by Michael Finley
Copyright © 1997 by Michael Finley

"Dear Mister Finley," he writes, "I sincerely want to quit my job at the B&M Baked Bean plant in Portland. The commute is murder, and I am not getting along with my colleagues in the stirring room. You would not believe the politics there. What must I do to succeed in the high-paying field of home office work?"

Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Throckmorton, it's easier than it used to be. Ten years ago, without PCs and modems, few people could work from home. Today, millions of people are doing it, in a number of different guises. The four main categories are:

Home business people. You started your own business, making fudge or extinguishing oil rig fires, and are running it out of your bedroom. Look ma, low overhead. It's a wonderful life, if you start the right business.

Telecommuters. Your company acceded to your request to spend one day at home every week. You get a lot done and would like to do more. Your employer loves not having you around, too. More desk space for everyone else.

The virtually employed. You don't have a job per se. You "consult" with your former employer on a retainer or fee basis, and you have a couple other clients you do things for. You make more money now than you ever did as an employee -- if you're in demand.

The unemployed worker. You never sought an exciting career at home, but that's what you've got. So there you sit, just like the others, but without the attractive benefits, like money. Successful unemployeds behave as if they had a job -- they make finding a job their job.

So before you "head home," know which route you are taking. The hoary adage applies: Don't give up your day job, if you have a choice in the matter.

Once you are home, however, only three things are essential to success. The first and least of the three, is hardware: a PC, phone, and modem. You may produce things from your home without a computer -- scrimshaw, poodle-do's, cranberry muffins -- but unless your word-of-mouth is very powerful, you won't sell much.

I compare working at home to living solo on the Russian space station Mir. You really start loving those wires. Without communications capabilities, you're in deep stew without a spoon, which I'm sure Mr. Throckmorton can relate to.

The second essential thing is portability. The virtual business typically sells digitizable goods -- stuff that can be turned into bits and sent out over the phone lines. It works well for writing, accounting, lawyering, consulting, programming, and some kinds of graphics and music. It works less well for skywriting and making double-hulled supertankers.

If stirring baked beans in a 5,000 gallon vat is your stock in trade, you will be at a disadvantage attempting it in your kitchen.

The third and most essential thing, however, is knowledge. Telecommuting hucksters want you to think knowledge is unimportant. A recurring theme of their get-rich-quick spam attacks is that all you need to make $5,000 a week at home is a PC and modem. Would that it were so.

The whole reason everyone is heading home these days, whether as a telecommuter, consultant, or unemployed person, is that businesses can no longer compete while making major commitments to people with commodity skills.

Downsizing and the growth of home office work are opposite views of a profound winnowing-out in our society. We are moving toward a society divided in half. One group will be people who have unique knowledge and skills and are in a position to auction them to the highest bidder. The other group will really be just an undifferentiated pile of generic workers who can be hired and fired as needed.

You could compare the first group to valuable parts of a car, like the engine, steering wheel, and mirror. Its most salient characteristic is its usefulness. The second group is more like the gasoline in the tank. Its most salient characteristic is its flammability.

Needless to say, if you haven't figured out a way to be different, or to make a difference to your customer, you may not be home business material. You'll be happier swirling in the tank with your low-octane friends.

So do your homework, Thurston Throckmorton. Every day is an opportunity for education. Become a master not just of your isolated task, but of the tasks of people around you. Realize that you have always been your own business, whether you hang a shingle on your home or not. Find out what you really think, what you really enjoy, what you can do that no one else in the world can.

Or keep stirring, and dreaming of $5,000 a week tapping on keyboard buttons. And don't skimp on the brown sugar.

Michael Finley is co-author with Harvey Robbins of THE NEW WHY TEAMS DON'T WORK.Visit Michael Finley at his home page, or e-mail him at mfinley@mfinley.com

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