Around 160 women, a mix of housewives from middle-class families and slum-dwellers, inaugurated a polythene bag unit called Swamini Mahila Bachat Gat Akhil Sangh Ltd

Until a few days back, they were a mix of housewives from middle-class families and slum-dwellers who worked as domestic-help. Now they own a company — Swamini Mahila Bachat Gat Akhil Sangh Ltd (SMBGAS) — that will manufacture polythene bags. At the heart of this turn-around are 160 women in Pimpri-Chinchwad, a city adjacent to Pune, who inaugurated their polythene bag unit in the industrial area of Talawade on May 28.  

SMBGAS has an initial order — for 700 kg of bags per day for 250 days — from Sumedh Polymers, a Pune-based manufacturer of plastic and polythene products which will market the bags in Dubai and the United States. The development has brought about immense confidence in the women, who now plan to manufacture 700 kg of polythene bags daily. 

Some of the women were earlier slum-dwellers who worked as domestic-help; others were housewives who never thought of taking up jobs or generating employment for others. With help from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), which has subsidised this project, as well as Sumedh Polymers (which helped the women draw up a business plan, and will also train them, the women have organised themselves into a self-help group named Swamini. Commercial production is expected to begin in the second week of July. 

Sulabha Ubale, a political activist and member of the group, told Business Standard, “From being poor and socially deprived, the women are now empowered human-beings. Many still find it difficult to believe that they own a small industrial unit, which will change their future.” 

The investment in the project is Rs 1 crore, to start with. The women have jointly contributed Rs 20 lakh, while the PCMC has given SMBGAS a subsidy of Rs 30 lakh. The Bank of Baroda has advanced the unit a loan of Rs 50 lakh, which has to be repaid over a period of seven years.  

“The most interesting aspect of this project is that we have signed a seven-year contract with Sumedh Polymers to supply polythene bags as per their requirements. This makes the business viable. We are recruiting 70-odd women at this unit and paying them a good salary,” said Ubale.  

“The unit will supply plastic bags to Sumedh Polymers, which will export them to Dubai and the US. Hence, we need to manufacture bags to specific standards. Over the next one month, we will undergo extensive training and then begin commercial production,” said Swati Mujumdar, an activist. 

She added, “We are not focusing on profits, as this unit has been set up to bring about social change. Once the women are employed, they will deliver better results and the business will grow automatically.” Mujumdar said, “Some 11 self-help groups were formed in Pimpri-Chinchwad around 15 months back. These groups had their own savings, which were added to the financial assistance by PCMC.” 

SMBGAS has the capacity to manufacture 700 kg of polythene bags daily and it will sell them to Sumedh Polymers at Rs 18 per kg. This is expected to generate annual revenues of about Rs 36 crore for the unit. After paying various taxes, salaries, the loan installments and other expenses, SMBGAS expects to earn a profit of Rs 4 lakh in the first year of operations. Six months after the start of operations, it will begin making polythene sheets, tarpaulin sheets and a few other products as well. 

Chanda Bhande, a vegetable vendor and chief of a self-help group, said, “I only knew how to sell vegetables and run my house. Things have now changed for me. I am making money and also helping others to earn money.” Damayanti Gaekwad, another member, added, “This has worked as a confidence building exercise for us. We want to expand the business beyond this single unit.”

If the online Gujarati lexicon has proved a boon for translators or writers, this bunch of five 20-something girls ought to take the

credit. Their love for their mother tongue is phenomenal and so is their passion for language. Hence, with the help of technology they have made words available at your fingertips.

Sumaiya Vohra, Padma Jadav, Maitri Shah, Shruti Amin and Deval Vyas run an IT firm which handles jobs of researching and compiling Gujarati words. After digitizing ‘Bhagwadgomandal’ – a major dictionary of Gujarati language – their recent achievement was to put ‘lokkosh’, a Gujarati lexicon, online. It has been accessible to netizens from Tuesday.

