
- desk
- chair
- printer
- scanner
The good thing is you probably already have 90 percent of what you need to work from home.
In some situations, there will be online jobs that require a little more. For example, I worked for a company called VIPKID teaching English to Chinese students. I was required to sit in front of an area with a clutter-free background.
Another example could be a work from home contact center job. You would most likely benefit from having an excellent headset in conversations with customers.
When applying for online jobs, side hustles or starting your own online business, keep an eye out for any specifics and suggestions about equipment.
3) Turn your current job into a remote job
The very first option you should consider before looking for work elsewhere is exploring whether your current job could be converted into a remote-based or telecommute job.
This will require the least amount of effect and change to happen.
Simply do your research but be realistic about whether your current job lends itself for remote work. If you can build a strong case, go to management with your proposal and be ready to negotiate.
We can all agree, working from home even one day a week is better than none.
Trying to go remote with your current job is the best of both worlds. You will be able to keep your current job and get a taste for what working from home is like, a great test to see whether it is right for you.
If your current job is a no-go, it is time to start looking for work-from-home jobs or freelance projects.
4) Find a new work-from-home job
So how do you go about finding and landing a legitimate work-from-home job?
Luckily in our digital world, there are plenty of work from home job resources to utilize in your search.
Our favorite work from home job resources:
By utilizing these resources, you can quickly filter and search online jobs that will fit your experience, desired wage, job type, and hour commitment.
This will allow you to see only the jobs for which you would be a great and have a high probability of landing.
Some important things to consider when applying are health insurance options, contract or full-time work, flexible or fixed schedule, and hourly or salary.
5) Start your own work from home business
One of the best ways to start working from home and earning income online is starting your own online business.
There are countless online businesses you can start part-time and grow into a full-time income with some hard work and elbow grease.
Here are some of the most common work from home businesses people start:
- lead generation
- blogging
- freelance writing
- proofreading
- virtual assistant
- social media management
- sales representative
- customer service agent
The best part of starting your own business is the ultimate freedom you have in setting your hours, determining your income, and doing the things you love.
We learned how to start a blog while still working full-time and quickly grew it into a legitimate online business.
There are countless free resources to help you get started creating your own online business. One of the most valuable is YouTube.
BONUS: Make sure your finances are in order
One of the many luxuries of working from home is the cost savings.
Think about it, no commute, no buying lunch every day, daycare, etc. You can save a ton of money working from home.
According to DoughRoller, the average person working from home will save between $2,000 to $7,000 per year.
With that amount of savings, you even have the option of taking a remote job with less pay.
If you're starting an online business or side hustle vs. having a job that’s home-based it is important to have a good nest egg to lean on for any unexpected expenses.
We saved almost an entire year’s worth of salary before I quit my job.
This is another reason why it is important to budget your money and have a good grasp of how to manage your money correctly.
Final thoughts on working from home
Working from home can be challenging, as well as sometimes difficult to balance personal and work life.
But I would be lying if I did not say it truly is a dream come true.
The freedom to wake up when you want, work a schedule that works for you and your family, and have unlimited income potential is incredible.
If you have it in your heart to want more freedom in life, it’s time to take action and make it happen.
Starting today, make it a mission to join the work from home community!
Editor's note: Liveops is a great choice for people who want to work from home. Find out how!
