This is the second in a series of periodic posts on rebuttals to common “yeah-buts” that I hear from people wanting to work from home.
Yeah-But
“Yeah, but, I don’t have a computer I can use.”
The Rebuttal
Along with the excuse of not having a place to work, people often think they need some super powerful computer to get started. Others don’t have a computer at all. Though eventually you will have to get a fairly recent computer to run newer software (or better yet go open source – but that’s for another day), you don’t need anything fancy to get started. In fact you don’t even need a computer of your own.
I have known several people who have used friends’ computers, library computers, or a school or church computer lab to start a home-based business.
One young mother used her local library’s computers while her sister took her son to reading time. I also had the privilege to talk with a homeless artist who used a local church’s computer to check email and collect email addresses of potential customers. He didn’t even have a roof over his head most days, but was working on getting an art business started using freely available computers.
So no computer is no excuse. There are excellent, easy to use Web-based tools and programs you can use that can be accessed from any computer anywhere that has internet access. The need for personal desktop software is no longer essential to get started running a home business. Once you’ve been established, you can choose to upgrade, but you my find that the freedom Web-based tools offer is too good to give up. Here’s some I’d recommend to get you started:
- Email – GMail or Yahoo! Mail
- Calendar – Google Calendar
- To Do, Notes, and Tracking – Backpack
- Word Processor – Writely
- Spreadsheet – Zoho Sheet
- Invoicing – Blinksale
- Picture Gallery – Flickr
The need for a new computer with lots of expensive software use to be a major cost of entry for the home-based business. Now, using your own older computer or others you may have access to, along with Web-based software, you can get up and going with as little investment as possible.
I LOVE the Yeah-Butt Head! When we are procrastinating it is amazing the excuses we can come up with! Thanks for the chuckle I got from your picture today!
Thanks Kirsten. Glad you liked the picture.
You’re right. Masking fears with seemingly silly excuses is a good way to avoid doing stuff. Even things we really want to do or that will make our lives better.
I appreciate you stopping by and contributing.