Office Space
- Thread starter Konkorps
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I agree with OP.
In the same way that hiring employees (and by hiring, I mean outsourcing to do everything that can be done by someone other than yourself) separates the men from the boys, getting an office has a big psychological effect. No matter how small it is, as long as it's not outside your home - it counts.
For those that are incredibly self-motivated and literally eat, sleep breathe affiliate marketing (or whatever business they are in), getting a separate office can be ineffective (due to time involved in setting it up, traveling, etc)
But for those that need some motivation or some way to induce yourself to work hard, office space can be very rewarding.
Traveling daily is a bitch so gotta make sure the office space is close to home. Size is not as important as distance from home.
In the same way that hiring employees (and by hiring, I mean outsourcing to do everything that can be done by someone other than yourself) separates the men from the boys, getting an office has a big psychological effect. No matter how small it is, as long as it's not outside your home - it counts.
For those that are incredibly self-motivated and literally eat, sleep breathe affiliate marketing (or whatever business they are in), getting a separate office can be ineffective (due to time involved in setting it up, traveling, etc)
But for those that need some motivation or some way to induce yourself to work hard, office space can be very rewarding.
Traveling daily is a bitch so gotta make sure the office space is close to home. Size is not as important as distance from home.
I worked from home, then got a shared office space, and now back to working at home.
The first time I was working from home, it was in my bedroom. So it was like you always woke up in your "office". It's like you were working all the time and never could get it off your mind.
Then I got a shared office space for about $400/month. It was alright, but then you'd always have to go out to eat lunch, or bring in shitty frozen meals. I ended up going out to eat a lot, so that took time and money. HOWEVER, the benefit of working at the shared office was the connections. I was able to bring in a couple new clients once the others started learning what I do. So that was cool.
I bought a new home with an extra bedroom which I turned into my office. It works out great. That is my "work space". When the door is closed, I'm not really worrying about work. If I want something to eat, I go into the kitchen and make it. No commuting to an office is great. And saving $5,000/year is great too.
I can understand getting a shared office if you work in your bedroom, but if you have an extra bedroom, just turn it into an office. It works so much better in my opinion.
The first time I was working from home, it was in my bedroom. So it was like you always woke up in your "office". It's like you were working all the time and never could get it off your mind.
Then I got a shared office space for about $400/month. It was alright, but then you'd always have to go out to eat lunch, or bring in shitty frozen meals. I ended up going out to eat a lot, so that took time and money. HOWEVER, the benefit of working at the shared office was the connections. I was able to bring in a couple new clients once the others started learning what I do. So that was cool.
I bought a new home with an extra bedroom which I turned into my office. It works out great. That is my "work space". When the door is closed, I'm not really worrying about work. If I want something to eat, I go into the kitchen and make it. No commuting to an office is great. And saving $5,000/year is great too.
I can understand getting a shared office if you work in your bedroom, but if you have an extra bedroom, just turn it into an office. It works so much better in my opinion.
The week I quit my job (3+ years ago) is the week I got an office space. I rented a space big enough for 10 desks as motivation for myself to grow. That space is now filled with employees and interns.
Not saying that to flaunt, but it is all about a mindset. If you can figure out how to make money and how to replicate whatever it is you are doing (even the shittiest BST thread can support a family) then you can hire another college educated person to do the same.
Why hire a "good" VA for $300 a week and guess what they might be doing/chase them down when you can spend a little extra and have a real life person that you can train to do things the right way and grow with your company?
There are people that can do this and there are people that just don't have what it takes. There are affiliates balling 10x harder than me sitting in their home office. Most people do not have the discipline to run a company or even manage themselves.
The first thing I realized is I would have less time off, work more hours, and to start: not be able to spend any money. When you work for the man you can slack of for weeks or even months and still get a paycheck. Work for yourself and slack off and you might find yourself in the negative real fast.
Not saying that to flaunt, but it is all about a mindset. If you can figure out how to make money and how to replicate whatever it is you are doing (even the shittiest BST thread can support a family) then you can hire another college educated person to do the same.