“Before this company, we were working at difference places. We share the same wavelength and passion for Gujarati language. Presently, there are various projects in our kitty, including a major one for creating a good spell-check software for Gujarati language,” says Deval Vyas, who handles business development.

“In Gujarat there is a lot of work to be done. If we failed to make Gujarati language online or in digital medium, it would have been a disaster. The diaspora needs it and there is immense business opportunity in this field,” adds Vyas.

This website translates words from Gujarati to English through the thesaurus facility. “The commitment of these girls towards Gujarati language is tremendous, so our firm has a full confidence in this team,” said Ashok Kaneria of Gujarati Lexicon, an NRI-foundation for supporting and developing Gujarati language on the web.

But why all girls? “We met accidentally. Many tell us that any company should have equal gender distribution. But, we never thought of such things. For us, passion and work is more important. We all are capable of coping with any challenge,” says Maitri Shah, who handles Gujarati translation and proof reading, with Amin. Vohra and Jadav handle project management.

About the Programme

Launched by Goldman Sachs, 10,000 Women is a global

initiative that will increase the number of under-served women

receiving a business and management education.

10,000 Women is built on the premise that partnerships

between education, development and business experts can

help bring about significant change through improved business

education for women.

Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad is an academic

partner for the 10,000 Women initiative in India.

Through this programme Goldman Sachs and ISB, will be

able to provide world class education that help the women

entrepreneurs to think big and grow their businesses.

In the launch year of 2008-09, two programmes were

successfully completed, one each at Hyderabad and

Bangalore. Four new programmes at Hyderabad, Bangalore,

Delhi and Kolkata will be conducted in the year 2009-10.

Who should apply?

In order to ensure that the maximum benefit is provided to

the most deserving women entrepreneurs the programme is

targeted to cover:

• Women entrepreneurs running and managing their own

business venture.

• Business venture which has been in operation for more

than a year.

• Have excellent potential for growth.

• Business Ventures with annual revenue of INR 5 lakhs -

50 lakhs

At the end of this programme the women entrepreneurs will be

enabled to:

• Build a robust business by refining their business model

and moving from start up to entrepreneurial phase

• Train on different functions and business strategy

• Bridge the gap of a formal management education

• Gear up to meet the challenges of growing competitionnational

and international

CONTACT

For more details,

Marketing Services, Centre for Executive Education,

Indian School of Business, Gachibowli, Hyderabad – 500 032, India.

Ph: +91 40 2318 7516, +91 40 2300 7000 (Extn. 7516)

Fax: +91 40 23007040

Email: latha_venkatesan@isb.edu | Mobile: +91 93945 68012

www.isb.edu/execed

For more details on the 10,000 Women program please visit

http://www.isb.edu/10000women

www.10000women.org

Tata second career – Tata launches Second Career option for women -The Tata Group has launched the Tata Second Career Internship Program (SCIP) – for women to take on a second career, Tata second career option. On the very first day of Tata second career launch, the portal has got great response and resumes too.

Tata second career SCIP aims to tap the huge talent and capability among women professionals who have discontinued work due to various personal reasons. The Tata second career -option will provide live business projects involving about 500 hours of work, spread across 5 to 6 months on a flexi-time basis.

About Tata second career SCIP

• Begun in June 2008, Tata second career SCIP is a career transition management programme for professionals
• Tata SCIP is not a job. It is an intermediary programme aimed at developing alternative talent pools in traditional/non-traditional formats and facilitating career transitions
• Tata SCIP II, once again focuses on women professionals who have taken a career break but offers an extended opportunity in terms of professional categories
• Tata Group companies provide live business projects covering approx 500 hours engagement spread over 6 months on a flexi time basis
• There is no placement guarantee at the end of the project. However, the women professionals have the option of exploring full-time employment on mutually acceptable terms with the respective Group Company
• SCIP projects are allotted based on the area of expertise of the applicant, following a rigorous
  selection process that is completed in 60 days
• The project remuneration will be 4 Lakhs for 500 hours, divided into monthly payouts
  (taxes as applicable)
• Flexi time delivery with defined core hours on-site
• Induction & training programme conducted by Tata Management Training Centre
• Appointment of individual Mentor-Guide
• HR helpline during the programmeDesired profile :

Tata second career Desired Profile : Currently the Second Career Initiative is for women professionals who have worked for a minimum of four continuous years in any of the domain areas listed below, prior to taking a career break of 1-8 years.

