3rd Anniversary Competition Winner

Thank-you to all the mystery solvers among you that entered our competition; many of you got the correct answer but a lot of you missed the subtle clue in the question. The question correctly decoded was: Above all else, what do you need to be to beat your competition? Quite a few people missed out the to be before the to beat and were unfortunately disqualified. The answer was to be found in the article titled: Competition Friend or Foe. There were quite a few good answers but many people missed the clue in the title which was Above all else. The answer we were looking for therefore was: Above all be the best trendwatcher in town. These eight words were found in the final paragraph of the article. To those of you who managed to decipher everything correctly, and there were quite a few of you - well done! Unfortunately there can be only one winner. All the correct answers were put into an old brown hat that has seen better days and the winning name drawn was Debra Pharoah of Durham, Ontario. Congratulations Debra, we will be sending you a $250 gift certificate to Chapters/Indigo Online within the next few days. Once again, many thanks to everyone who entered.

Creating a Home Office Space that

Works for You

Being a small business owner and working from home has its advantages. You've thought all the pros and cons through and have decided it's worth it - otherwise you'd be working for someone else. Your business concept is sound, and working from home makes sense for you - but one of the biggest challenges of working from home can be how to carve out a space that works well for you. I've seen my fair share of home offices - some big and spacious, surrounded by windows and bookcases that I've envied, and some crammed into corners that were never meant to do more than store boxes, and some that have made my little office seem like a mansion. Your workspace is important, and considering how much time you spend there, putting some thought and energy into creating a workable space is worth the effort. A poorly lit, cramped, cluttered workspace will hamper your productivity. I realize not everyone can have their dream office (mine would be a large loft overlooking a lake somewhere), but creating a space that allows you to feel good while you're working will go a long way towards helping you grow your business.

To Renovate or Not to Renovate - That is the Question!

It enters everyone's mind at one time or another when starting a business - should I renovate my existing living space to provide room for an office? Do I knock out a wall and add an extra room? Do I reconfigure what's already there and assign an office space to an existing bedroom or den? The answer to this question usually depends on how much capital you are willing to invest in your business, and is also a large consideration if your business will require customers to come to your location. If you've taken over the hall closet with a small desk and your laptop, how will you feel about having a potential customer come to your home and see your workspace? The decision to renovate is primarily a financial one, and should only be considered if you can afford the cost without putting too much of a strain on your cash flow.

Dedicated or Shared Space?

Some people have been able to make their businesses work in a shared space, but very few are successful at it. If you're sharing your workspace with the rest of the family (for example a desk and computer in the corner of your family room), you will always be distracted by what's going on in the rest of the house (not to mention your customers hearing the dog barking and the dishwasher running in the background when they're on the phone with you). So, a dedicated work space is always the best scenario.

Where to Find Dedicated Space

When I decided to start my business, I knew I needed a space larger than a closet, but couldn't afford to renovate. I also knew I needed a lot of natural light when I worked, so a space in the basement wasn't an option. We looked at our existing space and saw that a room in our basement could be finished to create a bedroom for one of our teens. A little drywall, paint and a carpet roll end and she was happy to move downstairs and give up her bedroom for my new office. I've painted it lemon yellow, lined the walls with bookshelves, put a cozy chair in the corner, and consider it my happy space. I love being in my office and it makes putting in 9 to 5 days a pleasure.

Take a good look at your existing space. Can you move bodies around in your house - maybe your kids, like mine, would love to move into a basement room so you can claim an upstairs bedroom. Maybe you've got an attached garage you're just using for storage that can quickly be converted to an office space with some carpet and drywall. Maybe you can move the television from your den into another room and turn that into your office. Be creative about your existing space and you may be surprised what you can come up with. Go to the library or a bookstore and take a look at decorating books - there are tons of books on how to create usable spaces out of almost nothing, and make it look good too! These books will give you ideas you may never have thought of on your own.

Vary Your Space

Particularly if you have a very small office space, you may enjoy varying the spaces in your home throughout the day. If you don't have small children, you may want to do your reading in the living room, or take your laptop to the kitchen table once in a while so you can enjoy the view out your back yard to inspire creativity (I love to take mine out on to the deck in the spring and summer and work out there). Make your phone calls from your patio. The beautiful thing about running a business from home is that no one on the other end of the line is any the wiser (although you may want to head inside if your neighbor starts up his lawn mower!) Breaking up your day like this can actually increase your productivity.  

Consider Functionality First

As nice as it is to have an aesthetically pleasing room, it is even more important to make sure it is a workspace that works! Do you have room to store your files and other important items that you need to access during the day? Can you create appropriate amounts of shelving to store paper, and other office supplies so they're not stacked up on your floor? Is your desk large enough to help you work efficiently? Is there enough heat and light in the room to keep you comfortable (ever tried typing when your hands are freezing)?  Can you contain all the office equipment you need? Running out to the kitchen to retrieve your documents every time you print something because you can't fit the printer in your office will drive you crazy, and diminish your productivity. Your space, no matter how large or small, must function the way you need it to for it to be effective.

Don't Ignore Aesthetics

I said consider functionality first, but that doesn't mean you should ignore aesthetics. It takes very little to throw a coat of paint on an existing room so you're looking at an appealing colour every day as opposed to the hospital white that may have been there originally. Put things in your office that are important to you - an inspiring quote, a beautiful painting or photograph, certificates or achievements. One business owner I know loves to burn a candle on his desk when he works during the day. He says it keeps him focused. When he takes a break, he blows the candle out, and then lights it again when he's back at his desk. Another surrounds herself with her favorite books - they inspire her and she uses them throughout the day for ideas and motivation. Those small aesthetic touches really make a difference.

So, large or small, consider what you need to do to make your home office a significant and important part of running your business. Put care and consideration into planning and creating your space. It will make loving your job even easier.

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