Working from home and office

[mattbj]

Hi, first time poster. Our business has been up and running on a part-time basis for about 3 years now and we are almost at a point where our turnover has reached enough to allow us to do this full-time.

One question I do have is around office space. The idea is that we'll start by working from home to save on costs, but I'm not sure I'll last all that long with the distractions you get working from home.

Does anyone have any advice as to our options? Do other businesses sub-let desk space, or can you pay for hot desking facilities and mix this with working from home? So, for example, could you 'rent' a desk for two days per week whilst spending the other three working from home, or is this flexibility not viable?

We are based in Sheffield so if anyone offering this kind of option happens to see this then feel free to get in touch.

 

[CMS Medical]

Some local business centre's may offer something like this, try researching any local business enterprise centres to see what their options and charges are, however I would think that a specialist office leasing business would probably charge per week or month not taking into account how often you actually used the facilities.

We are based in West Yorkshire and I know there is a business enterprise centre near me which offers either a shared office space on an as and when basis or full time private offices so there may be something similar in Sheffield too. Maybe try asking your local council as this may be something they can help you with.

 

[colour24]

I agree working from home provides too many distractions. You need to be very disciplined to stay at your desk and away from the fridge, kettle and lunchtime news.....
A quick google search will give all the local solutions.
Good luck with the business.

 

[Aspire Utilities]

have a look online to see if your local council can offer, office space where many start up business are in the same building with could also help with networking etc

 

[cjd]

It's well worth trying the home working thing properly before you revert back to the traditional - it saves a hell of a lot of time and cost. It's not for everyone of course, but it's the future. (And there just as many disatrctions in an office as at home - often more.)

 

[Bruno Domingues]

Working from home is fine but you need to "specialise" in working from home which means, setup a proper work environment, make sure there are no distractions. Having a specific room for this is the best option then lock the door during business hours so nobody will come and disrupt your work. It is all about discipline.

Robin Sharma is an amazing business coach and talks a lot about this, keep a clear room no TV no things on the wall no nothing, just work materials. Family also should know you are working and they must respect that. If you go soft things won't work and you'll be distracted all the time.

You can also claim tax on "Use of home for business", maximum per year is £700-800 so you'll get 20% of that off your corporation tax.

Another option you have is to find a business partner who can benefit from having you around who already has their own offices. You could then share office space, greatly cutting costs.

I am lucky to be an IT / Business consultant so my clients let me use their office space for free. They like to have me around. ;-)

 

[cjd]

^^^^ I'm not a fan of the 'isolate yourself in a minimalist cave' approach to working at home. i don't see the point or the reason and for me, it would be a place of suffering.

By all means find yourself a seperate workspace but make it human - one of the big benefits of working from home is the ability to mix work and life for the benefit of both. Throw away the concept of 'going to work' and do it whenever it's necessary or you feel like it. These days I'm neither at work nor not at work. If necessary I can work anywhere at all - you just need to set up your technology properly.

Yesterday I started working on something because it was on my mind but I got stuck - so I walked away from it and spent an hour installing an irrigation system on my patio.

Of course a lot of this is job dependant, but if you're in the lucky position of not having to work for the man, squeeze every benefit you can out of it.

 

[Bruno Domingues]

Depends on how you see it, depending on what kind of work you do, working at home can have its benefits, sometimes it means you can travel the world and do your work from any location. Quite an awesome lifestyle.

Really depends on what you want to do with your life and what you want your lifestyle to be.
One of my clients his entire family works together, the wife the 2 kids they all work in the business and everything is done at home. By lowering the overheads they can use this money to travel the world instead and still work from anywhere they go to.

In my line of work it is the same, I rented an apartment in Riga and went there for a month, explore and ended up in business meetings too. My entire business is organised so it is not dependent on a physical location and I want to keep it that way.

Google started in a home garage, Microsoft started in a home basement...

The less you feel you "need" an office and focus on your end goals instead, the more successful you will be. The rest is just discipline, if you don't have it that is a completely different story.

Just check Robin Sharma, his lifestyle is travelling around the world and speak at events, he's non-stop travelling so he has to be able to do his work on the run.

I know a few business owners who prefer to go to a hotel and work sitting in the hotel lounge, curiously one even told me he actually met people and got new clients because of this.

I also met people in high-quality cafes like Caffe Nero, airport lounges, flights, hotels and got new business in with that. It wouldn't happen inside a private office space. People buy from people.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

We went to the local town hall and asked the planning department for a list of likely landlords who would have low cost commercial property, they gave us the list and their recommendations on who to try first

Contacted a couple and one said he had a old office available at £100 per month old furniture included just pay for electricity,probably some around your area and much better than working from home

 

[Bruno Domingues]

If it helps you be more productive, go for it. Having good working conditions is important for productivity and the more productivity you have, the more money you can make.

