Today we conclude our short series on “looking” like a serious business. Our first post was about aligning your appearance with your brand, and the second detailed a higher priority than your website.
One FAQ I get is: “I work from home, and I’m a little embarrassed about it. Does working from a home office damage my credibility?”
More joy, some productivity challenges
Not necessarily. There are many good reasons to work from a home office, including cost savings, tax breaks, a smaller ecological impact and time saved by not commuting, and the ability to be closer to family throughout the day.
There are also good reasons to locate your office outside your home, including visibility with potential clients, access to equipment and technology, privacy, in-person meetings and the potential for increased productivity.
While the days of start-ups spending all their millions of seed capital on cool offices are long behind us, offices still say a lot about brands. That doesn’t mean an expensive skyscraper office is the only way to go. It just means you should decide what kind of office fits you and your brand best.
Ask yourself these three questions when deciding what kind of office situation is best for you:
1. What is required to deliver my brand’s solution to my clients? If you’re a therapist, you probably need an office outside the home in which to meet with your clients. Services requiring special equipment, like printers and caterers, and those who collaborate with several people in person, such as attorneys or trainers, may locate in offices as well.
2. In what conditions do I do my best work? Having worked in both private offices and cubicles in my corporate days, I know I need a quiet place to work without distractions. I also find that I’m more peaceful when I’m able to be near my dogs and take a break now and then to walk them.
While I spend most of my workday on the phone with my clients while in my home office, I will occasionally work from the library or an office in town for a change of pace. A close colleague finds those conditions too isolated and depressing. She needs more in-person interaction to keep her in her productivity and joy zone.
Disregard what you think you should do. Combine your ideal working conditions with what you need to deliver your solution to your clients.
That will point you to the right office situation. Then ask yourself:
3. What do I want my clients to know or understand about my office? Make a case for why you work where you do. If everyone is in the expensive, prestigious part of town and you’re not, you can build a case for investing in the revitalization of neglected areas. (I’m not suggesting you say something that isn’t true; I’m recommending you present your reasons in their best light and not be ashamed of a potentially negative interpretation.)
You carry your legitimacy within yourself.
Some of my clients serve large corporations and believe working from a home office lacks legitimacy or credibility of one located outside the home. For them, I can only tell you: you carry your legitimacy within yourself.
There are well-known consultants and experts working from home offices who are never challenged about this. Why? Because their work is so good that no one cares where it’s done. I once heard Alex Mandossian say that he wants to be the first work-from-home billionaire. Personally, I like how that sounds!
How about you? Where’s your office, and why did you choose that place? Do your clients seem to care where you work?
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Great questions, Samantha. And an even better statement: “You carry your legitimacy within yourself.” Even when I was part of large, prestigious consulting firms, I often worked at home. My home office provided me a quiet place to concentrate, which allowed me to serve my clients better. So when I started my own firm in 2004, I didn’t think twice about operating my business out of a home office. I also save time and energy by not commuting, which makes it so much easier to service multiple time zones. My clients, most of whom are Fortune 500 companies, have never questioned me.
Liz, as credible as you are, I can’t imagine anyone caring where your office is! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. S.
Great topic Samantha!
I know for me, both have had their ups and downs. Having a home office has been such a blessing, but I have found that it needs to be done strategically. With three kids, I know how easy (and frustrating) it can be to get distracted and just plain hard to concentrate.
Now that I think about it, I think by having kids that forced me to really look into systems and how I can get more done in less time and do it with kids! :)
Another thought, I’m sure it can depend on what it is you do. For example, I know a web designer that recently got an office space right on a major HWY. Well she has a ton of walk ins now that she would have never gotten if she had been working in her home office.
I guess it comes down to really getting a clear picture on the purpose and goal for your business and implementing what it’s going to take to make it happen…. And if a office space helps, then there you go! :)
Thanks Samantha! You rock!!
When I started my business, I had offers from two “brick and mortar” establishments in town to have an office in their businesses in trade out for administrative services to them. I seriously considered the offers thinking it would give me more credibility as a start-up, but I wanted a virtual business (in anticipation of yet another move with the military) and the likelihood of walk-in clients where I lived at the time was minimal. The fact that these two businesses made the offers to me proved that I already had some credibility in our business community, so I didn’t regret the move to a home-based office. If I do need to meet face-to-face with a client I usually go to their business (some of which are also home-based).
You were right on, Samantha, with your statement about why some well-known consultants and experts are never challenged by working from a home office: “Because their work is so good that no one cares where it’s done.” I fully agree. As long as the service you’re providing meets (or better yet, exceeds) the client’s expectations, I don’t think they question your physical location. I know mine don’t!
Jeanette, I agree with your observation: “The fact that these two businesses made the offers to me proved that I already had some credibility in our business community.” I don’t always love trade/barter agreements, and regardless, its sounds like you made the right choice for you.
Someone else may have wanted the cache, atmosphere and visibility provided by an office. Wherever the good work can be done … right? ;)
Paul, your examples of the designer’s location and working with three children in your house are so useful! There are many variables to consider.
Hey, next time will you send a picture of you with kids on lap and head to illustrate my post? haha :-D