Working Remotely Before Remote Work Was Cool

Successful habits I learned from working remotely over the past 15 years

Teresa Bacal
7 min readJan 30, 2021
Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

When I started running my own company and working remotely over 15 years ago, I refrained from letting anyone know I worked from home. I would go out of my way to make sure the dog was outside, the family was quiet, put tape over my doorbell so no one would ring the bell, and simply change the topic if a client mentioned stopping by my office.

Working remotely, back in the day, would usually elicit one of two common responses, “Oh, how does that work for you?” or, there would just be an awkward pause in the conversation. Even though I knew I was getting more work done in a day by working from home than I would in an office, but I still felt the judgment from the corporate world.

Remote work seemed to be considered an “artsy” thing or you were not really serious about your career. I spent 7 years in the hospitality industry learning the ropes before I decided to take the leap of starting my own company. Working remote was the smart thing for me to do. It would keep starting costs low and allow me to create my own work schedule. I started out with a desk, chair, phone, and computer.

Eventually, my company grew and all of my employees or independent contractors worked…

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Teresa Bacal

Always looking for ways to Live Better | Addicted to Travel | Serial Entrepreneur | Outdoor Enthusiast | Event Consultant | www.JTGrey.com |