Tata second career Domain Areas
a. Marketing h. Engineering
b. Sales i. IT
c. Advertising / Communications j. Corporate Planning
d. Human Resource Management k. Hospitality
e. Finance / Accounting l. Retail
f. Legal m. CSR
g. Manufacturing n. Other Corporate Functions
Tata second career - Criteria 1 – Qualification:
All women professionals with professional, post graduation or equivalent technical qualifications in any of the above mentioned domain areas with atleast four years continuous working experience.

Tata second career- Criteria 2 – Current Residence:
SCIP II is available only to women professionals residing in Mumbai and Bengaluru region.

Tata second career - Criteria 3 – Work Experience:
Currently, SCIP is available only to women who have a work experience of four continuous years or more in the specified domain areas.

Tata second career - Criteria 4 – Career Break:
SCIP II is open to women professionals who have taken a continuous career break of 1-8 years and have not functioned in a remunerative capacity during that time.
Tata Group reserves the right to revise / relax the above criteria

For more details, please visit  http://www.tatasecondcareer.com/

“While the pinstripe crowd fixates on troubled assets, a stalled stimulus and mortgage remedies, it turns out that a more sure-fire financial fix is within our grasp — and has been for years. New research says a healthy dose of estrogen may be the key not only to our fiscal recovery, but also to economic strength worldwide.” read more of  Katty Kay and Claire Shipman’s article in the Washington Post

These two short videos may be helpful:

http://video.about.com/jobsearch/Phone-Interview-Tips.htm

http://video.about.com/jobsearch/Job-Interview-Tips.htm

When I married the man of my dreams and he swept me off to Paris to propose under the Eiffel tower, I never thought life would surmount to this. Here we are seven years later, getting through life with two kids, a house to keep up, social obligations to meet and of course our vows to uphold. So his end of the deal was to keep me sheltered, clothed, fed and happy which all equals to him going out of the house to work a twelve hour, ‘stressful’ job in an air-conditioned office while his beautiful secretary brings him hot steaming coffee every two hours. My end of the deal was a little different – we never quite agreed upon the terms because I was too busy being wined and dined in those sugar-coated days. Those were just a pure scam.

Today my day began at 6.30 in the morning with my trainer whose name is ‘Dharmendra’ if you please or ‘Hitler’ as I like to call him, making me do my toughest workout of all time; the only thing which kept me going was imagining his face on the cushion he was making me kick-box. I like to workout in the morning before my kids get up because it helps alleviate the guilt I carry around all day because of the time I sacrifice with them to work my full-time job. Although my employers call it a flexi-time position – it is definitely a full time job, made very difficult by the constant interruptions I have all day to pay bills, deal with the garbage man, change diapers and of course chat with my grocer with whom I now have an intimate relationship thanks to our communication five times a day. And then people dare to question how much I actually work from home? Do they not realise that my hours get longer because of the inability to get actual work done in normal nine-to-five hours.

Anyway, back to my day. Work out ends at exactly 7.30 when my son bounds into the room and launches himself on top of me demanding breakfast. I get the hint, say goodbye to the God of Fitness and head into the kitchen to put together an all-food-groups breakfast of cereal, milk and bananas which I then dish into the three year old’s mouth while we discuss Dora’s antics for the millionth time. In between all this, my trusted nanny escorts in my 11 month old daughter who has just started moving and so cannot be left unattended for a minute and plonks her in my lap. All this while, hubby dearest is still in bed because poor chap, he was up half the night on conference calls with the States (or maybe too busy watching Splitsvilla on TV?).

