Don’t we all dream of working from home? With more people than ever making this a reality, many of us actively seek this lifestyle. The benefits are plain for everyone to see. Home offices allow you to wear what you want and decorate how you want. Most importantly, you can work when you want.
Still, to say that working from home is all roses would be a mistake. For many, this lifestyle doesn’t work. Answering to yourself requires a firm determination we don’t all have. Even those who do make a go of things fail when it comes to inviting clients into their offices. Get this wrong, and you’ll set every potential customer on edge enough to leave as soon as they can. None of us like the idea of imposing in someone’s home, after all.
Lucky for you, that’s what we’re going to look at here. So, if you worry your clients can’t get away fast enough, consider the following pointers for sealing home-based deals.
Clear your office of personal items
Wasn’t the chance to decorate how you want part of what made you work from home in the first place? Sadly, too many personal piccies are sure to create an uneasy atmosphere for clients. Talk about stepping into someone’s personal space. As a general rule, keep decor as mutual as possible. There’s nothing wrong with hanging pictures, but it’s best to stick with impersonal art rather than your youngster’s school drawings. This may be a home office, but you need it to feel professional. Pictures of your family won’t achieve that.
Get around to external home repairs
We all have external home repairs we’ve been putting off. It’s one of those things we always promise we’ll ‘do tomorrow’. You can’t afford to put these things aside when you have clients coming. In the same way that an office space would say a lot about your business, your home does the talking. A shabby exterior is a sure sign you aren’t worth doing business with. How can they trust you with money if you can’t look after your property? Make sure, then, that you finally touch up that paint and clean those gutters. In extreme cases, you may even want to do foundational repairs to clean up a dishevelled appearance. In that case, you may find this website useful for getting started. Either way, you need a house which wows, rather than a family home which could use some work.
Introduce a separate entrance
If they have to knock on your house’s front door, clients are sure to feel uncomfortable. There’s also a chance your husband or kids will answer and make matters worse. It’s a bad idea all around. A better option would be to mark a clear separate entrance to your home office. Even if it’s part of the main house, consider installing a door here for clients to use instead. This ensures you answer all business visitors. That, in turn, will save awkward feelings all around.
