Home businesses are fantastic for dedicated work-from-homers, however, you can soon outgrow your kitchen table. Especially if your start-up is client based, you can soon find that working from home is simply too crowded to continue.
This is especially important for running a business at home when you’ve got kids underfoot, as many clients will be put
When it comes to running a business, how can you tell when it’s time to hang up the home-location and move into your own studio or office to rent instead.
Paperwork becomes wallpaper
There’s no doubt that running a business can involve lots of paperwork or tracking of customers, income, outgoings, etc. While plenty of businesses run mainly digitally, there are a few things that can’t be avoided but to have physical copies and some people still like to work physically as opposed to digitally. However, if you find you can no longer remember what colour the tablecloth was or you are struggling to find the wall calendar under all the tacked-up paperwork, it might be time to invest in an improved filing system or some more room in a new space.
The phone is ringing off the hook
Using your home number as a contact telephone number? This is fine when you are just starting and have the odd enquiry here and there or even a couple of daily calls. Once the phone starts ringing non-stop however, it’s time to invest in a business line, potentially a secretary or PA and time to consider your own space. This number of queries, unless you are selling pre-made or stocked goods can quickly become stressful and you would be better off getting another body or two involved to give you a hand and ensure no orders or queries get missed.
Neighbours are side-eyeing your delivery man
Got people coming and going throughout the day and evening? It’s not going to bother too many people that are out at school or work during the normal working hours. But if there are cars and delivery vans turning your drive into a roundabout in the evening, you may soon find yourself a bottom of the neighbourhood Christmas card list and potentially receive some complaints.
If you are considering moving the business due to similar issues, make sure you reach out to your neighbours and let them know the hub-bub is only temporary and they will soon get their peaceful street back. Alternatively for deliveries, consider investing in a PO box that you can go to every day or every other day to pick up parcels.
Affecting your mental health
While working from home can certainly offer more freedom to the individual. You do sacrifice the company of your peers, potentially swapping them out for your kids if you have an at-home sitter while you work. This can lead to feelings of loneliness and distraction and cause increased stress to your mental health. This may not have an effect straight away but could get worse if you feel like you can never switch off and relax and start to cause issues with your growing business.
Starting a business from home saves on outgoings, extra bills and having to travel but should only ever be a temporary option and you should anticipate growing and eventually moving into your own business space. This is especially important when you live with others, such as a partner or your family. As being ‘on-the-clock’ all the time can soon create a tense environment that no one can relax in.
In conclusion
You’ll soon know when your business has outgrown your kitchen table or home office and it can even reduce the amount of joy running your business brings you. When your business is just getting started, put together an anticipated growth plan that you can follow in case your growth happens very quickly. If it doesn’t happen straight away, at least you can rest assured that you have a plan in place.