 

[Bartholomew Hearn]

Co-working environment they call it. There are various startup accelerators that offer desk renting. Such bee hives could even help your business

 

[Explainaboom Videos]

Have you looked at your city's entrepeneur/startup/small business facebook group, often these kind of groups have a host of offers for shared working spaces. May be of help.

 

[TODonnell]

We offer Hotdesking in London. Hotdesking is a useful bridge between the home office and renting your own office. It's ideal if you only need to meet colleagues or clients occasionally.

Another factor is location: you'll tend to want someplace near where you live, unless you need to be in a particular area where your niche is concentrated e.g. the legal district, the jewellery district etc.

 

[DontAsk]

Working from home allows a proportion of household bills (that you are mostly paying anyway) to be offset against you tax bill. Renting for office space will also be an allowable expense but it is an *extra* expense.

Try working form home for a while. No contract to get out of if you change you mind after a few months.

 

[JJWinst]

As someone who recently moved from the 'Work at home' scenario to renting office space I thought I would give my 2pence. Working at home is great if you can work. I don't have children, had no one else at home and had a separate work space as apposed to in the lounge/kitchen etc so I could concentrate on doing what I needed.

I also agree with cjd - Working from home eliminates the 'going to work' feeling and when your self employed you should work how you want to.

It only became a problem for me when I outgrew the space I had. If you have kids at home I would imagine it'd be a different story, but give it a go and see how you get on.

You can rent small office space now for as little as £30-£50.00 a week.

 

[TODonnell]

I think any small business generating a reasonable income might benefit from getting out of the house into an environment where there are other people trying to make a deal, push a product, etc.

It'll clue you into the economic mood of the area, which is a sensation you can't get working from home.

I don't recommend it for people who are skint. The rental money can be put to better use.

 

[HazelC]

Have a look for office shares, virtual offices and hot desking to find exactly that - there is stuff around so they are the three main keywords you would want to search in Google. Or just ask for local ones on Twitter as owners of these are normally on the 'social media' ball.

 

[Karimbo]

Some local business centre's may offer something like this, try researching any local business enterprise centres to see what their options and charges are, however I would think that a specialist office leasing business would probably charge per week or month not taking into account how often you actually used the facilities.

We are based in West Yorkshire and I know there is a business enterprise centre near me which offers either a shared office space on an as and when basis or full time private offices so there may be something similar in Sheffield too. Maybe try asking your local council as this may be something they can help you with.

there are numerous boroughs in London that offer this. Sadly my borough is absolutely **** and does not offer anything for businesses.

 

[Richard White]

Check out NearDesk which have a network of desks and meeting rooms across the country that can be rented by the hour or the day. I use them in between client meetings. I get access to Regus business lounges from something I am a member of. I also believe there is some kind of deal with free access to workspace with premium membership of the site.

 

[jamesbaldock]

Personally I've found not having a dedicated office (that I rent) is of benefit to me. I basically work out of my laptop bag and can work anywhere. I love the freedom.

I do have a dedicated home office but even then, I find myself moving around the house and working in different rooms from time to time. Being in one place all of the time is a bit boring for me.

I like working from home because there's no commuting time, no money wasted on an office, I get to see my family more and I have a more flexible routine.

I realise working from home isn't for everyone. You will need to be dedicated to make it work but then it sounds like you're running a business and holding down a job at the same time so you are pretty dedicated already.

 

[Deleted member 248628]

I have a desk at a co-working space which is about ten minutes walk from my house. I find it the best of both worlds; when I want I just stay at home, but I can also get out of the house to get things done - or to chat to other people.

 

[Vincentas]

Well yes I agree with you that there are too many distractions at home - you go to make a cup of coffe that you suddenly start eating, you remember other personal things that needs to be done on your computer and etc. I had this experience and even when I can't handle my work during the 8 working hours - I rather choose to stay in the office till late than coming home to finish my work.
However, there are people who can work at home, so it really depends. I mean you can try and see how it will work for you and your colleagues.

 

[VIS1BLE]

Best way to stay productive - get an office or a desk at co-working place. Working from home can be really difficult and distracted. We tried that, some days it's really hard to concentrate and make things done. Working from office is way more easier to stay productive, especially when you got professionals around you. If you need to meet a client, it will be more professional to ask him to come to your office or meeting room then home.
If possible try both and choose best option.

 

[Paul Murray]

Look into business incubators too. A friend of mine rents a desk space at a Manchester Met University for £50 a month.

Sheffield Uni has an incubator (http://enterprise.shef.ac.uk/opportunities/develop-your-business-idea/business-incubation) though it's unfortunately only available to students and recent graduates.

