There are lots of benefits to having a home-based office. For one thing, there’s no commute. You don’t have to drive anywhere - so it saves you time and money. The overhead working from home is much lower. You don’t have to pay rent or utilities. And you can even write off some of your household expenses. So, you get to keep more of your money.
You don’t have to come up with the first and last month’s rent. You don’t have additional costs like heating and triple net. (That’s garbage, water, and taxes.) These are expenses you’re already paying for at home. And you can write-off a portion of them when tax time rolls around. So, that’s another benefit.
Eventually, I decided to move into a commercial space. This was because I was teaching classes on a regular basis. I discovered that I love teaching. So, this was really where I wanted to focus my energy.
After ten years of being in a home-based healing practice, I packed up and moved into a commercial space.
But not before considering other options. For example, I looked at an executive office space that provided a receptionist and access to a training room. But this meant having to share an office, which meant I couldn’t leave my hypnosis chair in the room.
So, that wasn’t going to work.
Someone recommended renting a room that was available in a healing center. That would have been a great option - except for one little problem. There was no sound protection between the rooms. So, you could hear every little thing that was going on in the center.
Regression hypnosis can get pretty noisy, sometimes. So, that wasn’t going to work, either.
Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and get my own place.
I found this beautiful space that was centrally located. It had just been freshly renovated - so it was bright and clean. And I didn’t have to fork out a bunch of money on leasehold improvements.
The space was located in a mini-strip mall – so it was at ground level – no stairs. And there was plenty of parking right out front. Plus, I didn’t have to pay for monthly parking.
That’s something to investigate if you’re considering a commercial office space. Where I live, that can run you between $60 and $110 a month. It’s much higher in the larger city centers.
I met with the tenants on either side of the unit. They turned out to be awesome people – really supportive. And there was no sound carry-through from either side.
This really was the perfect place!
It had:
- A small reception area and waiting room
- A classroom that could accommodate 15 students
- Two bathrooms
- A coffee area with a fridge and microwave
- Two office spaces with the option to take over a third room.
I loved having the bigger space to work out of.
But it was costly. And a lot more work. So, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I preferred working from home.
At the end of the year, when my lease came up for renewal, I gave notice and I moved back home. But this time, it was with a new appreciation for the benefits of having a home-based healing practice.
