This past week I left the comfort of my home for a one-room office 5 minutes from my house. I didn’t enter into this decision lightly, but I did enter into it fairly quickly. I sat down and thought about all the pros and cons for working in a home office versus a more traditional work environment.

My original goal had been to wait until I was bringing in enough money that I could comfortably afford the rent of an office space without any real financial risk. While I can’t say I’ve reached that point yet, I do feel this is an intelligent risk. I anticipate this move will allow me to reach my one-year and five-year goals a little sooner.

Cons

1. Commuting – Once again I have to get in the car to start a productive workday. If there’s snow on the windshield, it must be scraped. If there’s a train or an accident, I’m going to be stuck waiting. I minimized this issue as much as I could by getting an office that’s only 5 minutes from my house.
2. Dress Code – I’m my own boss, so I determine what is acceptable attire. I do have the constraint of appearing out in public, though. The bunny slippers and Speedo that I wore when I was coding at home are not acceptable in a professional office building.
3. Additional Business Expenses – I had been doing my work on my home computer at my home desk. I still need those things to be at home, so I couldn’t take them with me. That meant I needed to purchase new furniture, a new computer, and various supplies to stock my workspace.
4. Additional Personal Expenses – Lunch used to mean scrounging around the cabinets for whatever happened to be there. The kitchen was my oyster, and it was only a quick walk down the stairs. Now I need to eat out or bring lunches that can be easily prepared in a microwave (or eaten cold). While that can be expensive for anyone, it’s especially cumbersome for someone like me with the delightfully intrusive dietary restriction of celiac disease.
5. Stuff is Spread Out – I used to have all my resources in one place, but now I have some things at home and some things at work. Particularly with books and business cards, what I’m looking for isn’t always in the same place I am.

Pros

1. Focus – I’ve been working in here and less than a week, and I’ve already noticed a drastic improvement in my ability to stay focused on task for an extended period of times. As it turns out I don’t actually need to take a nap every afternoon. If there isn’t a comfortable couch in the room, I can stay awake all day.
2. Professional Image – Computer geeks have a little more leeway in this area, but the fact is that having a separate office presents a “better” image to potential clients that you are courting. Sometimes appearances really matter when you’re trying to close a sale.
3. Ready for Employees – At some point in the future, I imagine I’ll need to hire an employee or two. I certainly do not want to have employees in my living room every day. Liability, strange tax scenarios, employees asking me questions when I’m taking a sick day: pick a reason.
4. Clean Taxes – I’ve read that the IRS has certain deductions that are red flags, and you’re more likely to get audited if you have those deductions. I’m not really afraid of an audit, but I understand they’re kind of a hassle. I don’t know for a fact that home business deductions are among these “red flags”, but it sure seems to me like they would be.
5. Leave Work at the Office – It took me a few days to adjust to this idea, but when I come home I don’t need to be working. I’m able to enjoy spending time with my wife, yard work, watching TV, and a host of other things without the thought creeping into the back of my mind that I could sit down and squeeze out 15 minutes of work right now.

So after weighing all those factors, I made the plunge. I wanted to post a picture of the new digs, but my camera phone is a little wonky at the moment. I’ll try to get one up whenever my phone starts behaving. The place is a little sterile right now with just a few pieces of furniture and bare walls, but I’m sure I’ll warm it up over the next few months. Anybody else out there recently make this kind of move?

filed under: Running a Business