Is it Possible to Be Self Employed...Offline?
Too Dependent on the Internet?
Is it possible to be self employed…offline? Some professionals can be far too dependent on the Internet, though they may not always know it until it's too late. The world is often a well-oiled machine filled with commerce and convenience. Fast food chains offer quick meals. The Internet promises easy money and plenty of work from home opportunities. The work day is often much easier, more tolerable, with electric wonders like DVD players, lots of cable-rich channels for viewing pleasure, MP3s and CDs which bring life and music to any home.
What happens when all of that gets cut off on a whim? When a single city can be laid low by Nature’s wrath and suddenly, no one has electricity to power their machines, their entertainment, their diversions and their livelihood? Is it possible to be self employed offline, or are many work at home professionals too dependent on the Internet?
Too Dependent on the Internet?
Jobs at home are often highly coveted and desired. The thought of having a morning coffee while still sitting in pajamas, of flipping channels while waiting for e-mail, of being able to find self employment opportunities at the click of a button is all pretty heady stuff…but what happens when the reality of jobs at home isn’t like that at all?
What happens when the power goes out, when the Internet won’t work, when everything is lit by candles and the only sound in the house is that of utter silence? Is it impossible to work, or do professionals only think it is? Is it possible to be self employed…offline?
Self Employed - Offline
If Charles Dickens was able to write in longhand and with a gas lamp, why can’t work at home professionals exist without the Internet? In a world with no e-mail or Web-powered job boards, no touch-click convenience or helpful online banking transactions, can work at home professionals continue to make money even without the Internet? Can those who work at home still do the job when they’re taken offline, or are power outages just forced vacations which can’t be helped?
Making it Work, Even When it Doesn’t
With no e-mails to lend direction, with no access to employer sites, with no way to conduct online research or even helpful spell-checkers that automatically fix mistakes, it may seem more than impossible to keep working and stay self employed offline, when so much of the world (and work) seems dependant upon online ease.
But work at home, above all, means being adaptable. Jobs at home often require a little creativity, some schedule-juggling, even a bit of “faking it” now and then. Even when the Internet is down, encyclopedias and other research volumes do still work. Perhaps it’s not possible to access word processing programs, but a pen and paper can always come in handy. Self employed professionals have to be able to change on a dime, and that means dealing with the whims of Nature as well. Being successful with jobs at home means being able to adapt - even when it seems the entire world is online, and the professional is stuck in the Dark Ages.
Candles Glowing
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