Comments on: Freelancing Advice: Get an Office?

By: Ben Edwards

Ben Edwards — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:34:23 +0000

I agree on the office space issue or at least getting out of the house. I find it easy to treat your job more casually if you are always at home. There is nothing wrong with firing off some emails in the morning or doing some work late into the evening at home, but nothing beats getting up every day and doing “real work”. One thing my partners and I have been doing is just meeting at libraries and coffee shops. Not ideal but it beats having a lease.

By: canexafish

canexafish — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 13:13:06 +0000

I think if you have a dedicated work-space at home an outside work office is not something you truly require.

However, if you need to meet frequently with clients your home office may not be appropriate, and in that case I feel an outside office is needed.

Of course, this is just the opinion of someone who doesn’t operate his own business (although he dreams about it), and works the regular 9 to 5 grind.

Regards,

By: Dave C.

Dave C. — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 04:17:51 +0000

I believe with good time management, you can still work from home and not be strapped to the laptop. If you dedicate certain parts of your day for work and certain parts of your day for home life and stick to the plan, it’s as if you’re leaving the office for the day. Easier said than done, sure, but with practice it becomes easier.

By: LG

LG — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 23:44:36 +0000

I’m not sure if I’m unique in this, but if I lurk at home for more than a day or so at a stretch, I become lethargic and dull-witted. I feel unclean — Maybe it’s a lack of exercise.
Short version: I need to get out of the house more or less every day, so my usual routine is: Get up around 9am, answer emails and run through any loose ends/leftover tasks from yesterday. Then I shower, shave, ride my bike to the local cafe, do 3-4 hours work there. Have a nice lunch, come home (or go to client site, depending on what’s happening), finish work day at 6pm. After that, Emails in the work folder stay unread, Mobile phones go on silent, Work phone number diverts straight to voicemail.

By: jon

jon — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:38:20 +0000

I like working from home. I don’t long for an office: besides, as well as web-working I have a kennel and the two combine so well. The dogs get me away from my computer at various points during the day. The only time I miss an office is when meeting clients: but in Stockholm there are enough places you can rent for meetings if necessary. Plus people like meeting in cafes and restaurants, getting out of their own office.

By: Dangerfield

Dangerfield — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:07:56 +0000

HHhhmmm. Personally I like working from home. Sure there are downside and balance issues and I don’t have kids, but I like being able to fill the odd slice of downtime at the weekend with work, and go and play middle of the week.

However I do wonder about taking advice on how to freelance from someone who did it for 18 months and pulled the pin because he didnt like it/couldnt handle it. I of course respect his decision and hope the church makes him happier, but it’s like taking relationship advice from your constantly single friend, just a little suspect.

By: Terry

Terry — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 04:11:19 +0000

Sure, many freelancers love the life specifically because of the flexibility that working at home allows. But the negative to that is exactly what Cameron Moll pointed out. If you’re the type of freelancer who must have some separation between work and personal life–in order to maintain a sense of normalcy, sanity, etc.–then working at home can require such a level of discipline that it sometimes just can’t be achieved. In which case, I would definitely advise the person to rent a small office space if it’s financially feasible.

Some time ago, one of the prominent figures in my city’s advertising community bought a building in the artsy area in town, in which he not only houses his own small design studio but also rents out inexpensive work space to other designers. I’m sure it’s been a godsend to the several freelancers who work out of that building.

Bottom line: If you’ve worked a traditional job for several years, then becoming a freelancer, in many ways, is the most unnatural, fish-out-of-water, nerve-racking experience you may ever go through. (As exciting and ultimately satisfying as it may be.) So I advocate trying to maintain some normalcy in your life–not just for yourself, but those around you as well–by whatever means works best…

By: Mary Deaton

Mary Deaton — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 01:43:20 +0000

If I find the isolation of working at home too much, I go to a coffee shop. Thanks to learning about co-working at Web Worker Daily, I would explore than before I would rent an office just for me. Why trade isolation at home for isolation I have to pay rent for?

By: trav himself

trav himself — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 23:13:53 +0000

As a web worker who does own an office, I can say that while private office space does help me focus, it doesn’t really make an impact on my ability to “turn off” work when I get home. I generally work 9 to 5 at my office. But I often do a few extra hours of work in the evening, and sometimes I’ll take care of personal business at the office. There’s no hard boundary for me.

As Bob said above, it really comes down to self-discipline. I think the benefit of having a dedicated work space is putting yourself in the “work” mindset. In that case, a designated “office” area at home might do just as well.

By: Mike Gunderloy

Mike Gunderloy — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:39:56 +0000

Mileage, as they say, varies. I actually like having the little ones underfoot in our home office. Watching our youngest learn to walk right now. But it’s certainly not for everyone. Yes, I’m less efficient than I would be in a cubicle – but on the other hand, I’m less disconnected from our kids growing up than I would be.