Making it mean business! The words 'Work at home' are now on the lips of millions. Put there by internet entrepreneurs offering work at home services to a burgeoning market of young parents eager for a way to earn wages while tending young offspring. Check it out. Compare a search at google.com for the keywords: 'telecommuting' and 'work at home.'

Which words work harder? 'Work at home' has quickly become this industry's catch-phrase, stealing thunder from 'TeleCommuting.' The word 'TeleCommuting' is a very business-like technical term, cousin to 'telecommunications' which it is dependent upon (and often confused with). What does 'work at home' conjure up in the minds of employers? They live at home and know all the distractions that can occur. They go home to relax. To get away from business work. Work in the home is cooking, cleaning, and caring for kids. None of those images equating with a hard-working workforce of the brightest talent available at a price they can turn a healthy profit on.

Call us anything, but call us top workers. It was tough enough selling business on utilizing 'TeleCommuters.' How do we make 'work at home' mean profitable, reliable, hard-working workforce? We prove ourselves smarter, faster, more dependable than onsite employees. We train ourselves to be at the top of our specialties. We master the latest versions of the software the company we want to work for uses. We get certified to prove our abilities. We master the art of connectivity -- networking, email, file transfer, and maybe even chat and internet conferencing. We make ourselves as easily available as walking down the hall to confer with an onsite employee.

The Work at Home Workforce will be measured by its worst worker. To earn the right to work at home, we're going to have to work harder at home than we ever did in the office. We have to turn 'work at home' around in the minds of employers. We have to get company bosses to believe people who work at home come through in a clinch better than people do in the office. If we expect to be able to work from home, each and every one of us has the responsibility of making it a viable workforce.

Use words that work! Don't ever tell employers you want to 'work at home.' Show employers your mind's on business. Tell them you want to 'TeleCommute from your home office.'