>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>After almost 30 years of leasing offices (probably moved 5 times) and working mostly from the office (except evenings and weekends), I just submitted a letter to my landlord that I will be moving out. Several things concern me (worries a great deal):
>>>
>>>1. customers find out and start jumping the ship (to competitors)
>>>2. productivity at home. so many distractions: tv,fridge, wife, pianos, guitars, street.
>>>3. I almost never meet customers in my office. But what one or two wants to come and meet in the office.
>>>4. All the while I was hoping to find someone to continue this "project" after I retire (the plan is in 4 years). But now with no office, this plan is not practical.
>>>
>>>Tough decision.
>>
>>I've been working from home since 1989. Never had a paid office and it hasn't been a problem at all. First, a few suggestions:
>>
>>1) Designate an office in your house. Work there; don't work elsewhere, and don't allow others to park themselves in your office on an ongoing basis. (FWIW, my sister, who's been working from home since 1995, would totally disagree with me. She works wherever she feels like it, even in Starbucks or occasionally at her husband's office downtown. Works for her. For me, knowing that the office is for work and the rest of the house is not, helps me keep boundaries in my life.)
>>
>>2) Designate work hours and non-work hours. I work business hours. I only do client work at night or on weekends in case of a true emergency where failing to do so would result in serious problems for a client. I also take real lunch breaks to refresh my body and my mind.
>>
>>As for your specific concerns, I've never had a client who had a problem with my office being in my home. It may not be the first thing I tell people, but I don't hide it either. I've already addressed productivity.
>>
>>As others said, find neutral places to meet clients. In all the years I've been doing this, I've only once had a client come here. But I've met a client at Starbucks (though I don't drink coffee and hate the tea they sell). There are plenty of places today where you can meet somebody.
>>
>>I don't see why not having an office makes finding a successor a problem. Either the person you find will be happy to work from home, or will have an office of his or her own. You may need to pay for some co-working space for a while in order to work together, but that's still cheaper than renting an office.
>>
>>It occurs to me to add that in addition to working from home, the non-profit my husband and I run has been operating without an office for more than 30 years. We get our mail at a local synagogue, which also provides us with meeting space as needed. For the past three years, we've had a part-time Executive Director, who works from home. It all works just fine.
>>
>>Tamar
>
>Thank you very much for your input. All valid points and pretty much easy to follow (like separating working space and hours). As far as finding a successor, I have almost put a cross on this idea.
>
>You see, you (if I understand correctly) do work for clients and then give them the code or support the code. I sell a vertical market application, competing with many companies, much bigger than mine. So I have to "pretend" to be bigger than I am. I have always referred to myself as this entrepreneurial "we". Of course, many customers know that I am a one-man shop (otherwise, how come nobody ever answers the phone). But the new/potential customers are VERY careful of not buying from a one-man shop. But c'est la vie.
>My wife says that my biggest investment is marrying a younger woman who will work way past the time I retire :). We will see.

Most areas have "instant offices" where you pay a small monthly fee and rent office space by the hour as you need it.
That worked well for me when business was expanding rapidly with the onset of the millennium.
The place I used had receptionists and several nice conference rooms with everything I needed to hold meetings with clients or potential hires.
Eventually I needed my own office, but that was a good solution for a while.
After the bubble burst, I closed the office and my daughter and I work from home.
Basically I follow a pattern similar to Tamar's.
One of the cutest stories I've heard about small companies trying to look larger came from a client who started very small and the went on to become a large, successful company.
The founders were a man and woman team and the woman had a different last name.
When I learned that they had 8 children together, I asked her if it might not be a good idea to make things legal.
She laughed and said that they were married but when they started they wanted to look as large as possible, so she used her maiden name and that stuck.