How Independent ARE You ?

Hello Sally and David,  I love working from home but still make time to get to the local board to network with others.

I bought my house partially because it has a nice office at the front of the house. For a few years I kept a brick and mortar office but quickly learned that was money wasted. I can still meet folks at the office in the conference room. I am much more productive here at home. And yes I might be typing this while wearing gym clothes.

I have also considered purchasing a home with an office that has a separate entrance and exit for administrative staff. I'd like to keep my personal space off limits and I feel like having a dedicated office would bring some more assemblance back into my home which is now constantly overrun with paperwork, post it notes, and client files. Lol.  

Yep, self-employed....

When someone says to me, "I'm so happy it's Friday" ny reply is,

"Yes, only 2 more work days 'til Monday!"

Your post really hit home for me.  I love the opportunity to work at home with no stress of the traffic in the DC area.  I was working with a builder client recently who didn't like the fact that I wasn't willing to drive 45 minutes to an hour each way each day to wait for leads in their office during "normal" office hours.  I can be so much more effective working from home and meeting clients outside of rush hour at their convenience, even late at night or on weekends.

We have always had a home office but I always met prospects and clients at the company office and worked there every day.

Yes, I work at home as well, although it's not in a workspace as wonderful as yours sounds!  

Have a great day.

So how does that work? If I need to meet clients for the first time....do you meet them at Starbucks to determine what they want to see. I won't just jump in a car with someone I haven't met before. Do you all do everything over the phone? Does that seem impersonal?... Just asking?

I do work from home but all of my customer one on one is done in the office. I would really like to know how to do this differently. I love working at home

Great post. We've been working from our home for the past 4 decades. Having had 5 kiddies and 14 grandkiddies we really had no choice. Now that the kids are all grown and gone we each have our own office (Mom Cave and Man Cave). Both have big flat screen TV's and all the electronice futziwatzies and hootsgots one could ever ask for. Our home is now our excectutive suite complete with totally stocked wet bar with ice maker and a dedicated wine cellar, wine tasting room and a brandy bar in our card/scrabble/game room. Oh and let's not forget our giant spa with a panoramic ocean view.  Yes, working at home is bliss.

I work mostly from home and love it. I can have a bad hair day and a no makeup day....hope you both are having a great weekend.

Great post, Sally K. & David L. Hanson. I could not imagine working in a brick and mortar office any longer. After commuting in two different large metropolitan areas in my former corporate career, my "commute" in the morning is now from my bed to the kitchen to the home office! The traffic is very light and the mileage is unlimited! :-)

I work at my home office in the morning but the dog and cat just aren't enough company.  Always meet clients in my brokerage office and go there most every afternoon.  Uusally to use the high speed scanner or high speed color printer and to mingle with the gang.  For some reason, the refrigerator beckons to me way too much if I spend the entire day at home.

I have always had a "home office" even from 1994-2009 when I had 14 full time administrative support staff (not Realtors).  However, the negative was that I had to have two of everything and it never failed when I need a certain "something" and I was at home -- it was at the office -- or vice versa.

Now I work from home and love it.  Have no plans to "go back".  I can hire up to 2 people and legally have them here working from my home -- or they can work from their home -- the best of both worlds.  Why pay the overhead of an outside office?  And by the way, I love working in my jammies if I want to.  Ah!  The comforts of home.

Since my business is just me, I work at home.

Sometimes I think it would be good to go to an office just to be away from the distractions of the dogs, my husband deciding he needs a hand with some project, and the small chores that need to be done - like laundry, starting dinner, running the vacuum cleaner, etc.

But - a half hour drive to town and then a rent payment on an office - nope!

So true!  I love working from home and skip all the water cooler conversations.  Yes, we are lucky to have a great career to help people AND work from home :)  Great post!

You now, I LOVE working from home and we also planned the home office when we built our home, knowing that I get FAR more work done at home than going into an office...too many distractions!

Home office since my days at RE/MAX. My broker told me I had to keep the blinds to my office open as I was blocking the light from the office across the hall. I told him I shut the blinds so agents would NOT bother me as I was prospecting. He said we need the light. I told him I needed a better view! I have three desks, separate building from my house. My bees are just outside my door to my office so I go goad them on and heed their advice!