For many people, the two years have really driven home the benefits of running your own home-based business. After all, being in charge of your schedule, workload, and work location is extremely appealing in the face of a pandemic—plus, the benefits will stick around well after the pandemic is behind us.
During these challenging times, many home-based business owners may not be sure how to best design their office. Should you design with in-person meetings in mind? Plan to create a photogenic backdrop for video meetings?
Courtesy of Inkwell Book Co., the online accounting team that takes care of all your payroll and tax needs, this guide is here to help you manage both, as well as keep productivity in mind in your home office design.
Offering Virtual Options
You can take steps to make sure your office is well-suited for virtual meetings. Make sure your desk is set up so that there are no windows or other sources of light behind you on your webcam. Keep the area on the screen neat and tidy to give the best impression at meetings, and try to organize your desk so that everything you need is within arm’s reach to keep empty screen time to a minimum.
You can even have a great home office in an apartment, which may be advantageous, especially if you’re trying to save money so you can put more funds into your business. Exploring different designs of how to lay out your small office, especially if you don’t have much space, is still doable.
Creating a Safe In-Person Space
If you and your clients are all comfortable meeting in person, you can still take steps to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19—or any other illness—in your home-based office. First and foremost, set your office up in such a way that people can keep a reasonable distance. Set up comfortable, high-quality furniture your guests can sit on, and keep it six feet or more from your seating area. Consider investing in a projector so you can prevent having people gathered around a single small screen.
You can also take steps to improve airflow in your office, such as installing a new HVAC system. If the weather is nice, simply opening some windows to let fresh air move through your space can reduce risk significantly. Finally, consider wearing a mask—and asking clients to do the same—to help prevent contributing to viral spread in your community.
Boosting At-Home Productivity
Although staging your office for meetings is an important part of office design, you should also focus on design that will keep you productive. After all, you’ll only be hosting meetings periodically – the rest of your time will be spent doing the hard work of running a company. You need an office that will help you stay focused while providing some work-life balance.
The most important part of productive home office design? A door. Being able to close away other distractions in your home—not to mention, closing the door on a long day’s work—can help you stay focused and productive for the long run. If you don’t have a door, no worries. That can be a part of your vision on how you want your business to grow.
You should also be sure to invest in an ergonomic desk and office chair. The right furniture will ensure you have good posture and help you to avoid office-related injuries like sciatica and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Having a healthy space to work in at home is important; you want your home and home-office to promote feelings of calm and focus. You should decorate your space in a way that inspires you, such as with a one-of-a-kind wallpaper. Decor that is unique to you and matched to your wants will help keep you productive out of the office.
Your home-based office will be the space where your business comes alive. We hope this article inspires you to design one that works for your business’s present, while also carrying you into the future. After all, the right office can make all the difference on your path to success!
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