Get number one dressed, get number two dressed, get myself dressed and send number two to drop number one to school with the nanny while I skim through the papers, wallop down my papaya and sit down at my desk. Ah! What a feat – three hours of almost uninterrupted work today. Feed number one and put him to bed for his afternoon nap, feed number two and put her to bed, feed myself lunch and get back to my desk. Hubby calls from work and makes his requests – could I send his red tie (he doesn’t know where it is) for dry cleaning and pay that bill lying on his dresser (of course honey, I have all the time in the world).

I shutdown my laptop at five, marinate pork chops for dinner and head out for soccer practice with my three year old because hubby believe it or not, wants to retire on his Premier League salary when the kid is ten. It’s really nice sitting out on the grass and playing ‘soccer mom’ with the other moms, comparing notes and sharing issues if only I didn’t have the office sending messages every three minutes which mean I have to sit and type out essays on my blackberry buttons which are tinier than my baby’s nails. Following soccer I have to calm down my three year old’s tantrum which is caused by his bike not being available when his best friend is riding his; he just does not understand that there is no air in the tires. Eventually, for the sake of peace, I take the bike, the kids and the nanny to the petrol pump to fill up the tires after which he declares he doesn’t want to ride it anymore. It takes all I have inside me to keep from ringing his neck – after all, he is my flesh and blood and I’ve got enough gyan on good parenting to know ringing your own child’s neck pretty much kills all chances of your picture reaching the parents hall of fame.

We struggle home, bathe and feed both the kids and manage to pacify them both so that I can have a few minutes to cook our own dinner. Voila! I’m quite pleased with the results as I’ve managed to throw together a meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes and rocket salad in a matter of twenty minutes. Hubby should be thrilled today, I think. We’re every man’s dream – the kids clean and settled down, dinner on the table cooked by the lovely wife who works a day job as well – all that’s missing is my little black dress. He comes home, we sit down on the table and dig in. I take a deep breath, ready for that big pat on the back and watch him chew on his first bite. ‘Isn’t this pork chop a little overcooked?’ asks my husband, the man of my dreams as if to chide me gently; after all, what had I been doing all day?

Anika is a supermom who works virtually with the Mahindra Group.  The gharkamai team is proud of Indian companies like Mahindra that recognize the value of professionals like her and provide her the flexibility to be a terrific professional and a great mom. Tell us your story…

According to the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, achieving work life balance is the biggest worry for Indians. Archana Rai’s article in Live Mint, dated October10, 2008 indicates that stress, anxiety and depression studies by NIMHANS have reached worrying levels in cities like Bangalore where symptoms like edginess and bad temper were indicative of severe distress. This coupled with factors like 2 to 3 hour commutes and a culture that encourages extremely lengthy work hours (because that is what everyone else is doing) result in complete neglect of ones personal life. Family time and time for oneself become distant memories but more worrying the health toll of such work conditions can be dire.

In another Livemint article last year, S. Mitra Kalita recalls the old adage that if you have to stay late or bring work home then you are just not working efficiently, a term I myself heard constantly, growing up. Meanwhile an economic boom and completely new work conditions coupled with online distractions like IM and facebook and a social work environment – mean people are not only working inefficiently but are incredibly distracted at work as well. This further leads to lengthy work hours to get the job done and meet impending deadlines.

So we have lengthy work days; a work environment that encourages extreme social interaction; employees putting in extra face time to avoid being skipped over for promotions; an entirely new work culture that is a result of western directives and based on western practices and a work force ill equipped to keep up and juggle the demands of their work life and their personal life.

Examining ones work conditions and environments are part of a natural progression for a work force that is coming of age, especially within the MNC context. At first we were happy to just get the jobs, now that we have them and the jobs appear as though though they are here to stay (at least some of them), the Indian work force is evolving to question their work conditions. With economic boom came privilege and responsibility, our workforce evolved from being back-office-minions to the star-performers on the team. With that comes the ability to negotiate better pay packages and better work conditions.

