For freelancers, consultants and small business owners, your early ideas and working life is often based from your home.
When you’re just starting out and need to have a level of flexibility and convenience, it makes sense to start small. It’s also risky to take on the overheads of an office space whilst you’re growing your business and need to keep costs low.
Your hours can be a bit more sporadic at the start too, so being able to work whenever you need to and without a commute is appealing. You will be dealing with enough pressure in the early stages of a business, so limiting as many other pressures as possible is wise.
However, when your business grows, not having a work space can feel restrictive.
So how do you know when it’s time to move from the kitchen table to a co-working space?
Your Home No Longer Feels Like Home
In the early days of a business, you might be mainly laptop based and not need many resources or space. As your business grows, the needs of it will also change, which can mean expansion makes sense. Extra equipment, extra stock, marketing materials can all start taking up more space, which is something you want to avoid keeping around your house!
You can find yourself accumulating sensitive info and bulky equipment:
- Paperwork and contracts
- Marketing materials
- Stock, samples or packaging
- Extra screens and office equipment
When your dining room starts to feel like an office and an extensive of work, it can be really hard to switch off at the end of the day. This can be a natural way of your mind telling you it’s time to have more distinction between work and home life.
A co-working space gives you the perfect way to separate home and professional life, whilst still having elements of flexibility.
Productivity being Affected
Working from home can be full of distractions, especially if you’ve got a busy household. Deliveries, conversations and household chores can all affect productivity and shift your focus when you need it most.
Because there’s not a clear and noticeable divide between your work and home life, you can end up blurring the boundaries between them. It can be hard to ever stop working and you can end up working longer hours too and getting sufficient rest.
Using a co-working space can help you boost your productivity by offering:
- Dedicated work areas spaces free from distraction
- Reliable high-speed internet and tech
- Quiet zones and breakout areas for focus
- Meeting rooms and extra facilities
- Other like-minded businesses for networking and collaboration opportunities
Going to a different space can give you a distinct routine and helps you to define a boundary between work and home life.
Your Business Needs a More Professional Presence
As your business grows, the perception of it becomes important when you’re finding leads. You want to have a professional business presence that makes you seem credible to customers and clients alike.
Having to hold meetings at home or in loud cafés can be logistically difficult and not portray the level of professionalism you want to give off to others. A co-working space provides access to a credible business address, reception facilities with mail forwarding and call handling, a professional environment for client visits and ways to build up trust.
Starting to Feel Isolated
Feeling isolated when you work from home can be a big challenge. Over time it can affect your confidence and self-esteem when you can’t bounce ideas off others or just have small interactions with others throughout the day. It can affect motivation too.
A co-working space can be a great social space, as well as a professional one. Network with others but also just have some friendly faces to break up the day and have a chat about last night’s football.
Moving from the kitchen table to a co-working space is not just about having more space, it’s about professionalising your business, staying focused and sharing ideas.
For more info and advice, get in touch with our team at Hyde Park House today.