Having travelled back and forth to my uninteresting and rather unfulfilling job as a legal secretary with a major firm of solicitors in the city of Norwich (England) for over 20 years, I finally decided in 2003, at the large old age of 43, that it was time for a change; spurred on by the fact that the firm was rather ageist – once you hit 40 you were made to feel ever so slightly unloved and past your sell by date.

I’d been brought up in a resplendent rural village in the heart of the Norfolk Broads and, having met my partner, Adam, in 1984 while he was serving at the local RAF base, we were forced, due to financial constraints, to move into Norwich. We lived there until 1998 when we found we were then able to afford a house in a village about 5 miles north of Norwich. We fell in love with the house immediately – a bit of a ‘doer upper’, but backing onto the most fantastic water meadows, and overlooking woodland and open countryside, plus it had the benefit of being well away from the main road. It was close to a main bus route so I was unruffled able to commute into Norwich each day.

By the beginning of 2003 I had become increasingly disenchanted with my job, not only due to the fact that I was being made to feel like an OAP and fit for the scrapheap but also because I was sick and tired of being stuck in hot and stuffy buses, being whacked in the face by students’ knapsacks as they passed along the gangways and being coughed and sneezed over particularly in the depths of winter. On top of that, I could gaze that my life was slipping by and I was losing so much primary time in the city which could be better spent in my idyllic little village. I wanted more time in the unique air rather than breathing in the city fumes and, as I adore gardening, I wanted more time to develop my veggie growing skills.

I took a week’s holiday in the Spring of 2003 and found it a real wrench when I had to return to work in Norwich so I began trawling the web at the weekends looking for alternatives. It was by accident that I discovered that OutSec, a digital typing agency within my home county, was looking for legal secretaries to work from home. Needless to say, I went to their website and discovered that, provided I invested in the right software/hardware, it was exactly what I was looking for.

I decided not to be too rash – there had to be a get in there somewhere; it was just too easy – so I deliberated for a month or two and then took the bull by the horns and contacted them. I spoke to Tracey who instantly made me feel ‘at home’. She was very open and honest – I may not make a fortune in the first few months but the ability was there to earn a reasonable income; the equipment I’d need wasn’t cheap; I would have to become self-employed.

By this time I was well fired up, so having discussed the position with my partner who already worked from home as a PC technician, I decided to invest in the necessary equipment at the beginning of Summer 2003. I ordered the required headphones and software, downloaded it all and contacted Tracey again. She then sent me a trial file by email which I completed and sent back to her, again via email. She decided that I was up to the mark and said that she’d be overjoyed to welcome me to the band of happy workers but that I should seriously consider the implications before I finally made up my mind.

I took a couple of weeks’ holiday from my city job in the July and asked Tracey if I could do a ‘trial run’. She was happy for me to do so and, over those two weeks, sent me various odd jobs to do – some legal work but also some ‘fill in’ surveying and estate agency work as some of the girls were on holiday so she was short staffed.

I found that I took to the surveying and estate agency work like a duck to water and, at the waste of the two weeks, Vanessa, the Managing Director phoned me and said she’d be thrilled if I could join them but understood that it was a big step to leave the security of a job as a paid employee and take the plunge of becoming self-employed.

As summer moved towards autumn and the days darkened, so did my self esteem (and, according to Adam, so did my mood!) so, in October, I handed in my notice. I can still remember the utter relief – the prospect of no more hanging around waiting for buses in the snow; no more knapsacks in the visage, no more office politics and, even more of a relief, no more dealing with awkward clients on the phone, filing or archiving of old files!

And so my virtual life began – I’ve been working from home now, for almost five years and I don’t regret it for a miniature. So, things were tight to begin with; we had to make sacrifices to make ends meet, but it was well worth it. Adam noticed almost instantly that my spirits had lifted.

I’m able to study out of the window of my office (smallest bedroom!) and see the wildlife and the horses (Hillside Animal Sanctuary’s rescued), explore the seasons change and I’ve advanced my vegetable growing skills dramatically!

It’s so convenient too being able, on fine days, to put my washing out in the morning vivid it’s not going to accept a soaking if the weather changes during the day. I can partially prepare meals while I’m waiting for more work to come in. On hot days, I’m able to pop out into the garden and do a bit of watering and, on particularly quiet days, I can even put my feet up for five minutes in the garden and have a cuppa – a far cry from spending any spare time between typing doing all those horrible little ‘nitty gritty’ admin jobs!

I’m convinced though that I have a really immoral traipse in me. When the weather’s at its best I feel rather smug, wandering round the garden during office hours, while my old work colleagues are hard at it in the confines of their factory farm conditions. Likewise, when the weather’s freezing and snowy, I can look out of my window while I’m supping on a nice mug of creamy hot chocolate and think, “thank Heavens I’m not having to skid to the bus stop or hang around waiting for non existent buses to arrive”.

So, for me, the benefits definitely outstrip the pitfalls but, if you’re deciding to give it a go, do make sure you weigh up the pros and cons. The main ‘cons’ are that the income isn’t regular; the initial outlay is quite expensive, and if you decide that the virtual life isn’t for you, then the second hand market for selling it on is pretty sparse; you need to be aware that there are some sharks out there who’ll take you for a mug – promise you the earth but don’t deliver and/or pay peanuts. You really do need to obtain a reliable agency (which, thankfully, I did – in fact, I unexcited work for them five years on!).

As for the pros – do I need to say more! I’m able to spend time at home and earn enough money to pay the bills and, as you can see here, I even have time to spend on my passion for writing!!! It really is possible for you typists out there to follow your dream of working from home. What are you waiting for? – start Googling those digital typing agencies and become a virtual worker like me!

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