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Where do you work from? Home vs Office

SkyLake

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Where do you guys work on your fastlane businesses? And where did you start working from?

I am just starting out and cannot work from home because parents and siblings live there and it's a small place. Huge distraction anyway.

I've tried looking at a few offices to rent in London, but hell, they are so expensive that they are basically prohibitive for new entrepreneurs.
A perfect solution would be having a bit bigger house so you can work from your own room or a garage.

What did you guys do when starting out in a similar situation?
 
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Silverfox148

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I spend a lot of time at the library it's an excellent place if you don't need to talk on the phone because it is very quiet. Coffee places such as Starbucks here in the US can work also but those get louder.
 

kanunay

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I work from home, but the room I am using doesn't have a door, it used to be a 'sitting room' in the front of the house. It's only a problem during the summer when the kids are on vacation from school.
Installing a door opens up a bunch of problems with airflow - I'd cook in the summer if I closed the room off. I've considered finding a library or other quite place I can go when I need to be free of distractions.
 
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Knugs

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I cant effectively work from home. I don't know why. I had the same issue at University. Library yes, but never home. Not sure if its a good idea to combine these 2 spaces anyway. We do need quality rest too.
 

Andy Black

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I have a desk and PC in the playroom. When the kids are home from school I can’t work anyway, so it makes sense to timeshare it with them...
 

NMdad

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When I first started out, I worked either from home (so long as the kids weren't around), or from a coffee shop (if I didn't need to make calls), or my car (for making calls).

Now, I have a small office near my house, but also work at coffee shops (being around other people makes it less likely that I'll F around). Libraries are good too.

You might look into coworking spaces.
 
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astr0

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Currently, I'm mostly working from home when kids are sleeping/away.
Recently rented an apartment for 2 weeks to have a quiet place to do an urgent project.
Sometimes I'm working at my 9-5 office on weekends cause no one else is there.

Planning to co-rent an office in June with another small company.
 

minivanman

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I've done both. I started at home and then rented a space and then went back to home. One time I rented an apartment (had workers in each room & used it for guests. MAINLY my brother in law whom I do not like) and it was such a nice apartment we moved in to it (we both like apartment life). Right now I have a store but I'm never there. I was just saying the other day that I'm going to let it go because I still work from home. I get way more work done at home. Being away from home seems like a J O B
 

The Abundant Man

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Coffee Shop or Library the majority of the time. Sometimes a park since I have a MiFi
 
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Andy Black

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I've done both. I started at home and then rented a space and then went back to home. One time I rented an apartment (had workers in each room & used it for guests. MAINLY my brother in law whom I do not like) and it was such a nice apartment we moved in to it (we both like apartment life). Right now I have a store but I'm never there. I was just saying the other day that I'm going to let it go because I still work from home. I get way more work done at home. Being away from home seems like a J O B
Oh yes. You just reminded me that I rented an office once, and only went there once in the first month. I cancelled and am happier at home now knowing an office isn’t for me.
 

AdamMaxum

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Unless you need an office/building for some reason...it should always be out of your home...unless you travel a lot then it can be pretty much anywhere with your laptop and some peace n quiet.
 

astr0

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How can you all stay focused at home? Provided that you don't live alone.

Asking cause when I'm home my wife asks me something every 40 minutes or so. It usually takes less than 5 to talk with her or to do something she asked, but then another 15 to remember what I was doing and what should be next. Up to 30% of time wasted.

If I say that I'm very busy it happens once every 2-3 hours.
 
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minivanman

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How can you all stay focused at home? Provided that you don't live alone.

Asking cause when I'm home my wife asks me something every 40 minutes or so. It usually takes less than 5 to talk with her or to do something she asked, but then another 15 to remember what I was doing and what should be next. Up to 30% of time wasted.

If I say that I'm very busy it happens once every 2-3 hours.

My wife and my grandson are not talkers. I am the talker of the family so they are happy when I am shut up. lol
 

B. Cole

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I move around - I’ve been hell bent on keeping this something I can run from my cell phone, so a lot of times I’ll sneak off to a wildlife reserve across the street from my house, or go somewhere and grind it out in my truck with the windows down, way away from people where all I can hear is the sound of water slapping the shoreline.

My back porch is my haven also - the majority of this has been built from there. I have an office in the house but try to only use it for heavy duty stuff like swimming through material suppliers, testing samples and laying out/managing large amounts of info or physical paperwork.

I’ve built my inventory and BOM spreadsheets on my phone :rofl:
 

Mutant

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I've tried looking at a few offices to rent in London, but hell, they are so expensive that they are basically prohibitive for new entrepreneurs.

Ah, so you are in London! You have so many options, & yes some are more expensive than others, but there is a world of cheap or free options to be found.

Depends very much on what you're looking for & what your budget is?
Do you prefer peace & quiet or background chatter? What areas of London are you willing to travel to? Do you need a dedicated desk you can leave things on, or are you a laptop warrior? Is it preferable to be embedded in an entrepreneurial community, or are you happy to get that fix from events outside of your office (& this forum)?

Apart from the obvious myriad of cafes (some more geared to laptop workers than others) & many, many libraries, there are some less obvious options.

For example, Google Campus provides free co-working space. I used to use that a bit, but they've recently relaunched & they now have different criteria. However if you meet that criteria that could be a brilliant option:
Campus - Google for Startups Campus
(& it's in some other countries if others are interested!)

