About Erica

I l @ ve RuBoard

No one told me that if I became a writer and book editor that one day it would be a lucrative way to make money working from home. In fact, though it would take a team of wild horses to get me to reveal my age (and I'd lie anyway), back when I graduated from college, no one worked from home. You just never heard about it. There was no e-mail. Faxes were a modern new invention, but other than freelance artists or the struggling novelist, no one had a home office. We all accepted that the daily grind was part of work. The idea that someone could wake up, put on a pot of coffee in his or her apartment or house, and walk in a bathrobe over to a desk with all the latest technology, and actually earn a living at it, was crazy. Unheard of.

I took a job in the publishing world and worked in an office, under ugly lights, overheated in winter in New York, and under-air-conditioned in summer swelter. By the time I had my first child, an opportunity came along for me to write articles for a newspaper freelance ”from home. Technology had changed. Get paid to write from home, now we were talking. This was something I could really get used to. I don't think I've ever looked back.

For me, it was always about my kids . I didn't need a corner office and a plaque on my door to tell me who I was. My family will tell you I was weird (I prefer eccentric) all along ”even as a kid. Maybe it was only natural that once I figured out that a 60-second commute was a possibility, I jumped at the chance. I never could make it to the office at nine o'clock anyway. I was always the woman putting on her pantyhose in her car on the freeway , stuck in traffic. The one putting her mascara on using the rearview mirror. Yeah, that was me.

By my second child, I had a modest business going editing books and making about $50,000 a year. Not bad, considering I didn't have to wear pantyhose, and I also never had to miss a first step of my son or a school play of my daughter . As much as I was enjoying being home with my kids full-time , another thought crossed my mind: Even if I didn't have kids, if they magically were 18 tomorrow and flew the coop, I would never, ever, ever want to work in an office again. My freedom was too important to me.

By my third child, my modest business had tripled. Not only was I commuting in my jeans and a T-shirt, I was making more money than many of the people taking the train to work, rising at dawn just to make it to their desks at nine o'clock. And wherever I went ”cocktail parties, doctors ' offices, the park ”if people asked what I did, and I said I was a writer and editor and worked from home, men and women alike would become fascinated. This 60-second commute, as scary, exhilarating, and chaotic as it might be at times, was something many people apparently wanted to do. They asked questions. A lot of questions. So many questions that I realized I would need a book to explain it all. How to do it, well and happily, how to juggle, how to deal with taxes and lawyers , and incoming calls when the dog is barking and you can't concentrate. All the nitty-gritty about working from home. Including getting to your desk in 60 seconds ”on a slow day.

I l @ ve RuBoard


The 60-Second Commute. A Guide to Your 24.7 Home Office Life
The 60-Second Commute: A Guide to Your 24/7 Home Office Life
ISBN: 013130321X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 155

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