Things don’t always turn out the way we plan. Sometimes, equipment fails or malfunctions. Working on your own? Don’t forget to have a Plan B - just in case.
A wicked storm comes through and blow out the power lines. The cable goes down - for three days. Your computer breaks down, just completely goes kaput and stops working. Family emergency strikes and you’ve got to take care of some serious stuff. In all these scenarios, you might have some pretty deep trouble getting into your home office to work. When you’re working on your own, you’ve always got to have a backup plan.
Working on Your Own
You’re self employed. That means you call the shots, you set the hours, you pick the jobs. But it also means you’re all alone, even when something goes horribly wrong. A lot of self employed professionals rely heavily on the Internet, everything from email to their own Web site to other sites like PayPal and eBay. But suppose something happens and you can’t access the Internet, or even your computer, at all? Do you know where you would go, what you would do? That’s called having a Plan B - and you need one even if it’s highly unlikely something will go wrong. In the world of self employment, something can always go wrong. Be ready for it.
Local public libraries and Internet cafes, even the airport, may provide the safe haven (and Internet access) you seek. Find out when and how these places are available to you, if at all, should you even have need of an alternative office site. You might also make a list of local places where you can rent or buy a computer quickly, should your equipment fail at that crucial moment. Be sure to give yourself a few options. This way, if something does happen the situation won’t be quite as dire.
