Thursday January 24, 2008 Working from home BY SHARMILA NAIR

Kimberly Low quit her job as a Public Relations consultant to open up her own PR agency. She's only 24.
TRAFFIC jams are the root of all evil. People have missed their final year examinations, lost their million-ringgit contracts, been late for their own weddings ... all because of the human-made catastrophe that is traffic.

Most people go through the routine hassle of honking, swerving, cursing and praying on the roads - whether they are trying to get to work or class ... most people but Kimberly Low, apparently.

The 24-year-old public relations (PR) person wakes up at eight every morning, then walk out of her bedroom and voila, she's in her office already. Yup, Kimberly is one of the increasing number of people who work from the comforts of their own homes.

Besides the convenience, working at home also offers her flexibility.

"I don't always wake up at eight. There were times when I overslept and crawled out of bed at nine," says Kimberly.

Before branching out on her own (and by default, deciding on what kinds of working conditions she prefer), Kimberly worked at a PR agency for two years. Her decision to quit her job and start up her own company Kim Communications (Kim Komm) - was, according to her, one made almost at a whim.

Her friends, however, say it coming from miles away.

"I never grew up with the dream of seeing myself as a businesswoman. But after talking to several of my friends, I was shocked to find out that that was exactly what they were expecting to see from me," says Kimberly.

Her parents were surprised, but not shocked not because they too expected it but have over the years learnt that when it came to their only daughter, they should always expect the unexpected.

In fact, for her family, the biggest surprise was her passion for PR and events management. It was a shock that she decided to enter this industry when she spent three hard years earning her degree in Business Administration. For Kimberly though it was only natural.

"Even when I was studying, I did part time jobs and one of it was for an PR/EM firm. Though I was handling the EM then, I always lent a helping hand to my colleagues from the PR section. That was when I realised I preferred PR to anything else," Kimberly explains.

Right after graduation, she was hired for her now-former employer. Immersed in a world that she absolutely adores, Kimberly realised that she had more to offer as her own boss than when she's contractually obligated to an employer.

Kimberly tries to break free from her hectic schedule by taking vacations at least twice a year.
"In my last job, I realised that I have many ideas, some that my employer then wouldn't have accepted. As a net savvy person, I always wanted to combine traditional PR methods with more innovative use of the Internet," she says.

"A lot of people still don't use the Internet to its full potential. There are blogs, forums and other social network applications that scream business opportunities."

And so she started Kim Komm six months ago. To date, she has already secured a number of big projects. Wanting to keep her company lean, Kimberly is yet to hire any help. So far, she's able to handle the workload all by herself - though sometimes when necessary, she does get help from her friends in the field.

Like every new entrepreneur, Kimberly too was scared in the beginning but her 'now or never' attitude has kept her focus on her tasks.

"It never occurred to me that I would have my own business someday. But by doing this myself, I find that I have more creative freedom and control over what I do," she says.

As her company is relatively new, Kimberly has yet to take long breaks though she says that she tries to go for vacations twice a year. An avid traveller, Kimberly also says that she's a book freak, a habit she wishes many would take up as well.

"To be a successful PR person, it's important that one knows everything about anything."

She says that her college years have been the most intellectually stimulating experience in her life, thanks to her lecturers who always pushed their students to read more than just textbooks.

Whenever she's not reading Law journals, medical articles, books of all sorts, you can find Kimberly at the gym - another habit she says everyone should have.

"It's important to stay fit and eat healthy to stay sharp, focused and be efficient in what you do."

Kimberly says that it's important that one keeps fit so that they can focus on what they're doing.
People might say that she has all the time in the world to read and exercise because she works from home, but Kimberly says that its not as simple as that.

"Sometimes it's difficult to discipline myself because I tend to procrastinate, like I did especially in the earlier weeks of my business. I constantly remind myself that although I'm my own boss, I work for others - my clients."

Now though, she tries to get hooked to the momentum and not stop until the work is complete.

Then, she rewards herself with a week off, "but even then I find myself sneaking time to do business related work." This, of course, is easier to do considering that the work is literally at her doorstep.

Still, Kimberly admits that the pros of working from home