With the global melt down the disparity between expatriate / repatriated NRI expertise and local middle management has narrowed further. This writer accepts that while job hopping has also reduced as a result of the global slow down and people are happy to just have jobs, this does not mean that awareness has decreased about what people actually want from their jobs.

Great strides have already been made in creating work conditions that result in higher productivity. A challenge for any HR department ,small or large, anywhere in the world and no different in India. According to Archana Rai almost 10% of IBM India’s workforce works from home. Some opting for a day or two a week on the office. Cisco (where all employees can opt to work from home) and many others have also provided such options to their staff. With the type of technology available today, where you work from is irrelevant as long as you get the job done.

Simply eliminating ones commute can mean the difference between spending time with your child during the week or not. It can relieve stress not to have to be stuck in rush hour traffic morning and evening. A work – life balance can lead naturally to a less stressful existence. With more and more options on how to balance ones work life and personal life and the availability for such benefits available to small, medium and corporate entities alike it is a matter of time before flexible work options are the norm rather than an option for a select few!

Your cynicism at my optimistic belief that the future holds positive change (and not just  downsizing) may be warranted, but it is my firm belief that we can have our cake here in India and eat it too! May I be so flippant to suggest that downsizing (at least of office space) may be the way forward? We can find a balance between creating a service work force to cater to the needs of the rest of the world and do it in a creative manner. Telecommuting tele callers, online PR personalities, remote graphic designers and web developers and HR advisors all help growing companies reduce overheads, as they do not require office space and work on contracts that are terminated on completion of the job.  They help get the job done and all from the comfort of their arm chairs just after the early morning school drop off!  Now that sounds like good old fashioned work life balance to me.

The large corporate companies have already shown that productivity is not effected in these creative work set ups, in fact some would argue that productivity goes up if remote access work is effectively carried out. The next step is actually NOT to hop on the bandwagon, close shop and set up remote work from home, only to find it does not work for you. Instead, try a project or two, learn about what works best for you and your organization and gradually transition to a more autonomous working scenario for your employees, experiment a little and come up with solutions that work for both the organization and the employees. Recognition of the fact that your employees are what make your organization  effective is key in giving them enough control to manage their own time in their own way, this autonomy is key in creating balance between ones work life and personal life. With any luck, it appears that we are entering an interesting and innovative phase with new options for juggling ones career and personal life in the Indian workforce. 

Women who choose to leave their jobs and stay with their children for a few years are frequently refered to as “sequencing moms”. Employers are increasingly willing to hire these sequencing moms despite gaps in their work history. In fact, according to a US study by Corporate Project Resources Inc., more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies say they would be likely to hire a “sequencing mom” on a contract or short-term basis.

For the office itself you will need –

1. A computer. Your computer should have decent specifications (unless your work is based solely on your computer for example a graphic designer). You should have ample storage and a good processor. You may find a laptop is more convenient if you take up assignments that involve travel. Good anti virus software and a reliable system to manage your mail are also recommended.

2. Phone connectivity. A dedicated phone line, used for work purposes only. In addition to this, an answering machine or service is useful for the times that you are out of the office. An up to date message indicating when you will be available at that number again and perhaps a mobile phone number that you can be contacted on is also useful. Also try and have inter-state and international dialing services activated on at least one (if not all) of your numbers, it could be embarrassing and even counter productive if you cannot make that call. Also ensure that your phones are never disconnected for any reason, if there is a fault with one line, have your calls re-routed to another temporary number, so as not to miss calls. Potential employers and clients will find it very frustrating of you are not available during work hours.

