Renting an office vs working from bedroom

[lolage]

Brief background about me; I'm 25, still live at home - and am currently saving up for house deposit. I'm a photographer and film maker but a lot of my time is spent in front of a PC doing editing & marketing. I feel like I need my own space to just get away from the house to properly concentrate on my own business, would be a nice stepping stone between actually owning/renting my own house with home office and living w/parents.

I currently work from my bedroom, it's not the biggest and far from the most ideal working situation. My computer is opposite a big window so I have to have the curtains shut during working constantly as the glare is too much. Plus I don't think sleeping, working and leisure time should all be in the same room.

I've been looking at offices for around £250/month all inclusive of heating/electric - which seems at first a fairly big outgoing but I can't help but feel I'd be so much more productive being away from home making it more worthwhile in the long run.

I used to work in an office environment when I had a full time job doing marketing and can't help but feel with less distractions in a proper office environment my work productivity goes up.

Can anyone who's been in a similar situation give any insight?

Thank you

 

[Tim Coulter]

Have you considered a co-working space? It might be a bit cheaper than renting a dedicated office, and the price will include utilities and internet access, but the biggest advantage (depending on what you're looking for) is the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with other independent professionals (or small teams).

 

[lolage]

Have you considered a co-working space? It might be a bit cheaper than renting a dedicated office, and the price will include utilities and internet access, but the biggest advantage (depending on what you're looking for) is the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with other independent professionals (or small teams).

I've looked into it, but the closest co-working space is a 15 min drive, then a 30 min train journey away not making it very convenient. I don't want to travel 1hr30 everyday to go to work compared to offices 5/10 min drive away from where I live. Can defo see the perks of being with other independent professionals though...

Also another thing I want is somewhere to leave my gear and PC. My bedroom has turned into some sort of equipment gallery with photography and video kit hanging off the walls.

 

[ethical PR]

How much longer would it take you to save up a deposit if you paid out 250 a month for an office?

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Many shops have unused flats or store rooms above the shop that you can hire for silly money, also your local council will have a list of vacant places and landlords contact addresses

A alternative is a Garden office they cost a few quid but make very nice offices if you have the land

A office gives you a clear break from work and leisure so probably worth the money at £62 a week

 

[lolage]

How much longer would it take you to save up a deposit if you paid out 250 a month for an office?

It wouldn't change too much I don't think. Plus I'm not even sure if I want to get onto the property ladder for sure yet with the current economic climate. Just saving generally, may go into stock - or a house.

Many shops have unused flats or store rooms above the shop that you can hire for silly money, also your local council will have a list of vacant places and landlords contact addresses

A alternative is a Garden office they cost a few quid but make very nice offices if you have the land

A office gives you a clear break from work and leisure so probably worth the money at £62 a week

Thanks not thought of this, will speak to local council!

 

[garyk]

Many shops have unused flats or store rooms above the shop that you can hire for silly money, also your local council will have a list of vacant places and landlords contact addresses

^^^ That, or just attend a local networking meeting and getting chatting to business owners to see if they will rent a desk. There's load of opportunity out there. Me I would go office everytime, I cannot bear being at home need to get out. Also nothing wrong with having a monthly commitment, a little bit of motivation to get you 'out there' trying to get business.

 

[Gecko001]

This seems to be more a personal problem than a business one. If you do not need an office so as to receive clients or to give employees a proper office environment, then I can see few, if any, business reasons for getting an office. It will cost more than just rent. There will be heat, electricity, insurance and travel costs. In other words it is a luxury at the minute.

What about getting out and about more and mixing with more people. Go to a gym, join a sports club or hobby club or take an evening class. The activity does not have to be a business-related.

 

[Ashley_Price]

I can understand the need to "get out of the house". My wife felt like this when we worked together from home. Once we did move into an office, she was much happier, she felt there was a definite split between work and home life (at the office you concentrate on work, not the laundry; at home you concentrate on the laundry, not work).

So, although, as others have said, why move out, sometimes that is the better option. There have even been stories of those who started working from home for their companies, but then rented a small office in town to work in, because they couldn't focus at home.

Depending on where you're talking about £250 a month is very reasonable, and so worth considering. In Lewes, office rental is quite high, so I am very fortunate, because I am in a building owned by the council, who let the rooms out at very reasonable rates. I did try looking to downsize (I am in a room by myself, that is big enough to sit six comfortably) and save some money, but other office space in the town, far smaller than mine, is more expensive than where I am now.

