Balancing your home business

Nation's Business, April, 1997 by Susan Biddle Jaffe

When Stauffer meets with his nine part-time staff members, all of whom work from their homes, he reserves a restaurant banquet room or a conference room in a library or a hotel rather than trying to crowd everyone into his home.

And Long says that "if the kids are downstairs and making noise in the background when the phone rings, I just explain that my board of directors is loose again."

Outgrowing The Home

Sometimes, even after taking all the right steps to balance your business and personal lives, you can come to the realization that home and business just don't mix.

People must "find out what works for them, what works for their family, and what works for their clients," says Beverley Williams, founder and president of the Rockville, Md.-based American Association of Home-Based Businesses. "If those things don't mesh, then it's not the right kind of business for you."

After 10 years of working from home, Michael Prince will soon move his pollution-control business, Blue Star Industries, to a 3,200 square-foot-building 10 miles from his home in Hopewell Junction, N.Y. He simply has outgrown his home office and needs room to expand his two-member staff to 14.

"I'll enjoy going out to lunch again, seeing other people during the day," says Prince, who in 1987 moved his firm from an office in New York City to Hopewell Junction, about 80 miles north, to cut overhead. Blue Star has grown to annual sales of $1.3 million.

Nearly as important to Prince as the room for expansion is the opportunity to be away from the house. Working from home "is just too convenient," he says. "In 10 years I've never had a sick day. How do you stay home from work . . . when you're already home?"

Prince expects another benefit from moving: shorter workdays. For years he has worked 14-hour days. He would break for dinner, he says, "and go right back to the office. With the new office, whether it's 6:30, 7, or even 8 o'clock, I'll shut things down and go home."

RELATED ARTICLE: There's No Place Like Home?

Check "yes" for each item below that describes your work style. Answering "no" to seven or more questions suggests that a home office probably would not be best for you and your business.

1. I am a self-starter.

2. I can avoid distractions.

3. I don't mind spending time alone.

4. I can make decisions on my own.

5. I can discipline myself to perform unpleasant but important tasks.

6. I initiate projects when things are slow.

7. I can resist the temptation to play when I should work.

8. I can ignore home-maintenance distractions if business-related work takes precedence.

9. I can take reasonable breaks from work, then return to work.

10. I don't have to be going to a meeting to get up and go.

11. I can turn away visitors who drop in without notice.

12. I can ignore the telephone if I have a deadline to meet or if I need to concentrate.

13. I can prioritize my work effectively.

14. I can set realistic timetables for getting work done.

15. I don't need feedback from others to feel secure in my abilities.