When you think about running your business, you have an important decision to make. You need to consider whether you want to run a business from your home or from a fully functional office. For some people, this might seem like a no-brainer. Indeed, it’s true to say that over recent years the home office has become more popular. It’s not even difficult to see why. When you run a company from home, you will immediately have a budgetary advantage. Setting up a physical business address could cost as much as ten thousand and that’s based on the idea that you’ll be renting. If you are buying or even building, expect the cost to be considerably higher. However, the answer isn’t actually that straightforward and different options will suit different individuals and business models.
So, let’s take a look at some of the considerations that you must bear in the mind.
What Type Of Business Model Are You Running?
Your business model will have a huge impact on whether you should stay at home or get the office property. If, for instance, you’re running an e-commerce company, then there is no real need for the business office. You might need a warehouse to store your products but this is often considerably cheaper and even that can be avoided. Ultimately, there are a few reasons why an office isn’t necessary for an e-commerce company.
First and foremost, you will probably be selling to private consumers. This limits the potential for business meetings which is one of the main uses of a full business office. It also suggests that a lot of the processes related to your company will be completed online. That’s important because it means that there will be very little interactions with customers offline if indeed any.
On the other hand, if you are running a B2B company, a business office could be a smart choice. If you don’t do this, then you will find yourself in the position where you will be arranging business meetings and trying to impress clients so that they want a part of what your company might be offering. It’s really important to make a fantastic first impression with this type of business model. While not impossible, that’s a lot harder to do if you invite them around for tea at your home.
Certain industries are also going to fit an office far better than a home set up. For instance, you might be operating as an accountant or a lawyer. Both could theoretically be run from home, but these businesses are where clients demand a certain level of professionalism. There is a stigma to deal with when you run a company from home. People might lean towards the idea that actually, you’re just not successful enough to run a major office. True or not, once this idea forms it’s very difficult to shake off.
Can You Afford It?
Then again, even if you wanted to run a business from an office, it’s fair to say that you may well be unable to afford the expense. You’ll need a couple hundred thousand to buy a small office and while renting may seem like the ideal solution, it can bring a lot of big bills. Ninety-seven percent of startups fail within the first year according to the latest statistics. Unfortunately, a lot of these businesses fail due to poor money management. It is possible to start a business with nothing in your pocket. A lot of entrepreneurs start with nothing, so don’t let that discourage you. But when you’re in this position, realize that the only way to move forward is to borrow. The issue with borrowing is that it puts you in a dicey situation where you constantly need to climb back out of the red.
As such, it is worth considering how much you need to start a company from home. Three to five thousand will be enough to get everything you need for an online set up that you’ll be able to run effectively from your home base? It’s idea for a small business that could take a while to grow.
Don’t forget you can always move to an office later if you choose. On the other hand, if you’re willing to take a big risk, an office business might be a good choice. There are a few reasons for that if you’re comfortable enough to ignore the cost.
Benefits Of Your Own Business Office?
Well, let’s start with connectivity. While it’s true that you can have a fair amount of connectivity these days thanks to technology it’s just not quite the same as walking down the hall to meet with one of your colleagues. We think, regardless of what fun tech you employ in your business model, you’re going to have a better level of group thinking if you do pay the cost for that business office.
It’s not just about connecting with your business colleagues. What about clients? We’ve already mentioned that in a B2B model, the office provides a place where you can meet and interact with clients face to face. This is going to prove very popular for some in the business as many do still like that personal touch. Even big businesses don’t get away with running the company like a machine. You have to give clients and customers apersonal touch.
Aside from connectivity, you need to consider the great level of marketing power that a business provides. People will talk constantly about the power of marketing online. But if you use a land surveying team to build a brand new business property for your team, you create a tour de force of offline marketing. You can plaster the outside with decals, and you can have the business logo right above the entrance way. You can do whatever you want, style it how you want, build it how you want, and ensure it is exactly what you need.
With a business office, you can make sure that you have all the tech and features guaranteed to keep your business running smoothly. While it’s true that you can put a lot of tech in your home and even get your own private cloud server, the model just won’t be quite as smooth as it would from a full business office.
As well as this, it’s important to remember that running from an office doesn’t mean that all your employees need to work there. If they don’t need to be part of the daily game, then you can use mobile workers operating from their home. This limits the size of the office that we’re talking about and ensures that you don’t need to worry about a cost that you can’t afford.
Benefits Of The Home Office
However, the pros of running a company from the comfort of your own home shouldn’t be overlooked, and we should start with comfort levels. For one, you won’t have to worry about that morning rush. Instead, you’ll be able to work when you want and how you want. Now obviously this can be both a pro and a con depending on how well you can keep up your work ethic. Generally speaking though, you’ll find it far less stressful to run your business in this way. That’s crucial because you don’t want to start to burn out. Running your business from an office on your personal property will help with that.
You can also avoid office politics and modern issues, which are more widely discussed these days. The issues we’re talking about are problems with harassment, bullying and even injuries. Don’t forget, as soon as you set up your own property, you’ll be responsible for everyone on it. That’s a lot of commitment to take on. If you’re not prepared, it may catch you off guard.
That doesn’t mean that running a business from home allows you to dodge the cost and trouble of legal issues completely. There are shared issues across every business model, like data regulation, for instance. You must make sure that you keep the data you maintain on clients and customers safe regardless of whether your run your business from home or not.
We hope you see that there’s a lot to consider before you choose whether to select a home-based company. There are certainly advantages to both options, and it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation. You have to make the choice that makes the most sense for your individual business.