 

[Ashley_Price]

My computer is opposite a big window so I have to have the curtains shut during working constantly as the glare is too much

And, specifically on this point, I do sell anti-glare/reflection monitor filters, which could help significantly with this. (I assume just moving the furniture around isn't an option.)

 

[Krystsina]

The first thought that came to my mind was about a coworking space, but then I saw that somebody already offered it to you If not a coworking space, many freelancers use coffee shops instead: you can spend there most of your day in case you don't use your equipment every day and you can work from your laptop. Coffee shops helped me to save my productivity many times when I was a freelancer.

Another thing you could try to do is to make your room bring you the spirit of the office, but then you should spend your lunch and evenings at least outside of it, to change your environment. We have a blog post about boosting productivity when working from home, maybe you will find there some ideas for yourself on organising the space and managing your work from home.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Rent an office and then when you get really busy and need to work early and late you could put a bed in it ;-)

 

[Ashley_Price]

Rent an office and then when you get really busy and need to work early and late you could put a bed in it ;-)

A bed? That's sheer luxury. For to be really successful you should just bring a sleeping bag to the office and then sleep under your desk, (as in Microsoft, Google, etc.)

 

[Mitch3473]

Got to be an office I'm afraid. Inviting potential clients round to your bedroom may not sit right with some people. On the other hand.......

 

[ecommerce84]

As someone who has been in a similar position to you, I would say go for it.

I was running an online shop from my bedroom in my parents house and my personal and work life became very blurred. Not only did I find it hard to truly concentrate when I should have been working but I also found myself checking emails or tinkering with code in what should have been my spare time.

I hired an office on a local business park and it really helped. I now had a definite split between work and life. I was actually working shorter hours and achieving far more and having more time to relax - you have to be able to have some time to 'recharge' to keep you at the top of your game.

 

[Tom Smart]

Been in this situation myself, wish I had rented the office sooner as I'm far more productive there and you can leave work behind. (He says sitting on a laptop at home!)

 

[Vincent79]

I would definitely think twice before renting an office in this current climate. Have you looked at hiring Regis office space it is fairly reasonable by the hour?

 

[FreebieBoy34]

Brief background about me; I'm 25, still live at home - and am currently saving up for house deposit. I'm a photographer and film maker but a lot of my time is spent in front of a PC doing editing & marketing. I feel like I need my own space to just get away from the house to properly concentrate on my own business, would be a nice stepping stone between actually owning/renting my own house with home office and living w/parents.

I currently work from my bedroom, it's not the biggest and far from the most ideal working situation. My computer is opposite a big window so I have to have the curtains shut during working constantly as the glare is too much. Plus I don't think sleeping, working and leisure time should all be in the same room.

I've been looking at offices for around £250/month all inclusive of heating/electric - which seems at first a fairly big outgoing but I can't help but feel I'd be so much more productive being away from home making it more worthwhile in the long run.

I used to work in an office environment when I had a full time job doing marketing and can't help but feel with less distractions in a proper office environment my work productivity goes up.

Can anyone who's been in a similar situation give any insight?

Thank you

Hi there! I suppose working in a bedroom is not advisable since this area is not conducive for working. Forgive me if I'm saying this, but I've been is a (sort-of) similar situation before and instead of releasing all the creative juices in my mind, all I think about was lying on a nice, soft, and comfy bed and find myself sleeping in the process... Bottom line is, your progress won't be as efficient compared to the results you can give when you do it in a suitable area... But then again, that's just me...

 

[StevePoster]

Its not ideal if your working environment is bedroom due to ambiance of getting sleepy, but if you think you are more productive then you should take another place near in which similar because of the other things that fully occupied your bedroom.

 

[lolage]

Viewing 2 different offices on Thursday 5 mins from home, one for £180pcm - and another for £220pcm both inclusive of electricity and heating. Going to be well worth it I think. Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Think about making a profit all our friends on here are going on about spending money and how you feel and how are you are and how you react to working in your room .
Dont take any notice of this lot here they love spending everybody elses money . They will find you the perfect office .As long they dont have to pay for it !
Stay as you are and make some money . Think about what an office is going to cost put the cash in a box and after a month treat yourself to something nice
My tip for the day from my life time in business . "Dont spend any money" !