Why hire a "good" VA for $300 a week and guess what they might be doing/chase them down when you can spend a little extra and have a real life person that you can train to do things the right way and grow with your company?
There are people that can do this and there are people that just don't have what it takes. There are affiliates balling 10x harder than me sitting in their home office. Most people do not have the discipline to run a company or even manage themselves.
The first thing I realized is I would have less time off, work more hours, and to start: not be able to spend any money. When you work for the man you can slack of for weeks or even months and still get a paycheck. Work for yourself and slack off and you might find yourself in the negative real fast.
This thread could not be more relevant to my interests right now!
Been doing the home thing (I call it the "Nerve Chamber") for 5+ years now and it's become incredibly difficult. Am def getting an office space within 3 months boys!
You can get yourself in crazy schedules that can become all-comsuming to nothing but WORK, because noone wants to hang out at 3am (except all of us on wickedfire STS...) so you have no choice but to work, or not. Pretty soon you start rationalizing thoughts during normal working hours of a day like, "fuck this noise & distraction, I can't concentrate and I need at least 3 hours of peace to accomplish X task, no worries, I'll hit it at 9pm once the kids are asleep and I won't be interrupted right?"..., meanwhile, rolling into bed at 7am (haven't finished task X)... And the cycle repeats and shifts by about 1 hour every night until you've fucking slept in each US time zone since Tuesday night . And at one point your wife asks why your getting the kids up for school because it's Saturday
As far as what Matt said:
, I have to ask:
Do you have kids?
Are you married?
Have you worked in a corporate enviro before, if so how long?
How long have you been working from home?
And if you are married with kids and confidently, consistently only work 6-8 hrs per day or less, 4-5 days a week (would be ideal goal for me if it's as good as it gets), and growing your business and revenue, I'm seriously all ears to any insights!
Running my business from home when I was single was like entourage bro. I would imagine those 2 top factors alone from above would greatly divide the opinions and experiences on this thread topic.
I did the corporate game for about 8 years and swore I'd NEVER work in a corp/office environment again! But it's really not about the environment right? It's about the people, the choice, and the mindset. I can't find a good office fast enough.
Been doing the home thing (I call it the "Nerve Chamber") for 5+ years now and it's become incredibly difficult. Am def getting an office space within 3 months boys!
You can get yourself in crazy schedules that can become all-comsuming to nothing but WORK, because noone wants to hang out at 3am (except all of us on wickedfire STS...) so you have no choice but to work, or not. Pretty soon you start rationalizing thoughts during normal working hours of a day like, "fuck this noise & distraction, I can't concentrate and I need at least 3 hours of peace to accomplish X task, no worries, I'll hit it at 9pm once the kids are asleep and I won't be interrupted right?"..., meanwhile, rolling into bed at 7am (haven't finished task X)... And the cycle repeats and shifts by about 1 hour every night until you've fucking slept in each US time zone since Tuesday night . And at one point your wife asks why your getting the kids up for school because it's Saturday
As far as what Matt said:
, I have to ask:
Do you have kids?
Are you married?
Have you worked in a corporate enviro before, if so how long?
How long have you been working from home?
And if you are married with kids and confidently, consistently only work 6-8 hrs per day or less, 4-5 days a week (would be ideal goal for me if it's as good as it gets), and growing your business and revenue, I'm seriously all ears to any insights!
Running my business from home when I was single was like entourage bro. I would imagine those 2 top factors alone from above would greatly divide the opinions and experiences on this thread topic.
I did the corporate game for about 8 years and swore I'd NEVER work in a corp/office environment again! But it's really not about the environment right? It's about the people, the choice, and the mindset. I can't find a good office fast enough.
LMFAO dude yes well said...
I know you responded to Matt but I do have wife/kids/dog (had all since I quit my job) and I do need to watch out for this. My wife also quit her job to support my efforts so is much more supportive of my erratic sleep schedule than she used to be. My normal sleep schedlue is 3am-10am which gives me a decent nights sleep and I try to stay true to that. weekends I try to get up earlier to go on family outings etc. that way I can get a decent work day in during the day and still get a good grind in from 10pm-3am once the family is asleep.
