shop v working for home

[robbo1973]

hi just a quick question how many out there work from home compared to working from premises. i work from a small shop/workshop out back retailing a little bit i also do some contract/insurance work. My landlord is pushing for a long lease at the minute (5 years 😮 )and i am sick of all the hassle and bills which come with premises so i am considering on working from home hopefully for a quieter life taking calls myself etc. any advice on call diversion/answering services does it make a difference to companies if you work from home? etc any advice would be appreciated.

thanx

[expertcat]

I work from the back of my house in my garage.
I have internet and phone connections.
I must admit the garage is not being used for a workshop only admin side and storage.

I have no problems in getting work through work providers it makes my living but saying that if i had another engineer working i would more likley get more work.

[eastlmark]

Re: shop v working for home

As most around here know, I closed our long established shop nearly 2 years ago and now work from home. Like you I was fed up with signing chunks of my life away on 6 year leases and all the other expenses that goes with it. We also, in those dark days before ISE, didnt have a decent appliance to retail so had a vast empty space which was once filled with Philco’s and Asko’s. But, more importantly, the main reason I closed was due to the difficulty in finding decent staff.
I wouldnt say i dont miss having the shop and I do have a few regrets, working from home is not as easy as I anticipated and I totally underestimated the amount of time i spent doing admin/orders etc in the shop and now find myself working longer hours than before. On the plus side with no opening hours as such I can work whenever I want to.
i still employ my former receptionist who works from her home and the phone is diverted to hers on her working days. I think taking calls on a mobile while you are out working is a non starter, IMO.
The only other drawback is spares deliveries, too often I get home and find failed delivery cards in the mailbox.
You will also need to spend a lot of money on advertising the fact that you havent closed down and add a “formerly at” address to your adverts, its surpising just how many customers cannot remember our name but remember the address so have difficulty locating us in yellow pages etc.

[kwatt]

Re: shop v working for home

Having done both I’d have to agree with Mark, there’s pros and cons to each and ultimately the choice comes down to what suits you and what you can afford to do. Unlike Mark I’ve gone from premises, to home and back again although it is purely office/stores and not shopfront premises.

I do find that an office or some sort of premises is preferable to me, but I do miss some of the perks that can only be had working from home.

Two years on almost and even some manufacturers have not updated their records and still send communications to the old address despite being told several times. 😕

K.

[Lawrence]

Re: shop v working for home

I worked from premises with at one stage six engineers.
Due to poaching of engineers and work providers moving there service provision around all the time three years ago I made the decision not to renew the lease on the premises and I now work from an office at home on my own and use my parents garage for stores with my wife doing call booking and admin .We put a message on the old tel no telling of the change of address and phone no .
We are selling just the same amount of machines as we ever were as well as spares
like Mark I find there are pro’s and con’s

Pro’s are I don’t have to be somewhere for 8.30 to open up and hear engineers complain about the jobs they have been given for that day,no vandalism and also no staff sickness to cover or abuse of mobile’s and van’s.My cash work has increased as I don’t have a third party effectively driving my company
And I can do things like take the kids to school
Con’s well there aren’t many ,I don’t ever feel like I get away from work fully,some cretinous couriers won’t deliver to a residential address so I have to go and collect parcels sometimes .
All I can say is it works for me
Lawrence

[Bill]

Re: shop v working for home

Work from home is the best if you can, when you finish you are at home and you also save LOADS OF MONEY.

Bill Ellis :scot:

[mbdas]

Re: shop v working for home

Hi 🙂
I work from home and love it 🙂 summer is the best start a bit early and finish for 1 or 2pm at least a couple of times in the month 🙂 spend the rest of the day in the garden with the kids 😀 😀
Mark 🙂
O and you dont have to kill yourself trying to pay someone else to run your premises 😉

Mark 😀

[cornwell40]

Re: shop v working for home

The only downside I find is that if you take time off to do jobs at home (time off :con: ) the phone is constantly telling you ” Youre losing£** if you don’t answer me”. Plus if you have an office day the missus always has the ‘Can you just…feed the baby, look after him while I ‘nip’ to Sainsburys, look at the light in the…, put this in the attic, 😥 ‘.
I know its down to discipline but it’s not easy sometimes to stay focused.

Or is it just me 🙁

Tony C

[robbo1973]

Re: shop v working for home

thanx for all the responses still trying to make my mind up. i guess the big thing to me is answering the phone constantly whereas at the minute someone else does it for me at a cost which is getting harder to justify.still will have to decide soon as lease nearly up.

[petalpop]

Re: shop v working for home

bt call diversion £2.99 a month +all diverted call costs
a lot cheaper than paying someone+rent

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