3. Internet connectivity. A steady internet connection is imperative to running a home office. It should also be fast enough to handle downloads. Your internet connectivity (or lack thereof) should never be the reason work does not get done. You may find that connecting to your router via a LAN cable is more reliable and less likely to have glitches than if you use a wireless router. Setting up a firewall is a great filter and many clients will feel more secure sending you confidential information if they know that your computer is protected, as they will see your home computer as the weakest link in their companies’ security. It may also be a good idea to get a USB data card that you can take with you, when you are on the go. Reliance, Airtel, Tata and a host of other companies provide this service at an affordable price.

4. Printer, Scanner & Fax. All of these are optional but border on requirements for a small home office. In terms of a printer, a simple black and white printer is the most cost effective way to go. Avoid Bubble jet printers, as the cartridges are more expensive (although the printer itself may be cheaper to buy). Fax machines still seem to be in high use in Indian businesses. The use of your fax machine will depend on how much your client uses theirs! Software that allows you to send and receive faxes from your computer is an inexpensive way to get around purchasing a fax machine. A scanner is another option, but if your client has not got one, you may still need a fax machine to receive information from them. A multi device, scanner, printer, copier and fax is a good space saver and allows you to stay contacted in lots of different ways, however having all functions in one may mean that if one aspect breaks down, you are completely out of commission! Local markets across India, have a small print shop that can take care of your colour printing, binding and other such needs.

5. Desk and chair. As you are going to spend a large part of your time working from this space, it should be as comfortable and appealing as possible. A comfortable chair is a must as is a desk at the right height. There is no point compromising on this aspect as to do so could result in health risks like RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). You should also try and set up a space that you enjoy being in, as an uncomfortable or dark, pokey corner may mean you spend less time in it than you should!

Day to day office protocol –

6. Office timings. Make it clear to your clients what your office hours are. You are working on projects in order to be able to utilize the flexibility that they offer. You should try and have a few hours a day that overlap with your employers or clients regular office hours to provide time to interact with them. However they should know what your work pattern is like, so they know when to expect a response from you. Likewise, in the case of family members, staff, neighbours and friends, you need to make it clear that you are working and that you cannot be interrupted. You have chosen to work from home or to have flexible work hours to allow you to balance your work and personal life, so just like you set your work hours around the needs of your family and friends, they too should be aware of your work timings and work around you. Working from home does not mean that you are available to run errands and do chores. Make sure those around you are aware of that. Also be careful not to volunteer your time too freely just because you have the luxury of adjusting your day. Make exceptions wisely. Those around you will come to see this as the norm.

The other pitfall of working form home is that you can end up working very long hours because you are at home and thus able to connect to work. Colleagues and clients may call and ask you to step into your office, as they know its just a few steps away. Be sure to end your day and not let work drag on beyond the hours you have laid out.

7. Your space. Set up your office in a space that is not a heavy traffic flow area. The dining room table may not be the best place for you, as any and everyone will be able to disturb or distract you. Likewise the bedroom is not a suitable area, as it is hard to then separate your work life from your private life. Where space permits, a separate room is ideal. A room that is a little removed and has minimal use during your office hours can double up for other functions when needed. Try and keep other distractions like the TV out of your home office as well.

8. Open or closed door policy? Once your office is all set up, you need to set a few parameters that family, domestic staff, friends, neighbours and even pets are aware of! If the cook needs money for vegetables or a child needs assistance with a homework assignment – make sure that these matters are seen to before or after work. If, for some reason, you do need to be disturbed it should be an exception and not the norm. Make it clear that once you close the door, you are at work. Having a place to call your own, sets office boundaries for both you and the people around you. An open door policy could mean a stream of constant distractions all day long.

9. Routine. Although your hours are flexible and may be varied, establishing a routine helps not just those around you but you yourself. Get up, get ready and go to work, even if it is just down the hall! Sitting around in your pyjama’s may mean that you end up being a little lazier and get a little less done each day. A fresh start to each day also provides a small but clear divider between your personal time and your work time.

