WORK FROM HOME : Working 9 til 5 at Home Worked for Them

With visions of working 9 til 5 at home in their pajamas all day, many people dream of starting a business or somehow finding a way to use their computer to make a living. The flexibility and convenience of telecommuting, not to mention the lack of all the auxiliary complexities that can accompany a 9 to 5 office world, are too enticing to ignore.

Yet at the same time, the self-discipline required to be one's own boss is too far-reaching for some. Having chosen to work at home for themselves, three local women are reaping the rewards and praising their decision to "think outside the job."

Winter Haven resident Kara Huebsch originally thought her career path would be in social work. After relocating from upstate New York nine years ago, she began working for the Department of Children and Families in Polk County.

"As difficult of a job as (social work) is, wow, what an education," Huebsch said. She added that she learned skills in social work that she never learned in college. Huebsch moved around within the community of social work and found herself working in the hospital sector.

It was during this time that she began to consider a change in career. Although she appreciated the good intentions of social work, she found the rewards of it were few and far between. Her father suggested she talk to her aunt in Wisconsin, who continues to be a longtime at-home employee with The Vernon Company, which has marketed promotional advertising products such as pens and calendars with company logos for more than 100 years.

"Aunt Pat was crazy about the Vernon Company," Huebsch said. "She loves what she does." Based in Iowa, all employees of The Vernon Company, except for the home office, work from their homes across the United States, Huebsch said.

Attracted by her aunt's enthusiasm for the company, Huebsch signed up to become a Vernon saleswoman. However, she continued working her full-time job as a social worker, while getting her new business going on the weekends by using her health care contacts.

After working that hectic schedule for about a year and a half, and sufficiently building up her client base, Huebsch decided the time was right to make the permanent leap to The Vernon Company and resign from social work.

"That day when I was able to say, 'OK, I think I'm going to take the plunge and let go of the one full-time job,' was a little scary but I was ready for it," Huebsch said.

As a commission-based job, Huebsch said one has to be very self-disciplined when working at home for themselves and a person will get out of it what they put into it. She acknowledged that some people need the structure of an office boss who depends on them to show up at work on a daily basis. However, Huebsch said she, too, has people depending on her to get the job done in a timely fashion - her clients.

Beginning her week by making a game plan, Huebsch said she gets a grip on what projects she is working on, what she wants to be working on, and generating new leads. She is not given new client leads on a silver platter, she said, but rather she has to go out and get them herself, which can involve cold calling.

With clients all over Central Florida and a few outside the state, Huebsch said that after she has made the connections and the closes the sales, The Vernon Company takes care of the rest, including billing and even doing her taxes.

Although Huebsch can work from home, and has a home office set up there, she said she prefers to get out of her apartment as often as she can for face-to-face client meetings and often totes her laptop along so she can access the wireless Internet service offered at many eateries.

In addition to this daily freedom, she said one of her favorite aspects of working as her own boss is the luxury to take off and visit friends and family in other states two to three times per year.

"If I had an office job I wouldn't be able to take off and do that," she said. Huebsch said another perk is selling products that she has had a hand in helping to create.

"You're able to be really creative and it's exciting when you sell something that's your idea," Huebsch said. "You have the ownership in this idea you brought it to your customer. They've been able to share with me that because of my product they've increased their business by this percentage."

With goals of being a really effective salesperson while providing great customer service, Huebsch said she couldn't do what she does if she wasn't excited about it. She said anyone interested in finding work at home opportunities would do well to make sure the work is stimulating.

"You have to be excited about what you're doing at home working 9 til 5 because if you're not then you just lose all your motivation," Huebsch said. "It has to be something that changes a lot so that it holds your attention because it would be really easy to stay in bed when it's cold outside."

Motivation comes easy to Judy Olson, who throws social parties while making a living. Working for Uppercase Living, a company that sells vinyl expressions for homes, businesses and vehicles, Olson said she knew when she saw the products that she would enjoy selling them.

The expressions can be as simple as a person's name, a common phrase such as "Welcome" or can be as complex as a school or company's entire mission statement. In addition, the colors and fonts can be customized. Olson, who signed up as a demonstrator three years ago, said the expressions are applied to walls, doors, windows, vehicle body or other smooth surface.

A self-described "snow bird," Olson lives in Davenport in the winter and spends her summers in Minnesota. She has a client base and sales teams in each locale and loves the versatility of being able to set up anywhere and have a party, to sell her merchandise.

