Many people start a business from home. However, there may come a point when working from home no longer becomes practical. Below are 6 signs that it could be time to consider a dedicated office.
By Team Savant
Image: Helena Lopes
Your work is starting to take over your home
Is your home becoming overrun with paper files and equipment? Is your online store causing your living room to turn into an Amazon fulfilment centre? Once all your work supplies begin taking over your home, it’s a sure sign that you need your own external space. Your home should still feel like a home. If there’s work stuff everywhere, you’ll never be able to disconnect. It could also be annoying for family members or any other occupants you share your home with.
The workload is increasing and home distractions are becoming more of an issue
You could find yourself needing to concentrate more and work more productively as your workload increases. If you’re constantly being distracted by your partner, your kids, your pets or fellow occupants, it could be time to rent out an external space to work from. This could allow you to knuckle down, reducing work errors and allowing you to keep on top of your work.
You’d like to hire non-remote employees
It’s unlikely that you’ll want to invite employees to work with you in your home. If you need to hire employees and remote work isn’t an option, then you need to get your own external premises. Consider whether you’re at a point where you'd like to hire a team. It could be worth trialling a remote team first and then possibly moving to a dedicated office if this doesn’t work out.
You need a reliable and private space to host meetings
Inviting clients around your home for meetings also isn’t ideal. While you can hire meeting spaces or conduct virtual meetings, there may come a point when you feel you need your own private meeting space. At this stage, it’s time to source your own office.
You can afford to rent office space
Most businesses don’t acquire office space because they simply can’t afford to. If you’re making a decent profit and you feel that you could afford an office of your own, why not make this your next business goal? You can use sites like Tally Market to look for offices in your area and compare prices. Check that office prices in your area are within your budget.
You feel housebound — but a coffee shop is too distracting
Not all of us can cope with being cooped up at home all day. Working from a coffee bar may provide some relief, but these environments can come with their distractions. If you can’t stand working from home anymore and can’t get work done in a public space, it could be time to rent out your own private commercial space. This will give you a reason to get out of the house so that you don’t feel as housebound.