When we had a couple of London Fastlane meetups last year, we used the National Theatre on the Southbank, which actually has loads of foyer space on multiple levels, & that was free (plus no requirement to buy drinks etc.)

When I'm not working from home, I personally usually work from a swank private members club (& London has plenty of those!) which sounds expensive, until you realise that it costs me less than a 10th of a WeWork hot desk.

Even cheaper than clubs, many of the major museums, galleries, & other cultural spaces have memberships that include members rooms (e.g. V&A, Natural History Museum, the Tates, British Library, Picturehouse Central, etc.)

Actually, speaking of cheap members spaces, as an example, I've just remembered Phoenix Artist Club offers free filter coffee & tea with their "broadcast quality wi-fi" & power sockets. That costs like a max of £18 a month - discounts available.

There are spaces everywhere. Frankly, even my local gym has a few tables in the foyer that people pitch up with their laptop to use.

Point is, this is London, there are a gazillion options to choose from. It just depends what you want!
 
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SkyLake

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Thanks Mutant!

Your post gave me so many ideas and made me realize I need to think outside the box. Not dwell on thinking how expensive London is.

Monday morning I'm gonna do everything possible to find a place to work at!

What I need is peace and quiet but I also need to make lots of cold calls when my business requires it. So private office is the best possible solution.
 

SeanC

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You can work from anywhere.
I work on Airbnb dining room tables, hostel picnic tables, airports, the floor...
If work isn't getting done and there's wifi available, it's not the location that's the trouble.
 
A

Anon64574

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Where do you guys work on your fastlane businesses? And where did you start working from?

I am just starting out and cannot work from home because parents and siblings live there and it's a small place. Huge distraction anyway.

I've tried looking at a few offices to rent in London, but hell, they are so expensive that they are basically prohibitive for new entrepreneurs.
A perfect solution would be having a bit bigger house so you can work from your own room or a garage.

What did you guys do when starting out in a similar situation?

I work from home. Fortunate enough that I have my own study. However before, when space was an issue I would work in cafes. Try searching for shared office spaces though, it's way cheaper than renting a single office, and with working in a shared office, you could potentially meet like minded people :)
 
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SLOJack

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I work from a co-work. Get's me out of the house and gets rid of all the home distractions :)
 

Sanj Modha

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ideasunlimited1

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Work from home and I love it. Nothing beats a comfy chair with a soft dog dreaming right next to you. :)
 

ruzara5

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Where do you guys work on your fastlane businesses? And where did you start working from?

I am just starting out and cannot work from home because parents and siblings live there and it's a small place. Huge distraction anyway.

I've tried looking at a few offices to rent in London, but hell, they are so expensive that they are basically prohibitive for new entrepreneurs.
A perfect solution would be having a bit bigger house so you can work from your own room or a garage.

What did you guys do when starting out in a similar situation?
Work from home about 50% of the time now. Then at places like coffee houses and hotels about 25%. Another 25% out of my automobile.
 

PureA

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Where do you guys work on your fastlane businesses? And where did you start working from?

I am just starting out and cannot work from home because parents and siblings live there and it's a small place. Huge distraction anyway.

I've tried looking at a few offices to rent in London, but hell, they are so expensive that they are basically prohibitive for new entrepreneurs.
A perfect solution would be having a bit bigger house so you can work from your own room or a garage.

What did you guys do when starting out in a similar situation?

London has plenty of coworking spaces that are CHEAP. If you are really on a budget, find a nice coffee shop!
 
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Raoul Duke

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In a van down by the river.
 

Xeon

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Home. My boss was good enough to let me work from home, so now I try to finish any day-job work within 1 - 2 hrs, then the rest of the day, it's working on my own hustle.

PROS:
-Can hustle / Fastlane in peace
-Saves commute time
-Saves transport fees
-Saves energy by not commuting
-Cheaper food in my neighbourhood

CONS:
-Don't know what the world is like outside there nowadays
-Lack of food choices in neighbourhood unless I walk further for meals
-No women to ogle during commute / office area
 

HackVenture

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That's what I've been told by people in my network who use WeWork. I'm not sure if the policy applies in Singapore though.

Hey dude you're in Singapore?? Have seen alot of your posts but didn't know you were here too lol.

Yes WeWork does give out free beer but nobody really takes it lol.

Me I work from home too and have a pretty nice setup, 27" monitor and all but when I've got lots of writing to do and want a change in scenery I'll go to a WeWork, it's awesome for getting shit done cos everyone around you is at work too.
 
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Sanj Modha

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Hey dude you're in Singapore?? Have seen alot of your posts but didn't know you were here too lol.

Yes WeWork does give out free beer but nobody really takes it lol.

Me I work from home too and have a pretty nice setup, 27" monitor and all but when I've got lots of writing to do and want a change in scenery I'll go to a WeWork, it's awesome for getting shit done cos everyone around you is at work too.

Yes! Live in HarbourFront close to Vivo.
 

Sanj Modha

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Hey dude you're in Singapore?? Have seen alot of your posts but didn't know you were here too lol.

Yes WeWork does give out free beer but nobody really takes it lol.

Me I work from home too and have a pretty nice setup, 27" monitor and all but when I've got lots of writing to do and want a change in scenery I'll go to a WeWork, it's awesome for getting shit done cos everyone around you is at work too.

I work from pretty much anywhere at the weekend since I've got Starhub's unlimited data plan. You'll find me on the steps of Ngee Ann in Orchard.
 

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