Should I get an office? or stay in my apartment with my pajamas?

It's definitely a good idea to have a separate work space! So...you can stay home in your pajamas and work...or you can get an office so your mentality can be "work" mode. Which one do you prefer?

How about this: FIRST make some money - THEN invest some of it to get some type of office space....

Hey,

Thanks for our insights... I may use my ex-gf's closet as an office, seeing that it is 7 feet by 6 .

hey Man,

That looks awesome, I may want to borrow your info rack... would that be ok?

Quite often, I use KFC as my office in the morning and Starbucks in the evening.

I connect via Wifi or wireless broadband.

Derek

I've moved to an office late 2008. It's much better than sitting at our dinning table at home w/ a laptop. And also, I don't hear when my mom screams at my brother :p Hmm.. how about a Post your office/workstation thread?

Hey SW,

Frankly it's going to come down to your own mindset and the availability of funds.

If you have an apartment full of room mates or family you will need to set up a work space that is off limits to everyone else. You need to let them know when your in the work space, that is what you are doing working and not to disturb you? (Much easier said than done, especially with small children.)

I find it much easier to get in a work frame of mind when I'm dressed comfortably, showered and shaved. My work space is in the 2nd bedroom of our small house. The work station has everything I need to work on my products.

Make sure you turn off the TV and if your playing music turn it down so it is a background sound only and not distracting you.

As far as focusing you know how to do that. I'm assuming you crammed for exams and that is the type of concentration to bring to your home office. It of course is the same concentration you will have to bring to an office.

One thing I do recommend is that you have a "Casual Friday" at the home office or the office office. It is a change of pace and will do much to refresh your mind and help ease the tension of a long work week. My mentor is the one who recommended that I do this every Friday and he is well known here on the forum as the "Drunken Greek" or B.. Mi..

He in fact was so concerned about "Casual Friday" he made sure I had the full picture and understood clearly the full meaning of "Casual".



Here to your success no matter which decision you make.

Ken Leatherman
The Old Geezer

I have a home office too. I converted one of the rooms in my home as a place to 'work.' That way I can focus and get the work done. I think it's not where you work that matters, it's the mindset actually.

But do the right thing if you feel you'll be productive by doing it. My $0.02!

Ken,

Thanks man, I definitely know what type of concentration you are talking about, and for me to be able to do that I need a library booth on the sixth floor with a Box -O -Joe from Dunkin Donuts lol.

However, I think I'm going to plan out what I want to do, rental space is expensive here and so I'm looking more for a workstation.

I definitely have utilize Starbucks and other Coffee Shops as an office from time to time, one hard thing about the Internet is the lack of communication with others.

I may start with a large desk and see where we go from there.

Hey,if you have a spare room in your apartment, you could make it your office and make the arrangements like an office.. that's what I have done. BUT if you want to experience how it is to work on fixed timings and commuting to office daily in formal clothes, then you might consider taking up a place and operate out of it.
It absolutely depends on your mind set as well as your resources.
However, I believe you'd work the best in a quiet place with no disturbance and where you can concentrate to think sharp for your business. That's what really matters.

Just my 2 cents

If you can't develop focus and dedication at home for something as important as your own business - do you really think an outside office is going to make that much difference?

In an outside space you are likely to have other kinds of interruptions as well - people in the other offices stopping in, people calling or visiting to sell you business services etc.

Learn to focus FIRST - then when you have the income, revisit the issue. The problem of focus won't change - you will just have different set of distractions.

Melody

hi SW
I haven't read anyone else's responses yet, but wanted to let you know my experiences. I've been on my own for 10 yrs and have considered several times getting an office.
Several Points i wrote down and thought on myself
Why do you want the office.

• If you are looking for standalone office space, would the investment be best put into a larger apartment.
• Are you planning on promoting locally and will a standalone office help your business income in any way with the community or simply be a hindrance.

Is it affordable

• Rent, phone,internet,utilities, any new hardware,software needed. Office furniture, security for your office.
• If you will have people coming and going, what type of insurance will you need. What kind of business licenses will you need to acquire.

