Mark Del Bianco provided me with his “two cents worth” concerning working from a home office. Not only does Mark have an informative website. He has a blog called BroadbandLaw.info. Thanks Mark for your guest post.
Let me throw my two cents worth in. I love working from a home office.
I went from twenty years of downtown DC firm practice – the last eleven my office was literally one hundred yards from the White House – to almost 3 years now practicing at home. Distractions are few. My kids are older – the youngest is a college sophomore. I don’t have a view of the water or the mountains, but the yard can be beautiful in any season.
I save money and wear and tear, not to mention time. By not commuting 50 minutes each way 5 or 6 days a week, I’ve gained an entire day (9-12 hours) every week. I have a telecom practice with no client closer than 100 miles, so I rarely have client meetings, and when I do they’re usually at the FCC. Everything I do can be done over the phone or internet. Luckily, many of my clients live and run their businesses the same way so no one questions it. The dog barking is not unusual on a conference call, but everyone accepts it. And it’s only my dog about half the time.
So I would highly recommend a home office if it fits with your practice and just as importantly your personality. If you can’t motivate yourself, it will never work. If you don’t keep up your social/professional network, you’ll get cabin fever, especially in the winter. There are definitely days where I just have to pack my computer and papers and go hang out at Starbucks or Caribou Coffee for hours. Luckily, I can work in noisy environments. So in deciding among home, virtual and real office, I’d say figure out first if a home/virtual arrangement will work from a professional standpoint (i.e., your clients’ perspective) and then from a personal standpoint.
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