1. Know Your Company’s Policies- Working from home is one thing, but actually getting the work done is another. Obviously, if your boss trusts you enough to work from home, then he or she trusts you enough to know that you are reliable and will follow the usual business ethics to make sure that your work is done in a timely manner and in the way in which it was originally specified to you to be done. The last thing that you want to do is ruin that balance of trust with your employer, so always make sure that you go above and beyond to do your best.
2. Maintain Some Semblance of a Schedule- Just because you have the luxury of working from the comfort of your own home doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep up a regular work schedule. I’m not saying that you have to work a strict 9-5 schedule; but at the same time, you don’t really want to be working in a few hours here, a couple of minutes there and then the rest of your hours in the middle of the night. Keeping a rough schedule helps to keep you organized, and it also keeps your body trained to get work done during a certain time frame. Plus- it allows you to better set your schedule for doing other things such as, I don’t know, having a social life for starters!
3. Cut Out the Distractions- For me, this boils down to one of two things: my cell phone or Facebook. Whatever it is for you, get rid of it (at least while you are working). For instance, when I am hard at work, my cell phone is usually turned off or is turned to silent and placed in another room. As for the social networking sites, I usually have a schedule in front of me on one screen and my tasked work on another, which leaves very little wiggle room for social networking sites. In between work breaks, I will try to check my cell phone or relieve some of the work monotony by checking out the latest social media stuff.
4. Take Breaks and Get Out- I have a tendency to work for long blocks of time, which is not good for several reasons; the main one being that when I eventually peel myself out of my chair, my back is killing me and I suddenly realize that I’m starving. Some of the tendency for those of us who work from home is to shut ourselves indoor all day until we finish every last drop of work. You don’t have to do this! Breaking up your work day is a great way to stay fresh and on point so that work doesn’t begin to drag you down. Get out and go for a walk or head to the gym or meet up with a friend for lunch and then come back to your work. Schedule breaks for yourself!
5. Protect Your Computer- If you work from home, then you will no doubt want to invest in a secured internet connection to protect your wireless network. Also, make sure that you back up whatever files you are working on just in case the power goes out or there is inclement weather.

1. Semionaut’s Notebook- Spearheaded by Corvus Elrod, a narrative design consultant, this site explores issues related to social media, mass media, culture and communication.
2. The Society for Word of Mouth (SWOM)- Started by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba back in 2008, this site is devoted to social networking and all of those who believe in social networks and online communication. There is a lot to explore on the site including joining in forum discussions, joining one of many specialty groups or inviting other co-workers to join. Definitely check it out.
3. DailyCandy-is a really neat site that allows you to select the city that you live in and discover all of the fashionable, fun, food related and/or culturally diverse things to do.
4. Diva Marketing Blog- Written by Toby Bloomberg, this blog approaches marketing and branding from a woman’s perspective. You will no doubt discover unique things that will make marketing more exciting and interesting. You can also follow Toby on Twitter.
5. Flooring the Consumer- Written by C.B. Whittemore, this blog deals with bridging traditional marketing with social marketing in order to improve the consumer experience. You can also follow C.B. on Twitter.

• Saving commuting time
• Able to fit work around other commitments
• Better able to concentrate
• Fewer interruptions
• Less stressed

Now, I don’t know about you- but having worked in an office environment I would have to absolutely agree with all of these reasons. Of course, it also helps if you have a separate room or workspace to work in when you are home (working from your kitchen table is not nearly as comfortable!).

The only down side to working from home is that it is easy to slip into a pattern of working too much and/or not taking a break when you really should. Then, of course, what happens if you are sick or feeling under the weather? It’s not like you can call into your office and tell your boss that you’re not going to be in that day. In most cases, those of us who work from home just suck it up and keep on trudging along. I guess you could say that this is the price we pay for comfort.

Should Office Employers Be Worried?

With the recent onslaught of people who are working from home with some sort of increased frequency, some employers are starting to become a little concerned. After all, how are they supposed to compete with employees who now have all of these options to lead the lives that they many others would kill for: the opportunity to set your own hours and work in your PJs without having to worry about makeup, rush hour traffic or the watchful stare of your boss? As Rebecca O’Connor from Times Online succinctly put it:

For millions of us, going to work means piling into monolithic tower blocks stuffed with rows of generic desks, strip lighting, muddy-looking carpets and off-white walls.

But not for all. Over the past decade, wireless broadband and BlackBerrys have meant that more workers have ditched the office in favour of working from home, in quiet studies overlooking gardens, with cups of tea and a comfy sofa only a room away.