Used to be married, but no longer. No kids, except dogs, although they're pretty self-sufficient. They just need a bit of lovin' and some food. Never worked in a corporate enviro before, except I guess a week here and there while I was training other companies' devel teams, but I don't think that counts. Honestly though, that was enough to scare me out of working in a corporate enviro though.
That, and listening to everyone else constantly bitch about their co-workers helped too. Been doing this for... about 12 years now. Fuck me I'm getting old.I totally agree with this guy though:
For me at least, this works perfectly. I've done both, working in the living room, and also having a separate bedroom. Everyone's different, but for me the separate bedroom thing is perfect, and my mind handles it well. Just simply going downstairs, and my mind will perceive it as a different reality (ie. home, not work). That, and I like working, as stupid as it sounds. I like turning ideas into reality, and seeing what I can make with it. It's a thrill for me.
...Did I mention my wife decided to have twins 3 or so months into a bootstrapped biz? I mean this is fuckin' startup brilliance boys! (be sure to cite me for #12 Neil
As to this:
Deja Vu bro, check it out though, I made her my employee (the wife that is)... Not quite sure how it'll end up.
Guys I do have to agree that getting an office is HUGE for motivation and productivity but you have to consider those things:
* Cost of the Office
* Distance from Home
My current office in which I run my SEO agency is around 300$ a month which is 90 SQ Meters, and my previous office was 500$ a month for 110 SQM, and I don't mind the amount of money its not that big.
But when you are searching for an office make sure its CLOSE to you, I mean mine is a 5 minute walk from my place... If you are going to waste 30 minutes in each direction thats an hour of work you would lose each day!
* Cost of the Office
* Distance from Home
My current office in which I run my SEO agency is around 300$ a month which is 90 SQ Meters, and my previous office was 500$ a month for 110 SQM, and I don't mind the amount of money its not that big.
But when you are searching for an office make sure its CLOSE to you, I mean mine is a 5 minute walk from my place... If you are going to waste 30 minutes in each direction thats an hour of work you would lose each day!
It just doesn't make to pay XXX-XXXX$ a month for an office and waste 45 minutes to an hour travelling back and forth to it if you don't have Employees/Meeting with clients.
I have clients, if I had a home office, I'd struggle to score contracts, for one thing.
Secondly - you don't have to work 9-5 in an office, or spend an age travelling to it. I always travel outside of the rush hour, and my office is at most a 5-10 min drive. I like it because it ensures I get out the house, talk to other people and get a bit of social interaction done in the day at least.
Lastly, I've met numerous people through the office that have led to good things. Good solid connections that are making me more money. Your comment about signing a 12 month lease is wrong too - I'm on a 1 month rolling contract. I can move out whenever I want.
If you're a proper introvert then I can see working from home working well, no distractions, no people, just you and your work. For me though, I need that bit of social interaction each day to stay sane. I like having a chat with the receptionists, talking to other business owners when I grab a coffee and finding out how they're progressing, etc. It's good motivation too, and has also opened up partnership opportunities for me.
If you have a wife and kids at home, the distraction thing becomes massive too. (Lots of people I know who moved into the office building I'm in moved from home offices because they couldn't take always being sent on errands by the wife, etc.)
In the end it comes down to your living situation and your personality type. An office isn't perfect for everyone, neither is working from home. Although I do think it's really important to make sure you don't work where you sleep, in terms of room, so to at least get a separate office at home if you're going to work there.
Incidentally, my reason for working for myself is the same as Kaedus.
HAH - yes, if your relationship is strong you'll be fine. My wife and I take turns at the office, she normally works 8-12noon then goes home which is around the time I've had my coffee and head to work.
It can be really fun especially if she finds her groove and doesn't need to depend on you for workflow and can generate her own revenue.
hah WOW 3 twins - eeeesh, yea most of us are bootstrapped I had a few investors that popped up which I did not take on.. even though when I started out had less than $20k liquid I knew I'd be profitable if I could keep things straight, wow 3 twins.
