Pros and Cons of a Home-Based
Office v Outside Office
Owning your own business is a dream come true
for many. It gives you the freedom to choose your hours, your
clients, your salary and so on. It’s an amazing lifestyle. That
being said, there are many hurdles to achieving your business
goals and many decisions to make that affect your ability to
attain those goals.
One of those decisions, while it may seem
insignificant at first, is where to have your office. Let’s
take a look at the pros and cons of home-based and outside
office space so you can make the best decision for you and your
business goals.
Home-based
office
Home-based businesses are convenient. What’s
better than sliding out of bed and into your slippers, grabbing
your cup of coffee, and walking down the stairs or down the
hall to your office? Not much; it’s about as convenient as it
gets. It means that whenever you have work to do, your office
and your work are right there for you. You don’t have to get in
the car, hop on the bike or walk down the street to your place
of work.
Of course, this convenience has its downside
too. Your work is always there. There’s no escaping your task
list, and face it when you own your own business, there’s
always something to do. There’s no leaving work at the office
because your home and your office are one. In order to escape,
you have to get out of the house, which is possible for a few
hours but generally not possible for extended periods of
time.
Distractions are the other downside to having
a home-based office. When your office is down the hall from
your children’s bedroom, the kitchen, the laundry room and so
on, there’s a myriad of distractions which can affect your
productivity and focus. It takes a very disciplined person to
achieve their business goals while working from
home.
Finally, a home-based office doesn’t come
with monthly lease fees and if your home office is a dedicated
home office, meaning other family members don’t use it for
other purposes, you can deduct a percentage of your mortgage
from your taxes. Check with the IRS or your accountant to
verify how much and whether you qualify.
Outside
office
An outside office may be exactly what you
need to achieve your business goals. An outside office lends
itself to productivity. You’re free from many of the common
distractions that plague a home office and you can get down to
business. Additionally, when you’re out of the office you can
leave work there, making it much easier to focus on family,
friends and all those other wonderful parts of your
life.
And an outside office may offer significantly
more space than a home office, making it easier for your
business to grow and prosper. And if you decide to bring on
employees or contractors, it may be much easier to do so if
you’re not having to invite them into your home to
work.
Whether you choose a home-based office or an
outside office, you’ll want to make sure both are comfortable
and lend themselves to productivity. Family photos, filing
systems, organized storage, computer connections and an
efficient workspace will make your space much more
effective.
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