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I was in my early 30's when marriage and motherhood came
along. So I had 10 years as a single, career-intense
healthcare professional to observe what my full-time working friends went through when children were added to the
mix.
It looked like more than I could handle along
with my career: very hectic and tiring!
At the time I was Director of Nutrition
Services for a 40-physician outpatient medical group in
Honolulu. I negotiated 30 hours in a five-day workweek—before my wedding
day! Can you tell I like to plan ahead?
Shortened workdays
really made a sanity-saving difference in managing both
work and home.
A few years later, along with being a wife and mother, I
was in a new job, working three days a week.
One quiet morning in January 1993, as I enjoyed a weekday
off, a question quietly surfaced: “Why can't all my
friends do this?”
Work Options Resources:
A Service is Born
That thought triggered a six-month fury of intensive
study on all types of flexible work including flextime,
telecommuting, job sharing, part-time and compressed
workweek. I read books, trade journals and research
abstracts. I telephoned experts around the US.
My goal: to learn as much as I could so I could
advise others on how it could be done where they worked.
I started Work Options Resources to do just that.
One recommendation was consistent: have a detailed,
written proposal when requesting a flexible work
arrangement.
But in all that I read, there was a lot of what-to-do, (“Present
the business case for telecommuting”
“Position yourself as a valued employee”), but no
how-to-do-it guidance.
First Edition of
Flex Success Proposal Developed
I knew that crafting a proposal would be a solid
roadblock for the multitudes who don’t like to write.
Especially when they have to sell an idea.
Where to
start? What to say? The how-to-do-it component was
missing.
Figuring that a lot of people wouldn't get past that
step, I thought, How could I
make that process easier?
I started writing for them.
In August, 1993, I completed the first edition of my
proposal template and planning guide, Flex Success, in
self-published print form. Real small-scale, Kinko's
type of booklets, but it definitely filled a need for my
early customers, most of whom lived in my community.
Meanwhile, I continued my regular
part-time job for several years. Only because of the
reach of the Internet was I eventually able to go to
full-time flexibility and freedom, leaving “regular”
employment behind.
What started as a passion to help others grew into a
viable online business.
Now I'm telling others how I
did it and how they too can build an online business
based on their interests.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
WorkOptions.com Goes Online in 1997
Virtually all the action shifted to the Internet when I went online with WorkOptions.com in 1997. With
that broader audience, I saw an increasing demand
for Flex Success to be delivered now (“I'm
meeting with my manager on Monday”). So soon it became available in
electronic form only.
It's hard to beat instant digital
download! Annual refinements of Flex Success, based on
new information and customer input, are a
reasonable task, too.
The Internet amazes me. Most WorkOptions.com
customers are from the USA, Canada and Australia, but
thanks to the World Wide Web, I've had satisfied
Flex Success customers from the Bahamas,
Belgium, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Croatia (Hrvatska), Cyprus,
England, Fiji, Finland, France,
Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia,
Malta, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto
Rico, Qatar, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South
Korea, Switzerland,
Thailand, Trinidad, and the Virgin
Islands. (I get excited about this, so yes, I keep a
log.)
Personal Tidbits
I'm now a middle-aged empty-nester.
My husband
(a carpenter, originally from Thailand) and I live in the home that
we built ourselves in Kaneohe,
Hawaii on Oahu. We occasionally take in foreign exchange
students for short-term stays and, of course, we're
happy to have relatives
and houseguests make their way through.
We're active in our church,
Kailua Assembly of God. I'm originally from Enfield, Connecticut,
graduated from the University of Massachusetts,
completed my dietetic internship at Rush Medical Center
in Chicago. I've been a Hawaii resident since 1980.
Tell Me Your
Flexible Work Success Story
Getting your manager to say YES to any type of flexible work
arrangement (now, including maternity leave!) is my
strength and specialty, so please delve into the
strategies and resources found here. WorkOptions.com is
the beginning for many happy
“flex success” story
endings. I hope to hear yours soon.
All the best,
Pat Katepoo
Founder, WorkOptions.com
Flex Your Work Time
Restore Your Life Time (sm)
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