Advice from people who work from home

[cimbom]

Hello,

I was just wondering what kind of home office setup you all have? Is it a separate room that you use just for that purpose? I am currently studying to be a migration agent and will be finished in five months. I would like to run a business from home. I don't intend to quit my full-time job as I enjoy it but I wouldn't mind dropping down to 3-4 days a week further down the track for the flexibility and variety.

We are looking to buy a PPOR soon so I am just wondering what I should be looking for? If I were to have neatly kept and professional looking joint study/home office (my husband is studying), would this be suitable? I may see clients face-to-face but I would expect to have a decent amount of interaction online or on the phone etc.

Thoughts?

 

[matto_]

Horses for courses. I Would assume home offices are as many and varied as there are different types of houses. My guess on consideration, how much can you justify, along with how flexible + distractible you are.

 

[lizzie]

I have a home office - which has all the files, equipment and samples in it (neatly, of course) ... but with a laptop - and most of my work either via email/phone or at associates offices - I tend to work at the kitchen bench or on the coffee table ...

 

[skater]

I have a home office as well. Mine's not as neat as Lizzies though. I have a desk with computer/printer and way too much paper. It is always a challenge to see the top of the desk. Admittedly, I have more than one thing going on in my office.

From my office I do all the accounting for our portfolio, I do volunteer work for our sport, I do some contract work for an interstate company and I have a website almost finished for the sales of skates & equipment.

I squeeze into there a couple of filing cabinets, an overflowing bookcase, which I really have to look at trimming and storeage for a lot of secondhand skating stuff from years of involvement in the sport. This I'm slowly trimming via ebay, but it is a slow process. It's all quality stuff, so I'm not going to throw it out or give it away.

I've also got a huge set of shelves on wheels for storage of my new skates that I sell, but this is often sitting in the lounge room (which appears to be slowly turning into a showroom, as you can barely get through the door of the office when I cram that in here as well.

 

[Sim]

I've been working from home for 12.5 years now, the first 7 years while employed by IBM and since then as self-employed.

If you have kids, a separate room is a must.

You can also claim a portion (based on percentage of floor space) of water, gas, electricity, cleaning, rates, rent/interest, etc on your tax ... but only if you use a separate dedicated room for an office.

I am fortunate enough to have a largish sunroom for an office - nice in winter, horrid in summer (windows on 3 sides, faces north and west, so gets sun all afternoon!). I have enough room for 2 desks, 2 filing cabinets, 2 large bookselves, 2 small tables and a cupboard.

Ironically, now that I'm effectively paper-free, I don't tend to use the filing cabinets or bookshelves much anymore. I also don't tend to buy many books these days - most reference material I buy in electronic copy. I could probably now get away with just a single large desk

My number one recommendation if you are going to be doing a lot of work at home, invest in a good quality chair, not some cheap OfficeWorks gear. Good ergonomics are important and will prevent physical problems in the future.

I also recommend getting a good quality external monitor and keyboard, even if you use a laptop. Laptops are the worst device ever from an ergonomic point of view, use them only when you need to be mobile, otherwise, use a proper desktop setup so you sit upright and not hunched over a laptop.

 

[goonandtell]

when i worked form home between 1 and 4 days a week while working at Telstra i had a dedicated room and dedicated laptop. It helped me stay mentally seperate, i still used the same desk for my other PC but during work hours made sure i was plugged into theirs.

Doing my investment management i hate being tucked in a room, i tend to do it at night so want it in an alcove near the living space so i don't feel stuffed into a spare room all night.

If i was having clients and couldn't meet them at a local coffee shop or hotel loby i would probably want a seperate room, near the front of the house with clear access to a toilet. WHile you might like the vast majority of your clients you probably don't want them wandering around your home or walking through your family lounge to get to the office at the back.

 

[willair]

If I were to have neatly kept and professional looking joint study/home office (my husband is studying), would this be suitable? I may see clients face-to-face but I would expect to have a decent amount of interaction online or on the phone etc.

Thoughts?

Maybe look into the insurance side,and ring the local council and ask if you can run a office within the guidelines,if you have a 2 level house then it would be easy to set one up,maybe different if it's one level,i work from home 2 rooms, out the back one for stock the other for paperwork..

 

[Sim]

Oh, and I never have clients visit my house. I have kids, so the house never actually achieves a state of what I think is reasonable. YMMV.

If they insist on meeting face to face (which I generally discourage - although most of my clients are not in the same city anyway), then I will suggest a local coffee shop where we can meet.