 

[mattbj]

Thanks everyone for the really helpful responses. I've checked out a few of the sites people have mentioned and come across a co-working location nearby that looks suitable for only £60 a month.

I like the idea of being mobile as well and not being in one place all week, it will add a bit of variety and hopefully help me focus.

 

[BeLucent]

Definitely agree with Bruno. Working from home is great but it does require putting in place practices to separate work life from home life. You need to be in the right mind set.

 

[Plan A Link]

We work very well from our home office we just keep distractions away and make sure we plan our days so we know exactly what we have to achieve and then get on with it.

I recommend writing lists of tasks it helps a lot with productivity and don't turn facebook on.

 

[ganah-allan]

Work at home. That's my choice. And if there is a case that the group needs to meet to collaborate effectively, just meet at McDonald's. Bring your laptops and order coffee.

 

[ICV]

I have been working from home for the past 6 years now. It takes a good deal of self-discipline to work from home. If you don't have it, then it is best to stop kidding yourself that you can run a profitable business from home.

 

[Mrs G]

If you are the sort of person that can successfully work from home, you run the danger of losing the distinction between work and leisure time (especially now that so much leisure time is spent online). Somebody I know who runs a business from home has a particular jacket that she puts on whenever she works. It puts her in 'the zone' and also indicates to those around her that she is 'at work'. Once the jacket comes off, work has ended for the day. I guess a specific pair of shoes would have the same effect.

 

[dougiehunt]

Working from home is definitely tough. Requires discipline. It's far too easy to get distracted.

It is very easy to get cabin fever so I would recommend making sure you get out at least once a week to go to a meeting or something related to your business.

As others have said there should be some form of pay as you go hot desks in the local area. (If not, then business opportunity?)

I have considered using a hotdesk but then decide against it to keep costs down so I can save up for my first studio.

Anyways, good luck with the business!

 

[dwprint]

Hi Everybody

I've worked from home for the past 30 years and IMO if you don't NEED premises - the best solution is a GARDEN OFFICE at the bottom of the garden, if you have the room.

- David

 

[Ryan Smith]

Working at home can be great as it gives you the freedom of being truly comfortable with your surroundings without having to travel to get to work, this also saves on office costs in terms of rent. The downside to this, as you mentioned, is the distraction that can face you.

I solely work from home and find the best way to not get distracted is to do work in 1 hour blocks, this keeps you focused enough to do a lot of work in a relatively short space of time. Then have a 10 minute break for a coffee/tea/biscuit etc and then continue on this trend. This way you will become truly productive and will feel less inclined to be tempted to wander of your main task of running your business.

The other upside of working from home is that you can claim a lot of your home bills on expenditure (gas for heating, electricity, water), essentially killing two birds with one stone.

 

[Deleted member 252819]

We have both - a home office, and an office on an industrial estate nearby. We were paying a lot of money for virtual addresses anyway, so it made sense for us to spend a little bit more. Having two places to work gives us the best of both worlds, and it's affordable if you're happy with a fairly basic set-up.

 

[JoeInTheMiddle]

It is possible to work from home. But, clearly you are aware that your culture there will ultimately make or breaks your business. It's important to remember that the buck stops with you. Like all things it can only begin to work if you are willing to put in the grind.

Recognising and taking ownership of distractions and obstacles is the first step to removing them. If you have a dog take it for a walk before you are due to start work, clearing your mind and preparing you for the day ahead. If you are prone to getting distracted when you feel that you aren't making progress, take your work in one hour chunks mixing up your day as required. Email is an enormous productivity killer and can put you off kilter for the entire day if you get bogged down in it straight away.
It's important to start on the biggest task of the day first whilst your energy levels are high.

 

[MarcusCornelius]

The choice of office or home work (or proportion of both) depends mostly on kind of work. If work does not require constant or frequent communication with colleagues, partners, customers etc then it is an acceptable option.

I know that in software development area companies usually allow work from home no more than 3 days per week (I never saw more than 3 days home) and usually intermittent during the week - for example, Mon-Wed-Fri or Tue-Thu.

 

[dtdigital]

I worked from home for two years, found it hard and isolating. Won't be doing it again!

 

[LynetteGreen]

You can always take up a virtual office so you have an office address without actually having to be there to help make you look more established too.

 

[Tete]

Both have they plus and minus, but remember to take into consideration the extra cost that will impact your bottom line.

 

[Martin Gallagher]

I've been working from home, remotely or in a freelance capacity for the last 5 years - I would say it's great, reduces costs, fully tailored environment (down to those damn awful white light lit offices). If your personality and discipline allows it, it's awesome.

Key considerations for a small business are the obvious cost savings, proportional council tax, business related utilities right offs etc.