Similar to other home party sales such as Tupperware, PartyLite, or Pampered Chef, Olson has parties in the homes of women called hostesses, who invite their friends for the presentation. For opening up their home, the hostess of these types of "open house" home sales parties will often receive a gift or a discount.

Olson said she believes that with the economy declining, companies such as Uppercase Living are a great opportunity to make some side money or even put forth the effort to make it a full-time job.

"We are really trying to create a community of support for our individuals because we are finding when the other companies are laying off and closing their doors, our company is hiring," she said.

There is a small investment to get started as a demonstrator, Olson said, and added the minimal investment purchases a starter kit, which covers everything needed to be off-and-running as a businessperson, including catalogs, brochures, and more. A training CD teaches communication, inventory, and ordering skills, she said.

Olson, who has about four parties per month, said that since she started her business, she has become empowered and has felt the ability to empower. In addition to the flexibility, creativity, and opportunity to socialize while working, Olson said mentoring others is a perk of her new career path. In three years, she has been selected to serve as the hospitality host for the state of Florida, and will train, mentor and work with new demonstrators

Using the Internet as a tool to make connections, Olson said her business also grows due to word of mouth, as everyone has their own circle of friends. On her team of salespeople, she has everyone from stay-at-home moms to women who use Uppercase Living to supplement their main job.

"I have gals on my team that are Realtors and they are applying (the vinyl expressions) in the model homes; they're using this to stimulate their other businesses," Olson said.

Although this is her side income, Olson said she knows some people who make it their full-time gig and are bringing in good money.

"I went to a convention last year and one of the speakers was a teacher - she gave up her teaching position and has gone full time with Uppercase," Olson said.

Like any other job or business, Olson agreed that what one gets out of working 9 til 5 from home corresponds to what one puts into it.

"For what your income is, for the amount of hours you put in is exactly the same as anything else," Olson said. "If you don't go out and mow the lawns, you're not going to get paid and if you don't show up for work you're not going to get paid."

For Jean Henne, an appellate attorney, showing up for work is as easy as going down the hall to her home office. Henne created her working-at-home position to fill a need to be closer to her first newborn baby back in 1983 and has stayed at home ever since then. Initially, being at home with her children was the biggest advantage and the primary incentive for working from home.

Shortly after graduating law school, Henne clerked at the second district court of appeals and learned the ins and outs of the appellate practice there. She now does independent contract work for the public defender's office and reviews private appeals. As an appellate attorney, Henne examines the court cases and makes sure the law was followed correctly in the original trials.

Doing all research and writing, Henne said she is basically behind the computer, which allows for her to be flexible with her schedule. And as an athlete, a malleable agenda is a plus when planning her sporting activities.

"I have the luxury of being flexible with my schedule so I can work whatever hours I can squeeze into the day," Henne said. With her grown children no longer living at home, Henne said she no longer worries about structure.

"I just work whenever it fits in. When I had kids, I was more likely to try to be done by the time they got out of school," she said.

For Henne, aside from the flexible schedule, the main advantage is the overhead, which she said is ideal.

"But you have to have the type of business that lends itself to having almost no client contact," Henne said. "I deal with my clients over the phone or on paper and if I meet clients, I meet them at conference rooms like at the library or in attorney's offices. So, I'm not drawing clients into my home."

If others are interested in working from home, Henne's advice is to set up a room dedicated solely as an office space with relevant equipment, including a laptop with wireless Internet accessibility. She said that contrary to what people might think, a home office isn't always that peaceful and quiet and the need to get away to an alternative work space is sometimes necessary.

"You have the same issues a real office has, such as the phone ringing," Henne said, "but there are added issues: the doorbell rings, the laundry's there, the dishes aren't done, the dog wants out." She added that when she had kids, especially when they were teenagers, her home could be quite a noisy place.

"I just think with technology the way it is, now is a fabulous time to have alternative work situations. It allows people to be able to spend more time with their families even and be available to their kids," she said.

"My kids always said, 'I forget you worked,' but to me that's a compliment, but I wanted them to (forget)," Henne said. "I wanted them to be able to come in and out of my little work space."

Henne agreed that in the future, more employers may begin to recognize the need to be more flexible with their employees about working from a home office.

"I don't see why more employers don't (allow working from home) even at this point in time because for them it's the same advantages," Henne said. "If (the work) can be done anywhere, I think employers need to think more of the job instead of the hours."

By ANDREA CALCANO CRUZ

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