What to Wear To Your Home Office

Working from home offers many perks, one of which is not having to wear a restrictive suit to work. At-home entrepreneurs love to joke that we can go to work in our pajamas. As true and fun as it may be, even those who work from home have to worry about formal business attire.

When you are making money from your bedroom, why anyone would need business outfits, you may ask. It’s highly worthwhile to invest in business formal and business casual attire just in case you have to meet a client or a potential investor. You never know when the need might arise. But when you do need to don a blazer and a formal skirt, you definitely don’t want to go last minute shopping for these.

Choosing a business outfit is not easy. That’s why you need to shop for these leisurely ahead of time. Here are several tips for how at-home workers can assemble professional outfits:

Get Both Business Casual and Formal Attire

Business casual is typically the norm these days for most workplaces. However, you may need formal business attire for special occasions. For example, if you have to meet with an investor, a business partner, or a very important client, it’s best to don formal business attire for the occasion.

Just to be on the safe side, invest in both business casual and formal outfits. You definitely don’t need to buy as many as office workers do. At least buy two outfits in each style. A formal business outfit would be suitable for business events, like conferences, you may have to physically attend.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Your shoe rack is probably filled with slip-ons, crocs, and other very comfortable footwear to wear in and around the house. But even the best Timberlands in Canada won’t do if you find yourself driving to a business meeting. Therefore, it’s important to invest in footwear that you can put on to a professional occasion.

Buying shoes doesn’t have to be a great endeavor. If you are on a budget, you can consider options like Merrell shoes on sale right here in Canada. You won’t need to buy more than two pairs, unless business meetings happen several times a month. Buy shoes early, as these items, like outfits, should never be last minute buys. If you rush to buy shoes, you may end up with ill-fitting choices. So do your footwear shopping early on.

Choose the Right Colors

Choosing the type of outfit you want to keep in your wardrobe for outside business events is easy. But choosing the right colors is another front. Don’t assume buying professional outfits is the same as purchasing attire for formal private occasions. Wearing shiny blouses with vivid patterns may send the wrong message.

It’s best to choose soft hued tops, and dark toned trousers and outerwear for professional outfits. Colors like black, white, grey, and dark blue are always great choices for business outfits. While you can choose brighter shades, just make sure the hue would not make you stand out in the wrong way.

Use the above advice to assemble yourself two or three outfits for business occasions where you might have to be physically present. Most people working from home don’t think about this. Remember, if a publisher wants to discuss a book based on your blog, you will definitely appreciate having a suitable outfit in your closet for the meeting.

Dance to Your Own Business Groove

Many home based business owners are struggling to feel truly at home with their business and creating something that they feel is their own. They feel the need to model themselves and their business identically after another business they admire and deem successful.  They read all the latest articles on what they should and shouldn’t do, according to the so-called experts, and make sure to adhere to it.  If they are in a direct sales company, they follow the “duplication” theology, doing and saying exactly what their up-line does and what the company is telling them they have to do in order to succeed.  While in the process of creating what they feel will bring them success, they lose sight of the most important aspect they can bring to their business… themselves.  Which in all reality is what will eventually make or break their business.

What works for one business, may or may not work for another.  Everyone needs to find their own business groove, through trial and error.  You need to make your business your own, not simply a clone of an existing business.  This doesn’t mean you need to wonder far off the path of a successful business model.  But what it does mean is that every business out there should be unique from the others. These differences can simply be subtle changes that will put your own individual stamp upon it.  What works for one person, may not work for another.  Don’t be afraid to show your personality, to try new things. Take the liberty to plug in your own voice and ideas into your marketing, sales and customer service techniques. Don’t be afraid to trip up at times.  This will be where your greatest learning happens.  Don’t be shy to show the real “you” within your business.

Find your groove, dance to it, and sashay your way to your personalized success.

Goals are Dreams with Deadlines: How Goal Clarity Will Get You Where You Want http://tinyurl.com/lj6k8kg

When to Say When

Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting that we never offer our help and services, but you need to know where to draw the line. All of us home based business owners are trying to create an income for ourselves and that is not going to be possible if you spend most of your time giving away your services.

I mention services here because this is the area where it seems to be most common. (Those who sell products have also had many people approach them wanting a discount on the products which cuts into what their income could be.) When people give away their services for free – this cuts into their time where they could be either doing work for paying customers or actively pursuing some new customers. This is something that I personally have struggled with most of my life. I tend to be the type that loves to give and has a hard time receiving, and I hope I never change in that aspect. But during the first several years after leaving my full-time job to run a home based business, I was required to change in the way I think and feel when I do need to say no to someone. I needed to do this because I no longer had the luxury of a steady guaranteed income that came from my job outside the home. After becoming a full time work at home mom, it was a necessity to create a new steady income. I still feel very guilty at times when saying no. But I found, for the first couple years of running my home based business, there were times where literally well over half the time I spent each week "working", I was giving my services away. Again – nothing wrong with helping others and contributing our time and talents to others IS something we all should do. Many times this is an excellent way to build alliances or barter for other products/services that you need. But you need to get to the point where you put a limit on the time you can spend doing this. If we all had the steady income that we desire, and most of the time truly needing to bring in, then we wouldn’t need to worry about any amount of time and energy spent on free services. Does this mean you shouldn’t help others or offer your services without pay? Absolutely not. But it does mean learning to prioritize and coming to the realization that you cannot do everything for everybody and grant every request coming your way. So, know when to say "when" and try not to feel guilty about setting boundaries and limitations for yourself and your business.