Top Reasons Why You Need to Get Out of Your Home Office
Many small business owners think that operating from a home office can be a great plus for them, as they can lower their overhead expenses significantly while improving the profit margin and reducing the risks of loss even if the business heads down. But one main quality the start-ups should have is that, they need to be aggressive; aggressiveness doesn’t mean taking meaningless risks beyond the limits, but to act wise while making certain decisions.
Ultimately, what makes them stand out of several others is the pace they are moving in, and the way they handle things. But what more a small business owner needs if they are qualified for home office tax deduction, where they can take depreciation in deduction of tax.
But why don’t all the business owners prefer home office? Here are a few top reasons for you to get out of the home office.
1. Government Regulations:
One of the main reasons why business owners prefer leasing a small office space over home office is government regulation. You can’t just run a heavy manufacturing concern, any big restaurant or other companies out of your home, as there are certain regulations that prevent it from making sense to everyone. Even the white collar businesses are restricted by zoning regulations in many localities.
Zoning regulations may foist lots of restrictions on the home based entrepreneurs. The local rules out there can put a ban on the structures that are being used for business. The rules can also restrict the amount of space you can use for the business while also limiting the parking space, customer visits to the space and also number of employees you can have. There are some localities that restrict all types of home businesses. Some localities allow you to have home offices, but you’ll have to pay some tax for that privilege.
One way through which you can avoid these zoning problems is to opt for co-working, or if you have pretty more number of employees, you can try leasing or renting an office space in a location that suits your business type and the budget. This offers you a kind of flexibility to have required number of employees as you won’t have any restrictions on the employee headcount.
2. Home and Work life gets mixed up:
This is also one of the prominent reasons for the employees opt out of the home office. It’s true that the distinction between home life and work life gets certainly blurred when you are working in a home office. On one hand, you will be able to work whenever you want without any time restrictions; on the other hand, there are chances of you compelling yourself to work for long hours, as there is no reason to go home.
Next comes the family distractions; you may get calls from your family members, any personal obligations, distraction from television and so on. If you work at home, you have to be more disciplined and scheduled so that you can get the things accomplished. There are number of strategies to cope up with these kinds of lifestyle issues. You could make it a routine to get yourself to the mood to work. It can simply be shutting the room door while working; it serves the purpose of focusing on the work to be done.
Have a practise of using answering machine, so that it screens all your calls throughout the business day. Also try attending the networking lunches or get together several times a week, as it avoids you feeling isolated, because it’s you who has to overcome these potential problems.
3. Business Related Problems:
Next important reason to opt out of your own office is the business related problems. Businesses that require a great deal of space or the bulky equipment are quite obvious for outside offices, but some businesses don’t have to be operated from the offices. For instance, there are many professionals who think that having their office in a tony location can help them attract the clients easily and charge more for the customers. Also, the businesses which greatly depend on walk-in customers need to have their offices in a high-traffic street.
There are few businesses that operate very efficiently when they are close to their customers or suppliers. For example, the law offices are often located close to the courthouse so as to reduce the time spent running back and forth to the court.
Ultimately, you should never forget that the commercial real estate can really be a great investment. If you have any means to make the down payment on an office building, it is better if you can come out of the home office, as renting an office building covers most of the taxes, mortgage, insurance and other costs with the rent. Other than that it also offers lots of other benefits like providing a professional environment, enhancing the employees’ productivity and many others.