Should You Expand Your Home Business Outside The Home?
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Starting a business from home is a great way to get things going while avoiding all of the large overheads that come with renting and filling an office building. New technology has made it easier than ever to start and run a successful business from home, without the need for an expensive location and loads of employees. However, there are a lot of limitations that come with the home office. Firstly, you can’t exactly invite clients to the house if you want to look professional so if that’s something you think you’ll need to do, you might need a location. You’re also limited by not having lots of employees because that puts a ceiling on the amount of business you can realistically take on. Other people find working on their own from a home office can get lonely and they like the idea of having co-workers around.
If you find that you don’t like working at the home office, or you’re struggling to expand any further with limited space and manpower, you might want to consider hiring an office space and branching out. It’s worth remembering though, that’s going to be expensive and the transition can be difficult. If you don’t do it at the right time, you risk losing the business entirely. If you’re struggling to decide whether to expand your home business or not, here are a few things to consider.
The Cost
This is obviously the most important factor when you’re deciding whether to move into an office or not. If you can’t afford it, it’ll cripple the business and you could lose everything. It would be easy to say that you shouldn’t move because it’s expensive, but you’ve got to remember that a bigger office space can mean more potential for earnings. When you’ve got the staff and the resources to deal with more customers, you’ll have a larger income which offsets the increased overheads. However, if those customers aren’t there, you’ll be paying out more money for the office, while bringing in the same amount that you were before. If you’re having to turn customers away while you’re running the business from home then a move into a bigger premises will pay off. But if you’re still struggling to find enough customers, you definitely shouldn’t move.
The other thing to ask yourself is whether you really need to make more money. That sounds like a pretty silly question and some people would tell you that a good business should always be looking for more income, but that’s not the right thing for everybody. Say, for example, you’re making a decent living from your home business that allows you to go on some great vacations every year and you don’t want for anything, and you still have plenty of time to spend with your family and friends, do you need to change that? If you’re happy with your current situation, don’t feel like you need to expand the business and make more money, because a larger office and more clients also means more work and longer hours. Ask yourself if that’s really what you want or if you’re happy with how things are right now.
Furnishing
When you’re adding up the cost of a move, don’t just take into account the rent on the office and the salaries of the staff that will fill it. You need to remember all of the small details as well. You’ll have to pay to furnish that office, and that doesn’t just mean furniture. As well as all of the desks and chairs etc. which will still cost you quite a bit, you need to pay for things like a computer for all of your staff members, all of the software for those computers and phones etc. All of those small details that you probably forgot will add up to a pretty significant amount of money.
Virtual Staff
Having space for more staff is the most common reason that people think they need to expand. When you’re doing everything on your own, there are limits to just how many customers you can handle. If you’ve reached that limit and you find that you’re struggling to keep up with demand on your own, you need more staff. However, more staff doesn’t necessarily mean more space anymore. The rise of remote working means that you can take on staff that work from home as well, without having to move into an office that can hold them all. There are all sorts of virtual office services you can use like receptionists and call center staff etc. which you would normally need to house in an office. Hiring virtual staff is a great way to get the best of both worlds because you’ll have more manpower, without the overheads of an expensive office. The only downside is that working remotely can often lead to some problems with efficiency but if you run a tight ship and meet in person regularly, you should be fine.
Outsourcing
Another alternative to moving into a bigger office is outsourcing. If you’re selling stuff from a home-based business, chances are you’re already outsourcing your manufacturing and doing the marketing and sales yourself. When you’re trying to expand, you’ll need more sales and marketing staff and more customer service staff to deal with the extra demand. You could move into an office and hire your own, but if you don’t want to do that, you can always outsource those jobs to another company. It saves you having to move into an office space and those companies have plenty of expertise so you know you’re in good hands. Your overheads will still go up but it’ll be a lot cheaper and easier than finding an office space, hiring a load of staff and training them yourself.
It used to be that expansion was the only way to grow but new technologies and outsourcing opportunities mean that isn’t always the case anymore. So many businesses expand outside the home because they think that’s the logical next step but before you do, think about whether that’s what you really want and have a look at some of the alternatives.
