One of the great advantages of being an Internet marketer is that you can work from virtually any location around the world.  You may work for an employer in a towering office building or for yourself in the comfort of your own home. I came across a thought-provoking article about the reasons people give for wanting to work from home and decided to share it with our readers. If you are thinking about asking your employer to let you work remotely from home, this article by Sylvie Fortin offers insight into how to present your case.

Great versus Lousy Reasons to Work from Home

By: Sylvie Fortin

Did you know that many people have lousy reasons for wanting to work from home? Believe it or not, these same people are often the ones who fail as telecommuters. If you want to work from home, have you assessed whether your reasons are lousy or great? If not, take a few moments to see some of the most typical Lousy versus Great Reasons for Working from Home and then decide if you’re on the right track or not.

Lousy Reason #1: I want to stay home with my children.

Great Reason #1: I want to be able to be more reliable and work harder for my employer. I have children, so I am realistic enough to realize that working from home late at night, on weekends, and during holidays will make me a more efficient worker than if I had to miss work because of my children. By staying at home to work, I can make up for lost productivity by working off-shifts.

Lousy Reason #2: I don’t like to commute.

Great Reason #2: I would rather spend an extra 1-2 hours a day working, rather than waste time in traffic. During a typical commute to work, a lot of quality work time gets wasted sitting in traffic, when my time would be better spent doing extra work and meeting tight deadlines.

Lousy Reason #3: I want to make my own hours and work when I feel like it.

Great Reason #3: Standard office hours tend to restrict me. My skills are best utilized outside of the ordinary workday and I am most efficient and focused when I have the freedom to work longer hours than the standard office setting allows.

Lousy Reason #4: I hate working with other people.

Great Reason #4: My personal preference when working is to focus on the task at hand. I find the office setting to be too inefficient for me to truly work to my employer’s advantage.

When co-workers spend time chatting and socializing, it interferes with my ability to concentrate and work to my best ability. Although I enjoy socializing, I would prefer to choose my own social situations and leave my friendships outside of the work environment. This, to me, is the best situation for the employers whom I work with, as I am only billing for time spent physically working on tasks, rather than being paid for time spent around the office.

Lousy Reason #5: I want to make a lot of money.

Great Reason #5: I prefer to be compensated for the value of the work I do, rather than restricted to working an 8-hour day. In order for me to truly explore all my talents and expand my financial status, I recognize that I will need to work on many different projects and work with many different clients. This is my best possible opportunity to expand my skills and explore all the different career paths I would like to pursue.

Lousy Reason #6: I don’t want to work for a dumb boss.

Great Reason #6: In today’s tough economy, working for a single employer is not as secure as it once was believed. Providing my specialized skills to a number of clients at a time allows me to enjoy greater financial stability, because I am less concerned about losing any one particular job.

I do recognize, however, that each of my clients are my bosses. I simply choose to work for many bosses, rather than just one.

Although I have my own business and can choose my clients, I recognize the importance of treating each of my clients with the utmost professionalism and courtesy. This is critical to my success as an independent contractor. Once you have taken a look at your reasons for becoming a telecommuter, you can better determine whether you’re in it for the right reasons. Some people just aren’t made for working from home. There’s no shame in that reality, but it’s best to find that out before you cause yourself all kinds of anguish and heartache. Good luck in whatever you choose to do from wherever you choose to do it!

To learn about a legitimate work-from-home business, visit http://imtcva.org/about/.