This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Cultivate Simple 8: Home Is Where The Work Is

November 26th, 2012

Working from home can be great… or it can be terrible. Today we discuss both sides and give some advice on why we chose to be self employed.

Books of the Week

RIVER COTTAGE SHOWS
Season 1: Escape to River Cottage
Season 2: Return to River Cottage
Season 3: River Cottage Forever
Season 4: Tales from River Cottage
Season 5: Beyond River Cottage

Podcast mentioned that deals with herbs: The Human Path

Ritcher’s Herb Specialists
Mt Rose Herbs

Help Us Out

19 Comments to “Cultivate Simple 8: Home Is Where The Work Is”
  1. Deb on November 26, 2012 at 9:25 am

    I can’t do podcasts on my computer so miss all the good things you talk about. Do you have a good recommendation of book or site to use to try to find something to do from home. I’ve forgotten what all you and hubby do from home. Thanks.

    Reply to Deb's comment

    • Mr. Chiots on November 28, 2012 at 4:50 pm

      What part of them can’t you ‘do’? You should be able to play them from the site or you can click on the download link and listen from the archive.org site.

      Reply to Mr. Chiots's comment

  2. DebbieB on November 26, 2012 at 11:33 am

    I’m about to listen to the podcast on iTunes (to save you the bandwidth!) but wanted to point out that the link in the sidebar for the “51% off 2013 calendar” leads to the 2012 calendar instead.

    Reply to DebbieB's comment

    • Susy on November 26, 2012 at 3:17 pm

      Thanks for pointing that out, I’ll see if I can change it!

      Reply to Susy's comment

      • DebbieB on November 27, 2012 at 1:54 pm

        Success! It links correctly now, and I’ve snagged my calendar. :) Looking forward to having your beautiful photos as inspiration for the year!

        to DebbieB's comment

  3. S on November 26, 2012 at 3:15 pm

    Looking forward to listening to this podcast since I’ve only recently discovered your blog… but I’m getting distracted by that pretty kitty! Office cats are difficult workers that way…

    Reply to S's comment

    • Susy on November 26, 2012 at 5:17 pm

      That’s Soafie, she’s a slave driver in the office!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. Megan on November 27, 2012 at 6:55 am

    Enjoyed your podcast. Last night I was reading a book and it stated “being self employed is like working 80 hours for yourself so you don’t have to work 40 for someone else”
    My question for you is about garlic. I live in northern Ohio and planted garlic for the first time this year. I planted it in October and mulched with straw. With the warm weather we had I have sprouts about 4 inches tall through the straw. Is this OK or do I need to do something to them to help them make it through the winter?

    Reply to Megan's comment

    • Susy on November 27, 2012 at 7:20 am

      The garlic should be fine. The leaves my get a little frostbit but it will survive.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Mich on November 27, 2012 at 9:21 am

    Another good podcast, I’ve been self employed for 8yrs and you do have to be of a certain mind set to get out & on with your work.
    You do have to be happy with your own company..I found an iPod to be very useful. Loud music whilst working time flies!
    The only downside for me working as a gardener was the travelling to various clients (max commute 25mins) & their sometimes unrealistic vision of having a Chelsa gold winning garden on a non exsistent budget!
    Also my garden was like a jungle. Oops.

    Reply to Mich's comment

  6. angie h on November 27, 2012 at 9:58 am

    I hope you do more episodes on this topic and more on your financial savviness overall. It is definitely under discussion in our house. I am so impressed by what you guys have accomplished and essentially living a debt free life and running a debt free business.

    Does it save you bandwith to go through itunes? I will be sure to do that if it makes a difference.

    Reply to angie h's comment

  7. DebbieB on November 27, 2012 at 1:55 pm

    Excellent advice in this podcast, especially about redeeming little minutes throughout the day. I know I waste BUCKETS of minutes that could be used better. I’m a fiber artist – a weaver and a spinner – and I know I could be so much more productive if I didn’t distract myself constantly.

    Reply to DebbieB's comment

  8. Brook on November 27, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    How do I subscribe to the podcasts?

    Reply to Brook's comment

    • Mr. Chiots on November 28, 2012 at 4:53 pm

      Do you use iTunes? If so use the ‘iTunes Review’ link above and you can click ‘subscribe’. Then it will auto-download to iTunes.

      Reply to Mr. Chiots's comment

  9. Melanie in California on November 28, 2012 at 12:32 pm

    Another great podcast! As a refugee from high tech, I remember too vividly the 2-hrs-each-way commute, and then more hours of work at home to “catch up” with work that didn’t get done in the day. I appreciate how you’ve been able to articulate the pluses and minuses of self-employment and working from home!

    In the podcast you mention thoughts of producing your own “show” and I’m wondering if you have plans to continue the podcasts after this trial session of – 12 weeks did you say in the original? I enjoy them so much, and learn something meaningful from every one, I’d be happy to subscribe if that would help offset some of the bandwidth issues.

    Reply to Melanie in California's comment

  10. KimP on November 30, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    Answered in spades! Thanks for all the great recommendations. :)

    Re: working from home. When I moved away and quit my job, my employers called me 6 months later and asked me to please telecommute. They had specific tasks for me to do because “you’re no longer in the office so you won’t be distracted by people walking in during the middle of a complex project.” What they didn’t seem to realize was that I had young children at the time – did they not distract me? lol It has worked out, anyway. Although some days I have a difficult time staying focused or being motivated.

    Reply to KimP's comment

  11. daisy on December 1, 2012 at 9:09 pm

    Enjoyed this podcast so much. I think the best thing about working from home is the flexibility of your schedule. I currently work as a tutor, which allows me a lot of flexibility, but I work for an educational company, not myself. I am researching becoming a professional organizer. Do you have a recommendation for a book that can help someone without a business background and knows very little about taxes?
    TIA. daisy

    Reply to daisy's comment

    • Mr. Chiots on December 1, 2012 at 9:24 pm

      To be honest, most of what we have learned about business we have leaned from experience. Both Susy and I worked retail and some professional jobs. Follow the golden rule. You will learn as you go. I am sure there are others that might have some recommendations, we can ask in the next episode.

      As for taxes it’s simple… save ALL your receipts and hire an excellent accountant. I hired my wife!

      To be honest, I am going to put your questions down for another episode on Working From Home. I think there is enough interest and we have enough questions, we could do another whole episode.

      Reply to Mr. Chiots's comment

      • daisy on December 2, 2012 at 7:17 am

        Look forward to it…

        to daisy's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
Quote of the Day: Robert Frost

"Something we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves." -Robert Frost Too often it's not the...

Close