Running a small business means making a lot of tough decisions that can have huge long-term impacts on your business.
One of the biggest choices you’ll need to make is whether to look for an office for rent or to park yourself in a home office right now. Even with a limited budget, a small office is an affordable option, but it’s not always the best choice for your business.
These questions can help you decide which type of office is right for you:
Is your home space suitable for your work? First and foremost, it’s important to establish that your home office is suitable to what you’re doing.
If you work on a computer exclusively and don’t need much more than a decent desk and chair, it’s easy to carve out a home office in a spare bedroom. An extensive engineering studio or workshop, however, can be more difficult to work into a home space. Consider how much room you really need before you move forward with your office planning.
Can you treat your home office like a real office? Doing household chores and taking time out of your workday to do anything but work is inviting days full of trouble.
If you can’t focus on work while you’re working at home, having an office space may more than pay for itself in productive time. Not everyone has the focus or the supportive family to allow for a home office.
Do you often meet clients face to face? Face-to-face client meetings can take place at coffee shops and other public spaces for a while, but eventually your clients are going to want more security and privacy in a less public location. A private office space can project a professional image, as well as subconsciously assuring your clients that you’re focused on their comfort.
Is your staff comfortable working through a virtual office? Having office staff demands that you find ways that everyone can work together comfortably.
If you’re interested in maintaining a home office, it’s going to be important that everyone on your staff is able and willing to telecommute to work every day. Some people aren’t ready to make the virtual leap, and in that case you’ll need to decide if you’ll replace a valued employee or find an office for rent.
Choosing to work from your home office or to make the leap to an office space can be a very difficult decision in today’s world. Since you can have almost all the benefits of a commercial office in your own home, many people are finding that they don’t need the extra expenses of a big commercial real estate lease. Every business is different, though, and only you can decide if your business will thrive in an home office or a office space.