Running a business from home could put a strain on your family life. You have now turned what was once a family home where people came to relax after work or school, into a business environment. When you were working outside the house, your partner only saw you for a few hours every day. Now s/he can not get away from you without leaving the house. No longer is there a clear distinction between work and family related matters. The children get fed up with you taking over the house. They used to love coming home and playing, shouting and screaming after working hard at school. Now not only do they have to behave and be quieter, but you also try and rope them in to help you with daily business tasks! You need to think about how your work is affecting your family mentally. What extra stresses and strains do they face now that they did not before? If you have had a bad day in your business do you take it out on your family? Remember this is a family home first and a business second or is it the other way around? Your family went through hell when the home business was struggling. It gets even worse for the family when the business starts doing well. All of a sudden more people are visiting the house. You get even more mail and deliveries... and the phone does not stop ringing? Now even the neighbours are starting to get annoyed! So how do your overcome these problems? Well a great idea if at all possible is to have your office with its own entrance in a corner of the house. Even better, move it out of the house altogether perhaps in a purpose built building in the garden or convert the garage? A dedicated business line is a must and a separate mailbox is good idea. Try and organise as many meetings as you can away from the house. Not only do you get a break from being cooped up all day in the home office but at one stroke you reduce the traffic in your family home. I have a favourite hotel in Dundee that I used regularly. I am great friends with the manager of the hotel and the staff. I always used the same quiet area of the hotel and the manager referred to this area as my second office! Set aside hours where if at all possible you take a complete break from business life and dedicate this time for family life. This is not a hard and fast rule... you can break it now and then but be as strict as possible. Sooner or later if your business goes according to plan, you will either have to outsource a lot of work or alternatively think about getting dedicated premises away from the house. Outsourcing simple tasks like payrolls, book keeping and possibly even sales will allow you to do much more business before you have to make the move. Running a business from home offers so many advantages to the traditional route: lower overheads, less time spent on the daily commute, low running costs and much more. Make sure that it does not jeopardize your family relationships.
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