Reality of Working From Home
When I started my own business, I thought working from home would be the most convenience, most practical and most enjoyable option. Fast forward two years and working from home only checks one of the three boxes above – most convenient. I recently subscribed to not one, but two co-working space in my area. I probably put this decision off a year too long but at least I made the move. Working from home is isolating and distracting for me. Distracting how? If you want to procrastinate you can because if your house is like mine, there is always something that needs to be done – laundry, yard work, painting… and let’s not forget animals. Working from home with dogs is a challenge if your dogs bark at EVERY noise they hear.
Benefits of Co-Working Spaces
Working in a co-working space provides me more networking opportunities which is always needed as a small business owner. Just interacting with other small business owners/entrepreneurs/consultants is important to keep my interpersonal communication skills sharp. Talking with people, formulating and asking questions and listening to what others in a co-working community are saying is important. You can practice your communication skills, test new pitches on people, and get immediate feedback on new ideas. None of these skills can be sharpened working from home. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re in a profession where interacting with people is not necessary than working from home is optimal. However, if you’re working in a customer/client facing profession, co-working space are a great place to consider. You get all the amenities of an office (desk, internet, printing, coffee, meeting rooms, etc.) without some of the headaches (corporate bureaucracy and a long commute). Rates at co-working spaces are usually flexible based on space and time needs so if you have a tight budget you can usually find a location that works for you.
Co-Working Space – It’s Not What You Thought.
Talking about location, Co-working space are becoming so popular and cost effective to start that they are opening in nontraditional areas – renovated warehouses, renovated retail store, etc. The key is that you are mobile and can work for any location so travel isn’t the same disruptive element of productivity that a fixed office can have. So, if you’re working from home and ready to kill the cat, dog, iguana, google “co-working space” in your area and I bet you’ll be surprised what comes up.
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