Downsides:

• Pop-ins: those that stop by for whatever reason, free advice, shoot the breeze, sell you something,etc. Its great to be nice, but distractions are a hassle
• Additional expenses
• If you are in an office building, are the hours limited? Not all of your clients are on a 9-5 schedule and within your time zone

It's a new work world
Why is working from a in sweatpants a bad thing? In my ten years I haven't lost one client because I wear sneakers to work and my office is 10 feet from where i sleep!
I have to say I have my self on a schedule, where I eat, actually get dressed then "go to work" or i will find myself, 12hrs later still in my sweats, with bowls all over the place and the apt a mess. So there is a schedule and discipline involved. My office space is just that, my office. all work and product photography and phone work is in one area.

Business is Business, yes.
In the world of internet marketing, what makes a business is how you run it, not what you are wearing while you are running it! Unless of course you do video conferencing, then getting dressed is always a good thing.

hope you find the help you need, people here are always willing to dole out advice based on real experience!
Linda

I started from my home, got an offie for:
consultation and meeting my clients.
Giving out one-on-one training
Selling my physical IM Videos, Cds, Mannuals and Books

Yes, you need to have an office

I started from home and found typically unpleasant home tasks taking priority over unpleasant work tasks. I.E. Cold calling lost out to doing laundry and mowing the lawn. I earned more money out of the house and going to "work now".

Put yourself on a disciplined schedule, and make sure that the exceptions to this schedule are few and far between. For instance, sleep till noon and stay up till 3 am if that's how you work best, but make sure that the 'noon' (or whatever) doesn't vary with very few exceptions.

Once you have a schedule going, you're probably going to benefit from the extra income. The post above by BrainDance is great for trying to figure out if you can actually afford an office. Maybe you can, maybe you shouldn't. But make your decision with all the facts.

Two other points to consider--can you do an office share somewhere? You can rent a desk, phone, office with a door set up in a shared suite with one receptionist. If you're really lucky, you know someone with space in their office who will let you freeload. Plan to pay rent there after a short while though.

Break up your day (stick to the schedule you set above, though). Get out of the house with an old fashioned pad of paper and a pen or take the laptop out for some fresh air. Bookstores, coffee shops, the public library, your school library, places with internet connections, if you need the 'net for something and you have the proper virus protection in place. But only do this if a change of scenery helps you to focus.

FOCUS and discipline are the name of the game here. These are the new work skills that you'll need to develop for this IM adventure, or for any job. Not everyone is cut out to work for themselves or are disciplined to work in their sweats from home. Try a few tricks to get moving in the right direction and see where you end up.

Yep I agree with the post up there.

Make some money first....then invest in an office space.

Trust me, I know what you mean about concentration and having a better atmosphere.

Take care

Omar!

It's critical that you set a schedule for the day so you don't get sidetracked. It's not easy to do when you work from home, especially when you work alone.

One suggestion that I haven't seen mentioned so far are the 'virtual offices' or the executive offices.

For $250 per month I have the ability to schedule up to 16 hours of office time per month, plus I have a mail box/street address for my business, plus I have a dedicated phone number that someone actually answers during my absence.

For $1000 per month these same facilities will give you a fully equipped office totally complete with state of the art equipment and furnishings. Plus the amenities I mentioned above.

Most larger metropolitan areas have these types of buildings. Check Craigslist under Real Estate. They all list there.

There is one large one with internationally located facilities (something like 750 different locations around the world). However, I found their pricing structure and policy to be downright predatory and I walked away.

Talltom

I bought one of those Garden Offices. It paid for itself in just over a year as there was no office rent to pay.

Very comfortable inside and it means I can work from home but not actually be in my house.

When the wife is screaming and the kids are nagging I can easily sneak out to the office. Ooops - kids screaming, wife nagging ;-)

It don't really matter as long you are comfortable at what you are doing.

I heard of this guy who had a home office and he would get up in the morning.... get into work clothes(casual office attire).... as if he was going to a regular office job....

then he would go out the door of his house and return thru a different door.... then get to work.

it made him feel like he was leaving his home and doing a regular job. He said it made him really productive.

I have a home office except for those times when my 26 going on 17 year old daughter breaks up with her boyfriend again and then I have a laptop at the kitchen table

Any cute, smart, single guys here with a job?

Matt