Make going to the office optional!
Haven't you ever wished that you didn't have to waste hours in rush-hour traffic on your commute to the office? Had more time with your kids? Or simply had the luxury to go to work in your pajamas?
Co-produced with USA TODAY, The Work From Home Handbook is an excellent resource for anyone who dreams of a work-from-home career. You can find the option that best suits your personal, financial and professional goals through the book's systematic, step-by-step advice.
This book shows you how to:
Find out where and how you work best
Prepare a great proposal for your current employer
Demonstrate productivity in your home office
If your current employer is inflexible, this book also covers finding a new "beyond the office" job, or becoming an independent contractor.
Filled with solid tips, real-life examples, practical advice and - best of all - inspiration, The Work From Home Handbook can help you transform and achieve a healthy balance in your life and career.
Seventy-nine of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" last year allowed - even encouraged - employees to work from home at least 20 percent of the time. More than two thirds of all American companies offered some telework options in 2005. And the country's largest employer - the U.S. government - encourages employees to work from home "to the maximum extent possible." Don't be left behind. Find out how you can chose this career option for yourself.
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 Mostly common sense, not worth the money |
| Review Date: March 22, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Robin N. Uncapher, Bethesda, MD |
So you're thinking of working from home and you've come across this title thinking that some advice from an expert might help. Chances are if you sit down and think about the issues really hard, you will come up with something as insightful as this book...in about an hour.
The main problem with a "Work From Home Handbook" is that home is a location, not a career. When I picked up this book, I did not realize that it was going to try to be a career advice guide. Unfortunately the Work From Home Handbook wastes space with bland, vague information on things like freelancing, just because freelancing can be done at home. If you want to do freelancing go get a book on a particular type of freelancing. If the information in this book enlightens you on freelancing--you are not ready for freelancing.
One would think that a guide to working at home would contain information on resources that the home worker can draw on, ways to make a home office run smoothly without the resources of an office building such as finding good computer support, shipping, outsourcing printing and administrative help, using various websites to make working at home hassle free for both you and your employer. It could include ways to set up a home telephone system including voice mail, phone trees and even an answering service. This guide includes nothing like that, nor does it contain any research on the problems and concerns of those who work from home.
Instead we have general information which seems to come from people who are imagining what the issues are going to be. There is common sense stuff on whether you are "ready" for life without the watercooler, and there is a section on writing a proposal to convince your boss you can telework. This proposal section leaves out the most obvious issue which is 1) if you are not already doing a stellar job onsite don't waste your time with this proposal 2)if you are brand new at your job and your boss barely knows you, wait until they know you well enough to consider it.
Lastly the book includes some general information on taxes. If you need information on taxes, consult an accountant. I have consulted accountants over the years and not only do home office tax rules change, the possiblity that a deduction will trigger an audit, also changes. Save yourself some grief and find an expert before you file.
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A clear, useful guide
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| Review Date: September 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. D. Walters, Princeton, NJ |
| This book is not what I was expecting: a guide to having a freelance career based from your home. Instead, it mostly gives advice on how to work from home while employed by someone else, and the issues that may arise with respect to time collection, communication, flexibility of hours, etc. But for the issues it deals with, this guide is comprehensive and sensible. Especially helpful is the advice on how to navigate taxation as a freelancer or a teleworker, which is notoriously tricky. I believe that teleworking is the wave of the future, that will help businesses and individuals save money and consume less energy. In an online world with reliable Internet connections almost everywhere you go, it only makes sense. |
General overview, left me wanting more
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| Review Date: June 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Felton, Washington DC |
| This book covers a lot, from convincing management to allow teleworking, to if you should try it. The text is good, if you are trying to learn the state of affairs of the problems and concerns, and general anecdotal comments that concern telecommuting. However, if you already working at a company that allows telecommuting, the you probably already know most of the info in this book. So, the book is good, as long as you know what you are going to use it for. |
Home Base
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| Review Date: March 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Christian Book Reviews, Philadelphia, PA United States |
The first thing to understand about "The Work from Home Handbook" is what it is not. It is not a guide to the various possibilities of the "work form home" industries and judge of which are and are not scams. If you can't figure out that someone wanting hundreds of dollars upfront to allow you to work is a scam, no book will help you.
This is best for those who are already moving in that direction (e.g., telecommuters, freelance home workers, etc.) and this gives some background on what sorts of things one will need to keep in mind for taxes, etc. It does give some indication of freelance possibilities but this is more an overview than an exhaustive listing.
Overall, a workmanlike if somewhat general intoduction to working from home. |
So you want to work from home?
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| Review Date: January 17, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kevin Tipple, Plano, Texas |
Maybe you want to work from home or maybe you need to work from home? Maybe your job has evaporated as have many others thanks to the current economy? Are you looking for a change? If so, working from home or "telework" as it is referred to in this book might be just the thing for you and your family.
Released last February by NOLO in partnership with USA TODAY this very simple and easy to read short handbook details the ins and outs of working from home. Both as an employee of a company where you can do your job from home or as a freelance consultant. Both types are considered in each chapter despite the fact that the two concepts are often very different.
After a very short opening chapter touting the advantages for you as well as any possible employer, the discussion moves onto whether or not you, the reader is a good candidate for working from home. Simply loving the idea of avoiding the commute isn't enough. In the second chapter, planning such a move regarding child care, where the desk will go, how such a deal will change everyone's lives is considered among other ideas.
Chapters three and four address the questions of whether you can do your job at home and how to make your case to your boss and the corporate bureaucracy. Freelancing is again briefly mentioned, but the primary focus is on whether you can take the job you currently have and do it at home.
Chapter five addresses how to find a job that you can do from home as well as the many pitfalls and scams to avoid. The very common "medical claims processing" scam is mentioned along with the classic "product assembly" deal and the always popular "envelope stuffing" and quite a few others. This information, as well as much in the book, is also helpful to those seeking to have a second income while keeping day job.
Freelancing is covered in chapter six. Much of the information involves creating contracts, setting rates, and dealing with taxes as opposed to suggestions regarding what to freelance.
Chapter seven deals with taxes for your online job and defines deductions, working for an employer in another state, filling taxes, etc. Both of the authors are residents of California and have written this chapter with Federal Taxes in mind. State tax considerations and local tax issues aren't covered. As in any in any guide book, information is subject to change and one should always consult with your Tax Specialist or preparer for information.
Chapter eight covers how to succeed at working from home. Not only how to keep you involved in the workplace from home, but also how to stay motivated and making sure the work gets done. Not only do you have to make sure the boss sees your productivity you also have to make sure your friends and family know the limits and abide by them.
Setting limits on others was never an issue for me. My issue was setting my own limits. Whether it was some daytime talk show train wreck (is he the father of these six kids by five different women? They are all here today to prove he is the father) or important news, congressional hearings, sports stuff, etc. the television is a huge distracter. It has to stay off, for me to get any work done.
An index and catalog listing of titles available from NOLO along with numerous ads bring this small 160 page book to a close.
For those readers who know nothing about telecommuting this short easy to read book full of very general information and tips is a real good deal. It outlines the concepts and possibilities, various scenarios, and possible strategies to make the transition. For those freelance writers such as myself and others who have experience doing telework, this small handbook won't shed any new light on the subject and is of little help.
Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009
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