Guest post by Norwegian Log.
If there is one thing many of us have learnt over lockdown is that flexibility is key for a successful professional life. Many workers across Britain have had to quickly adapt to working from home, finding new ingenious ways to maintain a daily structure that would be as little disruptive as possible to their personal lives. Self-employed professionals across the nation also caught this as an opportunity to re-evaluate their business model and find more flexible ways of making it work, with possibly even better results.
As the need for a more flexible workspace grew, so did the popularity of garden rooms and buildings, which soon became the go to option for professionals looking for a cost-effective solution for flexible working. Besides being an ideal solution to keep your home life and work life separate, in fact, log garden offices also offer a low-maintenance alternative to expensive office rents.
How can a garden office help you establish your new business?
Every business is unique, and each individual case has a different set of challenges that the business-owners will have to face. A garden office can help you overcome a few of the hurdles you will have to face when starting a new business, here are a few of the perks of garden offices for small business-owners and entrepreneurs:
Save on office rent
Starting a new business can be a daunting process, especially when trying to figure out what you can and cannot do.
Small business owners and self-employed professionals who have decided to ditch the ‘traditional’ office space for a solution closer to home will have to carefully evaluate their options before they can move onto the fun part – designing their garden office! While it would be impossible to give a universal answer (every business is different and only a qualified accountant can give you a comprehensive response as to where your company stands), it might be good to know that there are two main ways of treating a garden office. The first option is to build the office as an asset owned by the business for commercial use; the second scenario is to register it as a privately-owned part of the house for which the business can pay regular rent.
Spend less time commuting and more time creating
According to statistics published by TUC, “getting to and from work every day now takes more than 5 minutes longer than 10 years ago”. While your commute times are very much dependant on how far you live from your office, studio or workshop, it’s also worth keeping in mind that it all adds up.
A quick calculation will bring to light that the time spent commuting to and from work could have been better invested in your new business.
Less is more
The first year is the most challenging one for new businesses and keeping a close eye on your expenses can make or break your company. Paying for a daily or monthly pass to access a shared office might not seem like a huge expense but if you add that to the money you spent on travel, lunch and – in particular on stressful days – coffee, you will find yourself burning a large whole in your pocket before even commencing. A garden office can help you keep your expenses to a minimum; after the initial cost of building it you won’t have to worry about anything else, all you need for lunch or coffee break can be found a few metres away, in the comfort of your own home.
Stay professional
Garden rooms and buildings have the one great advantage of allowing you keep your spaces separate, creating an environment that is quiet and tidy. While it could be possible to start your business from home, this is not an optimal solution when it comes to yours and your family’s privacy.
Having a dedicated garden office where you can conduct your business from (think about client meetings or important calls when keeping focus is key) can really help you establish yourself as a professional, avoiding the awkwardness of having to welcome your clients or business partners into your home on a regular basis.
Keep your family close
Starting a new business can often take precious time away from your family. In particular for parents trying to get their business off the ground, having a dedicated workspace, such as a garden office, can give them the peace of mind they need to know that their families are within reach, should there be an emergency.
This added tranquillity is not to be confused with the dynamics that often arise when entrepreneurs have to share their work areas with their families. A garden office adds a third dimension, providing you with a space you can class as off-limits to any (or all) family members.