What Are The Pros And Cons Of A Home Office For An Entrepreneur?

The recent pandemic cloud has confined everyone into their homes, including businesspeople. With the future still uncertain, you might be planning to setup up a home office to start running your business from home.

But how viable is this idea? How will it affect your business? – In this article, we’ll weigh the highlights and lowlights of setting up up a home office for an entrepreneur to help you decide if this is an idea worth executing for you.

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Home Office For An Entrepreneur – The Pros

There are a number of benefits that come with setting up a home office as an entrepreneur to enable you to work from home. The biggest advantage is that you’re able to save a significant amount of cash in areas like commuting, renting, utility expenses, etc.

Here’s a list of advantages of working from home for entrepreneurs:

Reduced Expenses

As we have just mentioned above, one of the biggest benefits you reap with a home-based business is significantly reducing expenses. Working from home means you no longer need to pay office rent. You also won’t have to commute to work, so you’ll end up saving money on transport and parking.

Even better, a home-based business means you’ll be using your home internet connection, power supply, parking space, and other facilities. This significantly brings down your utility bills. Above all, you’ll cut down your wardrobe expenses because you no longer have to worry about getting some office-appropriate clothing. You can work in your pajamas in your home office!

Flexibility

Another benefit of working from home for entrepreneurs is a great deal of flexibility it comes with. You no longer have to commit to the 9-5 job or the 8-10 work hours every day. In other words, you will be in total control of your schedules.

If you want to enjoy more sleeping time before getting up and preparing for the day, you’re free to do so. Or, if you want to break your day’s workload into multiple sections with breaks in between, it is also up to you.

You can also take care of personal tasks around the house while still working on your business. Overall, you’re in charge of your business. Your dedication, motivation, and self-discipline will become your major driving forces.

The Income Tax Benefit

Another sweet spot associated with having a home-based business is that you’re likely to pay less income tax.

For you to qualify for this, however, your office space must pass the “exclusive use” test. This is where you’re able to demonstrate that part of your home serves as your principal business place and is regularly and exclusively used for conducting business.

So, don’t expect IRS to take a deduction if your home office is in the kitchen area that your family use for dining and other activities,

More Family Time

Parenting 101: Spending quality time with your family is important because it lets you bond with your children. And you build better relationships with them that last long into their adulthood. If you have a family, children, then setting up a home office means you’ll be at home at all times and enjoy more family time with them.

And if they get old enough, you can even let them into your business. But make sure you consult your attorney to ensure you comply with all the state and federal and local regulations regarding employing children in your business.

Still on it, working from your home means you become a role model to your children. The commitment and hard work they see you put in can significantly influence their lives. They’ll understand that it takes focus, discipline, and lots of effort to succeed. They will learn the most valuable lessons in their life.

Home Office For An Entrepreneur – The Cons

Now that we have looked at the top benefits of starting a home office for business people, let’s look at the downsides that come with working from home.

Lack Of A Professional Face

One of the hardships you’re likely to face in your home-based business is your clients finding your cozy home office not looking professional. This becomes even more problematic if you don’t have a separate entrance or dedicated home office.

Whether it’s your current clients or potential clients, they may need a lot of convincing to do business with you.

Distractions

When you decide to work from home, you also keep in mind that you can get easily distracted. Distractions can take the form of your family members, easy access to the food, and even the television in the background.

Your friends may also show up unannounced. You might want to go out when you see the sun shining. The golf cause could be attempting. The distractions are endless! Distractions draw your focus from your work, affecting your productivity and inability to accomplish your business goals.

It Can Get Lonely

If you’re used to interacting with fellow office workers, working from home can become lonely for you. You no longer have colleagues to interact with, share ideas, and solve problems.

While this might not be an issue for some entrepreneurs, those used to working in big collaborative offices will most likely get affected.

It May Conflict With Family Life

We said that setting a home office can increase your time with your family. But it can also interfere with your family life. As you start running your business from home, you may quickly realize that business needs are taking up all the time and little to no time for your family.

The fact that you’re working from home will also make you never feel off the clock after work hours.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many home office approved benefits for entrepreneurs. You will reduce your expenses by a wide margin, pay less income tax and enjoy a more flexible schedule. You’ll also have more time to spend with your family.

The few downsides of running your business from home include lack of a professional face for your business, absence of office workers to interact with, and increased distractions. Weigh these advantages and disadvantages to help you decide whether setting a home office for your business is a worthy idea.

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