And this has presented employers with a problem — how to cultivate a culture of presenteeism in a world where being present is not always essential. The answer? Commission interior designers to upgrade office space. The result? Unintentionally, perhaps, offices are beginning to look more like living rooms. [source]

In a day and age of WFHers, employers know exactly what they are up against. This is why many of them are now scrambling to renovate and redecorate with the hopes of making the office experience something that is akin to a ‘home away from home’, some place where employees feel excited and happy to go to….but will it be enough?

1. Hog Blog-Written by Sally Hogshead, speaker, author and branding expert, this blog covers topics related to branded content, new media applications and multi-platform advertising.
2. Marketing Gorilla-Spearheaded by Greg Hoffman, this blog covers topics related to affiliate marketing, advertising, web 2.0 and consulting. You can also follow Greg on Twitter.
3. Media Influencer-Written by Adriana Lukas, this is an insightful blog that covers blogging, communication, social media and marketing.
4. Mrs Belmot’s Blog- Written by Janet Belmot, this blog covers advertising, social media and blogging with a twist of humor thrown in for good measure! You can also follow Mrs Belmot on Twitter.
5. Ain’t It Cool News- This site deals with a collection of news from around the Internet, specifically where movies, gaming, books and music are involved.

Internet businesses are easy to start if you decide not to do everything yourself. Outsourcing technical work at inexpensive rates is the secret. The right service providers can make your work a breeze.

Many of us are tempted to start an Internet business from home. The convenience of working from home and being our own bosses is very alluring, but we may hesitate thinking about the technicalities and know how required to do so. Another thought that may keep us, is the cost involved.

Well, be pleasantly surprised to know that all your doubts are ill founded and internet business is none of the above things! You might ask: do you have to be a computer expert? How can you make a website? And the answer is: you do not need either special skills or loads of money to start out on your own online business. All you need is a computer and an internet connection.

The most important part is to design a website and launch it online for others to see. This is what we commonly call web hosting. A computer or server is connected 24/7 to the internet and hosts your website for others to visit whenever they want.

This requires a lot of technical know how and you need to be highly skilled and dedicate long hours to accomplish this. It naturally makes no sense to do this on your own, so what do you do? All you need to do is find a good web host who will do all this for you for a small monthly fee. They will take care of all the technical stuff.

You can easily find a web host who fits your budget. There are lots of inexpensive web hosts available who will help you out. They will charge a very nominal monthly fee and host your WebPages for the world to see all the time. A good host will rarely if ever have a technical breakdown.

Choose from the many web hosts available. Expensive doesn’t really mean high quality and very inexpensive may turn out more expensive (due to repeated failures) in the long run. You want to find a web host that doesn’t cost much and yet does not compromise on the basic services required to keep your website floating.

Inexpensive hosts can provide you with excellent services though they may not be able to give you premium stuff. The minimum you need is an efficient and friendly customer support service and that your WebPages are available all the time.

Your host should let you change or update your content whenever you wish to do so. All the links to and from it should be working properly. If you have interactive features on your page it should work without a hitch. This is the most important feature as it is your link to your potential customers or clients. Blog platforms can prove very reliable for this feature.

Your customers can now reach you easily, but can you respond to them promptly? You need good autoresponder software to reach out to your customers even when you are not around. This software ensures that every visitor who leaves a query will receive a courteous mail almost immediately, acknowledging their interest. You can easily follow them up with customized replies.

A few right steps will kick start your online business without any hassles.

About the Author(s):
Lena Morrish & Dima Nikolayenko are Internet publishers at InternetBusinessBTS.com. If you are interested in starting your own  affiliate home business, but you’re not sure whereto start, visit Lena and Dima over at InternetBusinessBTS.com to find a step-by-step guide.

1. Yonder Ponder- Written by a guy named James, this blog provides an interesting perspective on advertising, art, culture and other random thoughts.
2. 100 Ad Words- Written by Gary Doyle, this blog covers pop culture, the media, observations and advertising. Fascinating read! You can also follow Gary on Twitter.
3. Freaking Marketing- Written by Robert Rosenthal, this blog covers a range of topics including recent news, the media, consulting, celebrities, advertising, business and social media. Great read. You can also follow Robert on Twitter.
4. Social Media @ Work & Play- Written by Gary Moneysmith, this blog covers issues related to money, business, advertising, social media, the Web and more. Well written, in-depth articles! You can also follow Gary on Twitter.
5. Managing the Gray- An awesome podcast hosted by C.C. Chapman. Give it a listen!