 

[lolage]

Viewing 2 different offices on Thursday 5 mins from home, one for £180pcm - and another for £220pcm both inclusive of electricity and heating. Going to be well worth it I think. Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Think about making a profit all our friends on here are going on about spending money and how you feel and how are you are and how you react to working in your room .
Dont take any notice of this lot here they love spending everybody elses money . They will find you the perfect office .As long they dont have to pay for it !
Stay as you are and make some money . Think about what an office is going to cost put the cash in a box and after a month treat yourself to something nice
My tip for the day from my life time in business . "Dont spend any money" !

It can certainly help someone make more money in the long run.

Spending almost 24 hours a day in a bedroom (working long hours and sleeping) can really start to wear down someone's motivation and passion for what they're doing. This impacts productivity.

Plus, it's far easier to procrastinate. If you know that your work will be there all day, it's easier to put tasks on the to-do pile for later on in the night. With a rented office, you know that you have stricter working hours and need to get tasks done if you want to go home. It keeps you more disciplined.

Tallying everything up, it can definitely help to increase revenue and profit even after the office expense is subtracted. Some claim that self-employed people should be able to motivate and discipline themselves 24/7, but as we all know, it's not always that easy.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

It can certainly help someone make more money in the long run.

Spending almost 24 hours a day in a bedroom (working long hours and sleeping) can really start to wear down someone's motivation and passion for what they're doing. This impacts productivity.

Plus, it's far easier to procrastinate. If you know that your work will be there all day, it's easier to put tasks on the to-do pile for later on in the night. With a rented office, you know that you have stricter working hours and need to get tasks done if you want to go home. It keeps you more disciplined.

Tallying everything up, it can definitely help to increase revenue and profit even after the office expense is subtracted. Some claim that self-employed people should be able to motivate and discipline themselves 24/7, but as we all know, it's not always that easy.

Only if your a timid sole with lack of focus . If you want to make money and the fire is there you wont need to spend money that you dont need to spend .
This is proven many start ups and small business run out of money and close because of this ridiculous idea of having an office that they dont need.
We are entering an era of some uncertainty so the OP would be wise to tightly control his costs

 

[WestTownWeb]

When I started my software company I worked from home. After a couple of years I moved into a small office inside a giant converted building on Liverpool docks. Business took-off. There was something about being out and among other people all the time that led to opportunities.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Only if your a timid sole with lack of focus . If you want to make money and the fire is there you wont need to spend money that you dont need to spend .
This is proven many start ups and small business run out of money and close because of this ridiculous idea of having an office that they dont need.
We are entering an era of some uncertainty so the OP would be wise to tightly control his costs

Sounds nice in theory, but I'm afraid most people are not bulletproof. Nor do they have to be to succeed.

I often work from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed. If I had to do that in a small bedroom, where I'm in there almost 24 hours a day, it would become very demoralising very quickly. This then starts to impact productivity and drive.

Saving £200pm is fine, until you start hitting difficult days where you feel trapped and end up losing hundreds more because you aren't moving through tasks as quickly. Few can sustain 100% willpower for every hour of the day in an uncomfortable working environment, and it doesn't make them any weaker for it.

There is a limit to this, of course. It's about being cost-effective. If someone is making £2,000 per month but spends half of that on a flashy, over-sized office in an expensive part of town, then yes it is an absurd thing to do.

To the OP, just make sure you take on the office on a rolling contract with a get-out clause if you can. I wouldn't advise signing into a multi-year lease with this. That way, it's not too costly to give up the office if you change your mind or need to scale back costs.

 

[garyk]

I'm with @Scott-Copywriter Its not about the money its about your mindset. I hear what Jeremy is saying, there's wasting money and spending money. If you start a business and then decide to go and lease a brand new motor (as some of my friends have in the past) then that is downright silly.

Finding cheap office accommodation whilst not 'essential' can give you a big boost in productivity and allow you to separate business and personal life.

 

[lolage]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I do think it's the right thing for me to do. For as little as £180pcm which includes electric and heating I think it would be one of my best investments yet.

Definitely can relate to a lot of the posts of finding it hard to be in the same room for 24hours everyday. I've been doing my business stuff for about 3/4 years, quit my full time job earlier this year and I feel this is the next step to scale my business further and make it a proper thing.

 

[KateCB]

I was always told that you should only ever rent/buy space if it increased your turnover/profits...if not, then it is simply an un-necessary expense; i have owned buildings and gone to 'work' every day.....walked out at 6pm and gone home - at busy times I got home and my laptop was on and I was working from home rather than sitting in a 3000sqft building alone!