Another alternative I know some people use is a serviced office facility. You can generally book a meeting room for use and arrange for clients to meet you there. These facilities often offer other business services such as virtual assistants, inbound phone call management, and such. If you run the type of business which relies on a lot of communication with clients, these types of services can be invaluable.

 

[Ideo]

Sim's advice is excellent and I echo it.

I have a real office presence in one city, but do most of my work in another city, so I do a lot of work from home. I have a dedicated study set up, with a large plan table and lots of bookcases, but it is purely a work environment.

I use a serviced office on a casual basis for meetings. Pretty low cost.

 

[Aaron_C]

I run most of my business on a macbook air but as Sim suggested I also use a large screen attached to it so it's easier to do work. I do my work anywhere at home but keep all my documents in a separate room to avoid clutter.

 

[depreciator]

Further to what Mike said, I knew a bloke who was a mortgage broker working from home.

His accountant suggested he block up the internal door to the office and install an external door.

He did this for two reasons:

1. To better satisfy the expectations of: ruling TR93/30.

2. To provide a barrier from the office for his own sanity.

It worked a treat. He got up in the morning, got dressed, drove down to the local shops and got the paper and had a coffee, then came back home and entered the office through the external door.

I admire people who can work from home. I've tried it and I'm hopeless. After about half an hour, I want to get the tools out and do some renovating, or go out into the garden.

Scott

 

[pennyk]

As Sim said, make sure you have an ergonomic set up. I use a docking station/ screen, rather than having a desk top.

Please confirm with your accountant, but I think if you claim interest on your property then you have to also pay CGT on that portion when you sell. So, my understanding is that it is usually best not to claim interest.

its a challenge to keep focused, but think also about how much time you waste in the office on chatting etc. Things like having "work shoes" that you put on as you enter and take off as you leave the office can help. Set specific times for lunch break/ internet time.

Whenever possible, I try to send some emails first thing in the morning, and late in the afternoon, so people know that I'm working.. you have to not just work hard, but be seen to be working hard!

I mainly call overseas, so I use skype for phone calls. When I had a more local home based business, I had a separate phone line to keep the business separate.

 

[Ajax]

Cimbom.

I've been working as a solicitor/migration agent in a home office since mid 1999.

I won't go into my specific setup however you need to be aware of unavoidable annual costs of a Migration Agent-Migration Agent Registration $1595, Legend.com subscription $1200?, Migration Agent insurance $361, Continuing Professional Development ($500-$1000), Membership to Migration Institute of Australia ($465-not mandatory), web-site (not mandatory), advertising costs when starting out, telephone, mobile, printer, computer, internet costs etc.

It would be difficult to keep annual expenses below $12,000/year with no advertising and probably $20,000/year with some advertising. And this is from a home office where no rent is being paid by the business.

 

[the_captain]

@PennyK, you are right, I specifically remember my accountant telling me that. I also remember them telling me that the amount of years you need to keep such records is five years, but the amount of time you have up your sleeve for CGT exemption is 6 years.

He is a very well respected accountant that used to post on this forum regularly

 

[Jacque]

Further to what Mike said, I knew a bloke who was a mortgage broker working from home.

His accountant suggested he block up the internal door to the office and install an external door.

He did this for two reasons:

1. To better satisfy the expectations of: ruling TR93/30.

2. To provide a barrier from the office for his own sanity.

It worked a treat. He got up in the morning, got dressed, drove down to the local shops and got the paper and had a coffee, then came back home and entered the office through the external door.

I admire people who can work from home. I've tried it and I'm hopeless. After about half an hour, I want to get the tools out and do some renovating, or go out into the garden.

Scott

I love it
Saves him going to the office in his morning ug boots and flannies!

 

[our obsession]

Hello,

I was just wondering what kind of home office setup you all have? Is it a separate room that you use just for that purpose? Thoughts?

You will figure it out.

I have an office-come-library.

Library-come-office.

Big room, (all the rooms are large with high ceilings in the 150 year old house). Bookshelves surround the walls for majority of the room, and lots and lots and LOTS of desk space...I love bench space. Desktop computer in a corner spot with large window overlooking garden and 300 hectares beyond that. Filing cabinets in between south wall bookshelves, and a large open storage wall cupboard/shelving next to filing cabinets. My chair is on roller wheels so I can ride from one of the room to the other for no other specific purpose than to have fun, and I have an older writing desk opposite the desktop computer that I can sit my laptop (or whatever) on. The west wall has space for my whiteboard and pinboards, which are full.

I have an untidy office (I guess some would consider untidy), but I know exactly where everything is.

It's my favorite room.

 

[Lily House]

Our Obsession - I want your office/library!