Pros and Cons of having an office outside the home...

17 replies
Okay so a few months ago I decided it was time to get an office outside of the house. I have 4 kids (bless their soles) and there was getting to be way too much interruption so now every morning I get them off to a private daycare and I drive to my office.

My office is about 25 minutes away...

Pros:

Get more work done
Wife leaves me alone (BIG PLUS)

Cons:

Can't get to the office on a snow day (um, like today)


So now today I'm at home and working on my crappy laptop since my other computers are at my office.

What are your Pros and Cons of having an office outside the home?

Mike Hill
#cons #home #office #pros
  • Profile picture of the author dmiller2000t
    Well since you can work from either place...you get the pros/cons of both worlds.

    Since I'm new to IM here, I can't help you with anything like that. But have you thought about networking with other business (home based or very small) and "renting" them space in your office?

    For their being a renter (income) they get:
    Conference Room
    Physical Mailing Address
    Better Office Equipment


    Not to mention the ability to network and bounce ideas off each other.
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    • Profile picture of the author partyzone
      I've done both. My quality of life is far better when I'm working in an office outside of the home. I'm a work-a-holic so when I'm in an office setting I can let things go easier. At some point I just go home.

      I'm back to working from home now (actually hotels because I travel constantly with my husband). I get a lot done, but it's really easy to work 16+ hours a day.

      At one point I was working from home with 5 teens in the house. They really respected the fact that I was "at work" during certain times of the day. My problem was with adult friends and parents who would drop by for visits.
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      • Profile picture of the author partyzone
        You're right about that Kim! Yesterday I jumped in the shower at 8am and threw on some old clothes because I had a project I wanted to get started on. Plan was to go back in a little bit and get dressed properly and at least comb my hair.

        At 7:00 last night I realized I still had on the same clothes and my hair hadn't been touched since I pulled the towel off my head
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  • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
    Pros You don't have to get dressed to work at home

    Cons You don't have to get dressed to work at home (and u turn into an unwashed slob)

    Just speaking from personal experience lol I haven't been out the house (or got dressed cos I've got the flu) all week

    Had the odd wash tho
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  • Profile picture of the author edpudol1973
    I don't want my staff go to my house and work there that is the reason why I get an office

    The only problem is that I need to go to the office every morning to open the office need to wake up early.
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  • Profile picture of the author nick1123
    Pros
    Greater productivity
    Employees & Clients feel like they're in a professional environment
    When you're home you can really be 'home' and your family will know the difference


    Cons
    Costs $$$ (rent, furniture, ISP, utilities, commuting etc)
    Commuting Time
    Transferring files, computers, whatever if you want to work from home
    Adding complexity to your life (more bills to pay, taxes are more complicated)
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  • Profile picture of the author billionareHuman
    yes suprisingly working from home has brought more distractions than I could have imagined and handle. I thought working from home would be the best thing ever and it still is but the distractions can get in the way sometimes you just have to let those around you know your working and do not want to be disturbed.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayMartins
    Get a program called 'Dropbox' - it is awesome for sharing files between home laptop and office

    http://www.getdropbox.com/
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  • Profile picture of the author BrandonIM
    Believe it or not, I find the distractions at my home necessary to create the right working environment. I'm actually ADHD, and I need constant stimulation, frequent breaks, and lots of things to do. I get MORE work done this way because ADHD folks tend to be able to hyper-focus for short periods of time...

    Being in an office at a desk with nothing to do but stare at the walls is not my idea of living life.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bryan Toder
      Well, I need an outside office because I can't have 40+ hypnosis clients a week coming to my house.

      But, it does give me a chance to leave the house. When I used to work from home as an entertainer -- in my past life -- I wouldn't need to ever leave the house.

      But, I do agree about the snow days, Mike.
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      • Profile picture of the author garyv
        Originally Posted by Bryan Toder View Post

        Well, I need an outside office because I can't have 40+ hypnosis clients a week coming to my house.

        But, it does give me a chance to leave the house. When I used to work from home as an entertainer -- in my past life -- I wouldn't need to ever leave the house.

        But, I do agree about the snow days, Mike.

        Couldn't you just hypnotise your clients into thinking they were in an office?

        Just a thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author Johnathan
    Pros:

    - You get 'exercise', so you don't become a larda**.
    - You have an excuse not to work
    - You look important, and can tell all your friends you have your own office
    - Makes you feel important
    - You can promote yourself, and give yourself an office window
    - You can drive around for several hours, so you can procrastinate (stop for a burger, get gas, do some grocery shopping)

    Cons

    - Most offices don't allow you to stick a bed in it, so you can't sleep there
    - When you get there, you actually have to work
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
      Originally Posted by Johnathan View Post

      Pros:

      - You get 'exercise', so you don't become a larda**.
      - You have an excuse not to work
      - You look important, and can tell all your friends you have your own office
      - Makes you feel important
      - You can promote yourself, and give yourself an office window
      - You can drive around for several hours, so you can procrastinate (stop for a burger, get gas, do some grocery shopping)

      Cons

      - Most offices don't allow you to stick a bed in it, so you can't sleep there
      - When you get there, you actually have to work


      What if you decided you wanted an office with a bed? Well then why not rent an apartment for your office. Lots of room, you have a kitchen, etc... PLUS it's much cheaper than getting an office space.

      Eben Pagen does this. He has a condo for living on one floor and another condo in the same building a few floors away for his office.

      Mike Hill
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Sol
    I like this thread...

    I am planning to move in June and I am trying to decide if I should get a bigger apartment and lock myself up in a big room which will be "an office" and pretend I am not home when the bell rings
    or get an actual office away from home...

    As mentioned by other posters, working at home is awesome but usually comes with a lot of distractions...
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  • Profile picture of the author seye
    well the gains of having your office outside your home is much

    you become more productive

    you focus more
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  • Profile picture of the author Riz
    Working from home has way to many distractions.

    Working at your office allows greater productivity and gives a balance of work and family life.

    Working from home i found that i actually had less family time - messed about more and always worked late nights.

    besides - as you are your own boss you can still come and go as u please :-)

    Baal
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