I work from home all the time now as we down sized the business and I find that if I simply shut the office door ( I have one room that is my office, not a bedroom, just an office) then work goes away.....quiet times I can work and get on with household things, busy times I am in the office until sometimes 9pm, but it doesn't matter, I can quite literally work, eat and sleep without having to drive there!
Having an active social life helps, if I were at home all day and every evening I would go mad I think, but we go out 3 - 4 evenings doing different things/seeing different people and have lots of weekends away, so it works well for me.

 

[Rob2012]

Viewing 2 different offices on Thursday 5 mins from home, one for £180pcm - and another for £220pcm both inclusive of electricity and heating. Going to be well worth it I think. Thanks for the replies everyone!

where are you based??

 

[Jeff Nev]

I'll have to agree with Scott-Copywriter. When at such a vital stage of developing your business it's crucial that your productivity is on top form; working in the same space you live is unhealthy and can prevent you performing at your best.

I know several freelancers who have met up with alike professionals in their area then invested in a small office together to save costs. It works really well, keeps motivation and prevents you having to deal with all the stress of office maintenance and bills etc. Here are a few tips of services that can additionally help to cut costs:

• http://www.roomservicebycort.com/property-marketing/dress-let - they provide furniture hire which can be really useful to cut costs and save time on messing around with furniture
• https://www.moneypenny.com/uk/ - they are a telephone answering service, I used this brand for my previous internet company and can't fault them (only £30 - £50 a month)
  
• http://download.cnet.com/windows/ - they provide free trials and software for Windows which is good to know before splashing a load of cash on expensive software

All the best on your search!

 

[The Byre]

Stay as you are and make some money!

But then we have -

you start hitting difficult days where you feel trapped and end up losing hundreds more because you aren't moving through tasks as quickly.

and both views are totally valid and relevant.

However, there is one aspect that has been overlooked and that is the type of business that you are in - making videos.

Unless you have no physical contact with customers, you need to invite them into your working environment - and a bedroom in your parents' house ain't no working environment where you can sit down with clients. You need a place where they can sit, drink coffee and get the 'Wow!' factor of sitting in a pukka editing suite with all the bells and whistles.

If you are already running a car, a viable alternative, would be to replace that with a van that is kitted out as an OB truck and editing suite.

What the punters do not know, is how cheap the latest toys are (4K, 50" screen for £500, cameras for £2,000-£5,000, most software is now free or damn nearly free!) so the sight of three or four monitors and software like Reaper ($60) and DaVinci-Resolve (free!) will rock them back on their heels and give them the impression that they are hiring some pretty serious tech (which, of course, it all is!)

When you are not 'on-the-road' you could park the thing outside your parents house, but then have the option of bringing the whole editing suite to the client's door and the cost of the van would be about the same as a car and also doubles as transport for dollies, jibs and lights.

All the tech problems of running that stuff and a decent PC can be done with a few batteries and an inverter for those times when you are away from an AC supply.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

But then we have -

and both views are totally valid and relevant.

However, there is one aspect that has been overlooked and that is the type of business that you are in - making videos.

Unless you have no physical contact with customers, you need to invite them into your working environment - and a bedroom in your parents' house ain't no working environment where you can sit down with clients. You need a place where they can sit, drink coffee and get the 'Wow!' factor of sitting in a pukka editing suite with all the bells and whistles.

If you are already running a car, a viable alternative, would be to replace that with a van that is kitted out as an OB truck and editing suite.

What the punters do not know, is how cheap the latest toys are (4K, 50" screen for £500, cameras for £2,000-£5,000, most software is now free or damn nearly free!) so the sight of three or four monitors and software like Reaper ($60) and DaVinci-Resolve (free!) will rock them back on their heels and give them the impression that they are hiring some pretty serious tech (which, of course, it all is!)

When you are not 'on-the-road' you could park the thing outside your parents house, but then have the option of bringing the whole editing suite to the client's door and the cost of the van would be about the same as a car and also doubles as transport for dollies, jibs and lights.

All the tech problems of running that stuff and a decent PC can be done with a few batteries and an inverter for those times when you are away from an AC supply.

Byre

On my favourite Netflix(trailer park boys) show Jay rock made a lot of money making videos in his Mums bedroom !
In the second season though she caught him and they had to film all their other greasy films in the woods

 

[George Collier]

I personally work from my bedroom, and I'm doing fine. However, it means I can't meet with clients.

 

[silentjay]

Wonder if OP ever went ahead?