Has your home business outgrown your home?
Working from home and running your own business are two great dreams for many people, and in the 21st century there are more entrepreneurs than ever running their own businesses from home, thanks to digital and technological advances.
But if your business does well it will grow, and it can be easy to wonder at what point your “home business” has begun to outgrow your home! You are in a better position than anyone else to make judgements about your own business, but here are a few indicators that you might want to think about making a change:
1. You are struggling to separate your time spent working from your time spent relaxing and doing other “home” things. Without a physical separation between the two, it can be easy for your work to creep into all aspects of your life!
2. Your files are all over your home. This can make it even harder to relax at the end of the day, and it means files can get lost more easily in the clutter.
3. You find yourself needing to hold meetings with clients and collaborators. A home office does not necessarily give the best first impression, which we all know is vital when trying to impress new business connections.
4. You are looking at hiring one or more people to help manage your workload. If your business is growing beyond yourself, it might be a sign that it’s growing beyond your home. Employees will feel more comfortable working in a professional environment, and, like new clients, you want to impress potential workers and appear organised and professional.
5. Your progress has started to slow. Keeping your business home-sized might be constraining your growth, and the mind set of working from home might be psychologically hindering the direction you take your business.
If any of this sounds familiar, perhaps you ought to consider doing something to improve your business space and set-up.
One option is to look at renting office space, perhaps in a building with shared office space where you will be able to share a receptionist and make contacts with the other businesspeople running their businesses from the same building.
A cheaper alternative could be to rent some storage space. This can help you declutter your home office space, even possibly clearing out a room in your home to use for meeting with clients, or to set up a little office room with space for yourself and an employee. Or it could help you keep track of your papers and documents, in a secure and dedicated space where they won’t get misplaced or damaged.
These are just a few suggestions for taking the first tentative, exciting steps from your home-business to the next stage of running your own business!
