“I used to joke, I had a 10-foot commute to work,” he said.
Guthro, who still works from home in addition to being a recently elected councillor for the Town of New Glasgow, said he would like more people in Pictou County to enjoy the benefits of working from home. That’s why he’s helping to organize a virtual job fair. The goal is to host in mid to late April at Glasgow Square to open people’s eyes to the possibilities and hopefully connect employers with employees in Pictou County.
“I’m a true believer because I’ve done it,” he said. “I know that it works.”
Guthro said he got his first at-home job in 2007. He found it while scrolling on a job search site.
“I was kind of interested in that because I didn’t want to travel anymore,” he said.
Luckily the company he applied to was actually using software he had used in his previous job in Pictou County so when calls came in for the technical side of the product, he was able to help people and was able to understand what he was selling.
“Up until then I didn’t think about (working from home), but then you start to realize the technology is right there.”
Since then both Guthro and his wife Amber have both had stay-at-home jobs with various companies.
John believes it’s a growing trend now with businesses that want to save on costs of building an office. The jobs are also easily done at home by anyone with a computer and access to high-speed Internet. He personally has been employed by a number of start-up companies. He said the people who start those companies are typically more tech-oriented, but have trouble explaining and selling the product, which is why they search for people to assist them with it. He’s been involved with customer support and sales.
One of Amber’s first at-home jobs was lining up appointments for moving companies.
“I was setting appointments for moving companies in the United States,” she said. “People would contact for information. We’d get the leads and then we’d call them throughout the United States and arrange for our moving companies to come and give them a quote.”
Both John and Amber said that customers appreciated dealing with people who were fluent in English. Some even enjoyed listening to the Nova Scotia accent the couple has.
John believes Pictou County has many people who formerly worked at call centres like Convergys who would already have the skills that many companies are looking for.
“There’s still hundreds of employees sitting at home. They’ve already worked at a call centre environment and are able to talk to people on the phone. They understand how scripting works.”
John and Amber said what’s great is that most companies will also train you how to do the job.
Amber said it’s ideal for people who may need a little extra income such as those who retire, but want to make some on the side.
As for the types of jobs, John said there are endless opportunities from transcribing recording for law firms to checking inventory for a tractor chain in addition to inbound and outbound calls for sales.
What’s also beneficial for Nova Scotians he said is that many of the companies are in the U.S. and pay in American dollars.
Chris Knight is another example of someone who is successfully working from home. He was able to transition to working from a remote office in Ontario to working from home in Pictou County.
Knight said his company was purchased by another company and at the time he talked with them about his desire to work from Nova Scotia, saying that it was just as easy for him to work from home in Pictou County and fly where he needed to out of Halifax as it was for him to fly out of Toronto. His company quickly agreed and he’s been doing it successfully for the last two years.
As a way to help people interested in working from home, the New Glasgow Regional Police have offered to do background checks for free for those who attend the virtual job fair as a way to help them out.
Details on the exact date and time of the virtual job fair will be announced in the near future on the Town of New Glasgow website.
John says one of his favourite sayings is “The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed.”
He believes that’s especially true when it comes to working from home.
While to many people it may sound star treky, he said the technology is all here to enable it to happen. It’s now up to people in Pictou County to seize that opportunity themselves.
“I used to joke, I had a 10-foot commute to work,” he said.
Guthro, who still works from home in addition to being a recently elected councillor for the Town of New Glasgow, said he would like more people in Pictou County to enjoy the benefits of working from home. That’s why he’s helping to organize a virtual job fair. The goal is to host in mid to late April at Glasgow Square to open people’s eyes to the possibilities and hopefully connect employers with employees in Pictou County.
“I’m a true believer because I’ve done it,” he said. “I know that it works.”
Guthro said he got his first at-home job in 2007. He found it while scrolling on a job search site.
“I was kind of interested in that because I didn’t want to travel anymore,” he said.
Luckily the company he applied to was actually using software he had used in his previous job in Pictou County so when calls came in for the technical side of the product, he was able to help people and was able to understand what he was selling.
“Up until then I didn’t think about (working from home), but then you start to realize the technology is right there.”
Since then both Guthro and his wife Amber have both had stay-at-home jobs with various companies.
John believes it’s a growing trend now with businesses that want to save on costs of building an office. The jobs are also easily done at home by anyone with a computer and access to high-speed Internet. He personally has been employed by a number of start-up companies. He said the people who start those companies are typically more tech-oriented, but have trouble explaining and selling the product, which is why they search for people to assist them with it. He’s been involved with customer support and sales.
One of Amber’s first at-home jobs was lining up appointments for moving companies.
“I was setting appointments for moving companies in the United States,” she said. “People would contact for information. We’d get the leads and then we’d call them throughout the United States and arrange for our moving companies to come and give them a quote.”
Both John and Amber said that customers appreciated dealing with people who were fluent in English. Some even enjoyed listening to the Nova Scotia accent the couple has.
John believes Pictou County has many people who formerly worked at call centres like Convergys who would already have the skills that many companies are looking for.
“There’s still hundreds of employees sitting at home. They’ve already worked at a call centre environment and are able to talk to people on the phone. They understand how scripting works.”
John and Amber said what’s great is that most companies will also train you how to do the job.
Amber said it’s ideal for people who may need a little extra income such as those who retire, but want to make some on the side.
As for the types of jobs, John said there are endless opportunities from transcribing recording for law firms to checking inventory for a tractor chain in addition to inbound and outbound calls for sales.
What’s also beneficial for Nova Scotians he said is that many of the companies are in the U.S. and pay in American dollars.
Chris Knight is another example of someone who is successfully working from home. He was able to transition to working from a remote office in Ontario to working from home in Pictou County.
Knight said his company was purchased by another company and at the time he talked with them about his desire to work from Nova Scotia, saying that it was just as easy for him to work from home in Pictou County and fly where he needed to out of Halifax as it was for him to fly out of Toronto. His company quickly agreed and he’s been doing it successfully for the last two years.
As a way to help people interested in working from home, the New Glasgow Regional Police have offered to do background checks for free for those who attend the virtual job fair as a way to help them out.
Details on the exact date and time of the virtual job fair will be announced in the near future on the Town of New Glasgow website.
John says one of his favourite sayings is “The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed.”
He believes that’s especially true when it comes to working from home.
While to many people it may sound star treky, he said the technology is all here to enable it to happen. It’s now up to people in Pictou County to seize that opportunity themselves.
Both pros and cons to office in home
The Guthros and Chris Knight caution that working from home isn’t for everyone though.
“You have to be able to discipline yourself,” said Amber Guthro. “You have a lot of freedom. Because of that you have to discipline yourself to work for certain hours.”
Knight agrees. He has two young children at home, so has a dedicated office space where he works. His family knows when his work hours are and don’t disturb him.
“I’m very regimented,” he said. “It’s the same thing with every job. You have to make sure you’re working efficiently.”
Still, he said he does enjoy the flexibility of being able to pick up his child from preschool or to go to an appointment and just make up the time later.
Another hazard of working from home is that you might experience what Knight calls going “shack wacky.”
“You need to understand you’re going to have periods you’re not going to see anyone. You’re not going to have adult interaction. You have to make sure you get out of the house.”
But for those who can manage to discipline themselves and find the right balance, he believes there are real possibilities.
