Wise Accounts Blog

Renting business premises is an expense you could do without. What are the pitfalls to avoid?

If you are turning your abode into a place of business there are 3 stake holders to consider: your spouse, your children, your neighbours.

Being married and raising children together is enough of a challenge. Why would you add to that being partners in an enterprise also? Some marriages have exploded in your face over that issue but in some cultural backgrounds it is taken for granted as part of the territory. For instance a French baker works all night to have the famous baguettes and croissants ready at dawn for the town to consume. His wife is expected to run the shop in the morning and sell the day's supply.

The dynamics of a relationship can be skewed if your spouse becomes your employee. Intelligent people can work around that issue but consider how you would feel if you are in a job where work and home activities are not clearly defined. Further working from home gives you an insight as to how your partner/spouse spends his/her time. What hourly rate should you pay? Would you require timesheets? Is it volunteer work? Do you get a kiss for that?

Children come crashing home mid-afternoon after school and will be noisy and boisterous. Do you want that sound effect in the background when you are conducting an important phone call with a prospective client? Do you have a home office set aside where you can conduct business meetings? Is there parking available for visitors?

Neighbours can be wonderful folks to challenge you at honing your best people skills. They can also be nosey, jealous or downright obnoxious to make their presence felt. If your part of town is zoned as residential they can blow the whistle on you if you use trade tools or if they suspect you run a mortician business in your garage.

What about the internet connection? How far away is the telephone exchange? How early is your mail being delivered? Should you have a post office box? If you sell stuff on Ebay would you have time to fulfil customer orders the same day?

We have become so intransigent and set in our ways where everything is measured, timed and documented. Our ancestors didn't have any other choice. In the village each house was a business with the work done downstairs and the living quarters upstairs. You knew all your customers by name and they brought you the town news as well as their patronage. Maybe there will be a resurgence of the cottage industry if more banks go belly up.

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