Bathrobe Business

When I was younger, distance didn’t seem to bother me much.  In fact, shortly after my former husband and I married, we purchased our first home in a beautiful country town in Massachusetts far outside of Boston where we both worked.  Maybe it was because of the timing – it was the housing boom of the ’80s and housing was more affordable far outside major metropolitan areas.  Maybe we were just a little nuts – probably a combination of the two.  Nevertheless,  we were thrilled with our little country home and the peace and quiet that came with it after years of living in big cities.  This was before the children arrived, so we didn’t need to worry about being on time for daycare.  Our biggest concern was leaving our beloved dog home alone for such long periods of time.  Somehow she survived it and lived to the ripe old age of 15.

Getting to work involved an hour long commuter train ride and then two transfers on the “T” – Boston’s transit system, followed by a brief walk to the office..  On a good day, it took an hour and 45 minutes door to door.  Driving was a little faster, but parking wasn’t in our budget.  Needless to say, any creative cooking had to wait until the weekend if we wanted to get to bed before midnight.

There were no computers, cell phones or e-mail, so working meant you had to be in the office.  It was a long time ago, but sometimes it still amazes me that we did it so nonchalantly.

Now, I cannot even imagine it.  Age and disabilities aside, the growth of technology has made it almost unnecessary in so many fields, but especially for the home based entrepreneur.  It is finally, really do-able.  And, I find I get much more work done, all on my terms and on my own time schedule.

It doesn’t work for everyone, I learned from experience.  I was blessed to be able to be a “stay at home” mom for  a long time and our days were filled with parks and kid things.  But, there came a time when our family needed a financial contribution from me, too, and I tried (since the PC had arrived on the scene) to practice law from home.  That didn’t mesh well with two maniac kids, who never failed to start their own version of World War III just as I was trying to talk on the phone to opposing counsel.  Let’s just say one doesn’t appear too professional under those circumstances.

So I realize that working from home may be difficult for a parent with young children, no matter their profession.  It can be done, but my hat’s off to the mom’s and dad’s who try to pull it off.

Now, in comparison, it’s a snap.  Somewhere along the line I blinked and those two angels grew up and moved away.  It seems like it took all of twenty seconds.   And I miss them so.

But it makes for the perfect home working environment, especially as I get older and deal with disability.  Sure, I work hard and had to learn a multitude of new skills that practicing law didn’t require.  But one of the great things about it the ability to work around my circadian rhythms ——- something unavailable to me even as a non-working, stay at home mom.

Pushing 55, I sincerely doubt there’s much chance of my turning into a morning person during my lifetime.  But, I had to be one (or fake it) throughout my time in the outside working world.  Now, I can work at the best time of day or night for my body and brain power.  I can roll out of bed, over to the computer, put in a few hours of work and then take a nap.  I can work at midnight or 2 a.m., and there’s no one to object.  Of course, phone calls have to be made a decent hours, but finally I can work when my mind and energy levels say yes, and stop working if they object. 

I can spend the day in my bathrobe if I want, and who is to know?  I can maintain hours of contact with people from all over the world, but I don’t have to do it at 8 a.m. in high heels and pantyhose.  Perhaps men can’t understand what a benefit that is, but there are few women who wouldn’t rejoice at the release.  With the advent of higher technology, I can work at home alone, but avoid loneliness because of constant contact with the outside world.  Either clients, colleagues or friends.  Ah, and Skype is such a miracle that I can chat with a friend in another state and feel like we’re hanging out together at each other’s houses.   I can take off on weekdays and work on a weekend if I feel like it.

This freedom means more to me than any other perk of having become a home based business owner.  Sure, there are still headaches.  If you don’t treat it as a business, you will not succeed.  There is still paperwork and boring tasks, but somehow the knowledge that I don’t even know where the alarm clock is makes all that tolerable.

It takes discipline, and some extra effort to avoid isolation, but it is worth it  a million times over.  Today’s been a bathrobe day, with several conferences and a lot of outside world communication.  But there was also nap time – just because.

The freedom is priceless.  If you get the chance, don’t underestimate the value of that freedom in your whole outlook and attitude towards life.