Working from Home in a Service-Based Industry

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Whether you are starting a new business or just relocating your office, working from home has become a viable option for so many professionals over the last five to ten years.  Advances in networking technology, as well as increasing affordability and dependability of internet access, has made “telecommuting” or “virtual offices” much more of a reality. Despite the ease at which one can work from home, there are issues every home-based business person faces.

Having “Office Hours”

When your office is in the next room, or anywhere you are given the mobility of cell phones, laptops and other office-related equipment, it’s relatively easy to never “turn off.”  If you have a client that always returns emails in the evening, you may be more tempted to open and respond to that email right then… even if it’s in the middle of dinner… because it’ll only take a second. Before you know it, you’ve pulled out that client’s file or project, seeing what’s left to be done, plotting out your next course of action or the like. Allowing yourself to work from home does not mean that you no longer have personal time; you simply need to establish it, and maintain the boundaries.

Perhaps you enjoy being available to your clients in the evenings, then set aside time during the day to do things just for yourself.  While we often put all of ourselves, or as much as possible, into our businesses as entrepreneurs, anyone can get burnt out.  Run your business on your terms, not on the beeps and buzzes of the technology in the next room or in your lap.

Meeting with Clients

When it comes to meeting with clients, think outside the box, or rather outside your home.  Just because you don’t have a physical office elsewhere doesn’t mean you’re limited to your living room.  Check with your local chamber of commerce or public library or municipal complex for meeting rooms; often you can find places such as these that rent small spaces for reasonable rates (or even provide them for free as available).  You may also check for local organizations specific to your industry.  For instance, our state bar association has a Bar Center centrally located in our capital city which provides conference rooms and smaller meeting areas as well as a visiting attorney’s office; the only requirement is reserving the space, i.e., getting on their schedule to avoid conflicts. And don’t overlook other public spots as well even if privacy or confidentiality is at issue.  I’ve met with one or two clients at a corner table in a local Starbucks… we were secluded from the rest of the patrons and talked quietly enough… and the client was comfortable, which was key.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

If you catch yourself saying to someone, “Well, I’m just working from home right now…” or “Just getting started on my own…” or the like, stop.  How you portray your business is crucial to its success. There is absolutely nothing wrong with providing a service without a traditional office.  If anything, you are embracing the world as changing as it is.

Consider the positives:

• When you are not limiting your client meetings to one traditional office space, you are more likely to travel to your clients, evidencing early on your commitment to service and broadening your potential client market.
• Spending less on office space may translate to offering more competitive pricing to your clients.
• If this location doesn’t work out for you, how much have you really lost?

If after working from home for awhile, you determine that it’s not fitting for you, then change. But you don’t need to advertise that working from home failed for you, rather focus on the positives of establishing a presence in the new location.  The point is to remain positive about the business structure you’ve established for yourself. If modifications or adjustments are needed, those can be done in the privacy of your home (er, office).

If you plan simply on traveling instead of working from home, check out Travel Nursing.

Do you work from home? Have you considered it?