Q  What do you do?  A  I am a computer programmer analyst. I build database driven web sites, mostly for a large insurance company, but also for other industries and agencies. I have been doing this from home intermittently the last ten years, exclusively for the last year.  Q  What was the deciding factor to help you to decide to work from home?  A  Convenience. My wife is an Air Force officer and during our last transfer, my employer wanted to retain my services from a distance. I worked out the details and we were able to make it work. The fact I had worked like this before gave me the experience and confidence to try it.  Q  Where do you work at home?  A  I keep a separate bedroom as an office. It has standard office furniture, and though it's a bit more comfy that the usual office fare, it is still clearly a place of business.  Q  Do you manage to keep your work and home life separate?  A  Absolutely not. Working at home means that the two will collide with each other. My biggest supporter is my wife, who quite understands. When I have the office door closed, I'm at work and can't be bothered. Most times, the door is open and I can get a quick kiss or a few words in. We set some rules early on to ease the situation. If you share a phone line for work and home, you have to have a telephone which can be switched off as needed and a separate answering machine for office hours. We never interrupt meals for work, and we remember that family comes first. It's sometimes hard to balance, and having a supportive partner is essential.  Q  What is the best thing about working from home?  A  I like being able to break & work as I like. Some days I might need a nap an hour after lunch; sometimes I suffer from a bit of insomnia and working seems to cure that quickly. I also like being at home so I can take care of some small household items during my breaks - start the laundry, set the table, etc.  Q  What are the negative points about working at home?  A  I miss the interaction with other people. By the weekend, I am ready to run out of the house for a few days.  Q  Does your homeworking pay the bills?  A  Yes, definitely. I am in a high demand industry, so this helps. Anyone wanting to do programming from home will need to have a fairly large investment in computers and software, and at least 2 or 3 years experience. My investment was in the order of £7,000 across 4 - 5 years. But I gross almost the same amount in 3 months, so it's a minimal investment. My biggest expenses, other than the usual office expenses, are maintaining an Internet connection (about £50 a month) and occasional travel (about £300 each quarter).  Q  How did you manage financially when you first started working at home?  A  My wife also worked, and we were budgeting to live on just one income, so any additional income was a pleasant surprise. I would strongly advise anyone deciding to try computer consulting from home to consider saving a year's salary first or having a second income available. My initial foray into working from home, almost 10 years earlier, stumbled when a major client withheld payment. It's important to be financially prepared for the worst and have a plan for when things go wrong.  Q  What sort of work did you do before you worked at home?  A  The same - computer programmer. I think this is a key to my success. I didn't have to learn a new career, just how to put my skills to use in a different environment.  Q  How do you manage your time?  A  I start my work early, reading my e-mail before breakfast. This gives me a chance to plan my day. I have breakfast with my wife, see her out the door to her job, take care of the breakfast dishes, and go to work. I take a break at 9:00 AM and sometimes start the laundry, lunch at noon and generally shift the laundry into the dryer and plan the evening meal. I break again at 3PM and may start the evening meal early if it will take a long time to cook. I usually "leave the office" between 5 and 6 PM depending on the day. On Fridays I try to take a day away from the office, and I am usually successful at this about half the time.  Q  How do you cope with distractions at home?  A  I am FAR less distracted at home - no meetings, no interruptions. I have a closed office with only the work necessities in it. I also have a cordless telephone - very nice to be able to answer the phone from the kitchen (or even the WC) and always appear to be "in the office" when sometimes that's not strictly true.  Q  How do you cope with the isolation of working at home?  A  I use the telephone and e-mail liberally. E-mail is wonderful because you can document everything - in my business, details are essential.  Q  What two pieces of advice would you suggest to someone considering working from home?  A  First, plan for the unexpected, especially financially. Working at home is a risky proposition and not necessarily the way to become the next Richard Branson or Bill Gates. If anyone could do it, everyone would do it. Budget before hand and live within the budget for a few months before you try to work from home. Second, consider if your work style is appropriate to home work. Many people haven't the self discipline or discover they're too lonely to continue home working. It isn't easy and isn't always pleasant. And certainly, you are far more accountable for your work and mistakes working from home, so there may be unanticipated pressures.  Q  What else needs to be said?  A  I would encourage anyone to try it out, after they plan and are certain they have the support of the people they share their home with. It has been fantastic for me. I have one tip - find something that tells you, subconsciously, that you are at work. I put on my shoes at the start of the work day, and take them off at the end. It sounds a bit silly, but at some subconscious level, it tells me when I need to concentrate and when I can relax. I'm not making this up - and the idea isn't original with me. Try it, after a few days it really works.

Thank you Roger for sharing!