10. Household chores. If there are impending tasks that need to be done. Do not make the mistake of mixing them into your workday. Keep a clear parameter between house work and working at home. It is all too easy to get distracted from work with the dishes piled up in the sink or dinner looming an hour or two away. Working from home means you have to be more organized and divvy your day up. It also means that you have to stick to the routine that you set for yourself.

11. Taking calls. Make sure that your room is clear of people and that you can provide the caller your undivided attention. Barking dogs and crying children do not come across as very professional. This ties in again to your open or closed-door policy. It may be worth putting a do not disturb sign up when you need to take important calls. You will find what system works best for you, but it is worth noting that it requires a bit of thought and the patience to stick to your routine to make systems like these work.

Interacting with your employer

12. Institute a clear filing system. Such a system is a case of each to their own, only you know what system works best for you. Again, this boils down to being organized. Whether it’s a virtual filing system on your computer or a hard copy system set up in your home office, it is best to know where everything is. This way you can prove a point when you need to as you always have the proof available in writing! It also helps you ensure that you are keeping your facts and information straight as documentation is at hand. There are all sorts of systems available online to help you organize your workspace, your work time and to help you store your work in an easily retrievable manner. After a bit of trial and error you should be able to find a system that works best for you. Simply put, being organized helps being more productive.

13. Set and remain focused on your objectives. If you are able to do this, then all the other aspects seem to fall into place. By setting objectives you are breaking down the task at hand and by adhering to them you are essentially nearing your final objective, which is completion of the project. Make sure that deliverables are on time. If there is going to be a delay, you need to inform your employer as far in advance as possible.

14. Stay connected. Remember that by recruiting you for project-based work an employer is giving you the luxury of balancing your personal life with your private life. In return, you are expected to remain as professional as possible at all times. Request a regular phone call to discuss issues, details and problems of the project that you are dealing with. Don’t forget to provide them with positive feedback too! Another way of staying connected is to have more than one way that your project work colleagues and clients can get in touch with you, like IM, email, video conferencing, phone and mobile phone. If one goes down they can get a hold of you through some other method.

15. Clear parameters. Be sure to understand exactly what is expected of you both before you start and while you are employed on a project. Document. Document. Document. At the risk of sounding suspicious and mistrusting, it is worth getting everything in writing. This is especially the case when working with a team and having to get input from / provide answers to more than one person.

16. Professional demeanor. We have touched on this above but by putting your best foot forward, (whilst on the phone, in your emails and through any other type of interaction) you are coming across as a professional. Which is exactly why these employers selected you in the first place. Do not let the casual environment of your home creep into interactions with your professional world.

17. Set the pace from the outset of your project. If you agree to work 60 or even 80 hours a week, you will be a very stressed individual. While this may be feasible for a week or two, in the long run it will catch up with you. You are working from home, or working flexible hours in order to enjoy a balance, so be sure that you maintain this balance. Make it clear to your employer from the outset that you cannot work weekends for example and then stick to it. Take mini breaks during the workday, the way you would if you were working in a regular office, and make sure that you have a lunch break.

18. Ask for feedback on an assignment when it is done. This will help you understand what your shortcomings are and will also help you fine-tune your skills for future projects. Remember that part of what you are selling is your professionalism, better understanding your shortcomings helps you develop skills for future use

19.Interaction. Sitting in your home office, with little face-to-face interaction with people from one week to the next can be very isolating. Schedule a lunch date. Try and get out for meetings or into the clients office when possible. Mix your routine up a little so it does not get monotonous and remember that when you are done work, you should make the effort to get out of the house and interact with people as much as possible, creating a good balance

20. Don’t feel guilty! If you are working hard while at home, getting the job done and still managing to obtain some sort of balance between work and your personal life, then you are probably much busier than many people that put in a full days work! Don’t let anyone make you feel like you are getting by easy by being at home! You work hard and so sit back and enjoy the benefits of flexible, project based work when your day is done.

http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/netsysm/article.php/3517041

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/qt/mngtips.htm

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/getmobilized/qt/evaluations.htm

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24124238-5012427,00.html