So, you may have made the decision to start your business from the comfort of your own home. This is actually a great idea, but nonetheless, we take a look into the pros and cons of doing so…
PROS
- You get to save on commercial space. You obviously won’t be setting up shop in a godforsaken town because the rent is cheap! You would look for a space that is near a busy district, maybe in the most populated area of a suburb or city. By working from home, you save on the rent that you can put back into your business.
- As a start-up, you may be strapped for funds. Yes, maybe you saved your school lunch money or got a large inheritance from your grandma or maybe you’re just rich! Either way, when you are just getting started on your business, you need all the possible funding you can get your hands on to help with initially getting your business on its feet. By working from home, there are a lot of unnecessary additional expenses that you would save on.
- Working from home means that you can get on that important task at any time of the day or night. Your work hours are as per your leisure and you don’t need to bother about commuting back and forth that would be precious time wasted and energy spent.
- You get to take on personal responsibilities. In case you are a person who has additional home work like bringing up children or taking care of an old family member, by starting your business from home you will be able to take care of personal and professional needs within one location.
- Working from home is more laidback. If you are someone who likes a chilled work environment like Richard Branson and his beloved Neckar Island, then building a business in a bathrobe will be your cup of tea. You don’t need to sit up straight all day and wear “official” clothes – you can put up your legs and still be able to delegate tasks to off-site colleagues.
CONS
- You might not be able to divide time between personal and professional. One of the worst parts about working from home is that even though at first you tell yourself that you will spare only a certain amount of time for home and the remaining concentrating on your business, you might not succeed at this as slowly the divisive line will be wiped out.
- You will need to attend to unwanted guests. Maybe you have a neighbor who loves to drop in occasionally for a “chat” that will go on for a long time, without you being able to put a stop to it. In case you have children and relatives, then their friends might come over as well and create a disturbance you cannot afford to have when building a serious business.
- Clients may not like the whole home vibe. Unless you are selling furniture or curios meant for a house, your prospective clients are not going to necessarily like the home environment as people are associated to thinking of business meetings in a more professional set up. Unless you have understanding clients or it is you who makes the travel to your client’s home, you might not benefit from working from the confines of your personal space.
- Your local council may not support a home business. You need to check with the local municipality or government in your area to let you know if its ok to bring commercial work into the neighborhood.
- You might be tempted to take too many breaks. Another disadvantage of working from home is that you may take too many breaks than necessary. One off day when you need to rest may result in you convincing yourself that a little “me time” is what you need to rejuvenate and then soon laziness is what you become.
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