Working from home as a small business

ANSWER: We have both worked in offices and out of our home, so we have some perspective on this issue. Obviously, there is no one right answer to this question. The answer that’s right for you depends on your specific situation and what is most important to you. We’ll outline some pros and cons, suggest a few questions to ask yourself and then present an alternative that might not have occurred to you.

Pros: In our home, we have a beautiful office over the garage that is separate from the rest of the house. It has a fireplace, wet bar, bathroom, large partner desk and built-in file drawers and bookshelves.

Working from home meant that we eliminated the morning commute. At home, the dress code is extremely casual. Our two cats can come by for a pat on the head in the middle of the day — or just about any other time they wish.

These are all good things. In addition, working out of our home saves us the costs commonly associated with an office, including rent, utilities and janitorial services.

The big pros to working out of your home are convenience and cost.

Cons: On the downside, being only a few steps from the office means you never really leave work. When working from home, we said that the difference between a weekday and a weekend is that, on Saturday and Sunday, we moved our laptops from the office to the family room. In fact, Polly had an extra door installed so that she wouldn’t have to look at the stairway to the office while sitting on the sofa in the family room.

We don’t know your family situation, but if you have children, a spouse or pets at home, this can be a distraction. Home has many other distractions, including laundry that needs to be done, grass that needs to be cut, dishes that need to be washed, the vacuum that needs to be run, the television that stays on, etc.Whereas we had each other and an employee working in our home office, some people working at home alone can feel isolated and lonely. In addition, if you need to meet with clients in your office, having them to your home might not create the professional impression you want.

The cons to working from home are that it can be difficult to separate work time from family time, you might have built-in distractions or face isolation, and it might not provide the professional persona you want your business to project.

Questions to ask: Ask yourself why you want or need office space. How would you weigh the pros versus the cons? Which things are more important to you? If there are cons that are important to you, are there ways to mitigate the negatives? For example, if working at home would make you feel isolated, can you deal with this by attending networking events and working at a local Starbucks or Panera Bread, at least some of the time? This might be why we see so many small-business people frequenting these establishments.

Possible alternative: If you want a place to work outside of your home with business amenities, one option that is available in many cities is coworking space. (Full disclosure: Doug and Polly are owners of a coworking business with locations in Richmond and Hampton Roads.) If you are located in Richmond, several coworking options are available.

Polly and our assistant moved their offices into a coworking space, and it worked out well for them. Free of the distractions at home, Polly reported that her productivity soared. Although there is no blueprint for these spaces, most offer desks, tables, couches, printers, copiers, coffee and access to conference and meeting rooms. Some will allow you to rent private office space, and most come furnished.

In addition, if you want someone to bounce an idea off of, the other coworking members can act as sounding boards. Further, many coworking members find clients and customers among their colleagues in the space.

This option is usually much less costly, more flexible and much easier to set up than renting separate office space. Coworking space might be a viable option to working from your home or renting space.

After you answer a few questions, weigh the pros and cons and think about your alternatives, we’re sure you’ll come up with the answer that’s right for you.