HOW DO YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS?

Question

I am someone that works alone for the most part, I am wholesaling for about 2 years now. I work from my home office and sometimes that poses a problem as distractions are easy to come by. I been thinking of maybe paying for an outside office as it would be harder for me to slack off. I am also thinking about looking for 2 or 3 partners to create a bigger company that can expand into other investing areas such as rehabbing, landlording, commercial , etc. I would be looking to find experts in construction , financing, and marketing.

Do most of you guys work from home or in a professional office? Are you a 1 man company like myself or do you have a small group like the guys from CT Homes?

I think I am getting tired of the daily dull routines that I been going through lately. It would be nice to change the environment. What are your thoughts?

Do most of you guys work from home or in a professional office? Are you a 1 man company like myself or do you have a small group like the guys from CT Homes?

I think I am getting tired of the daily dull routines that I been going through lately. It would be nice to change the environment. What are your thoughts?

James Vermillion · Answer

I believe there is a lot of truth to the idea behind self-fulfilling prophecies when it comes to business. If you run your business like a side-job, it will likely remain a side-job, but if you run your business like a successful company, you will become a successful company. I have talked to this point in many different threads because I have seen it play out many times.  I do plan on purchasing office space in approximately 2 years, when my business partner and I go full time into real estate investing.  To do so, we will make sure the purchasing of office space is also an investment, perhaps a space with other offices we can rent out.

Having a professional office space is an important part of our overall business plan and long term goals, but we will only make that transition when our financial and other criteria have been met.

Nathan Emmert · Answer

An office is a LOT of overhead... even if you do a time-share/co-op type place where you share space and have common conference rooms.

I would first try to get control of the house you're in.  Explain the issues with the spouse and the kids.  Move your office... set up a small desk in your master bedroom or in your walk in close... maybe in the garage... I know guys who have turned outdoor sheds into work spaces which is a cheaper alternative to an office if you have the room in your yard.

An office tends to be more about looks than function in the lower end most of us play in.  There are cheaper ways which are equally as effective.  I don't conduct much business at home but very soon I'll be moving my desk and files from the desk area in our living room to my man cave in the basement as trying to do accounting with 3 little girls bouncing off me isn't easy!

James Park · Answer

Martin, 
I totally know what you are talking about. I've been running my business from my home since i left the corporate world in 2007. It was much easier to manage when we didnt' have any kids, but we now have 2 year old twins and my wife takes care of the them full time. I currently operate 2 business from my home: an ecommerce company, a web design company, and now looking to build my brokerage/SFR investing company. I guess you will know when you are ready to move out. Your net profit will be large enough to take on the carrying cost. I hope to purchase an office/warehouse and operate all three businesses in a office/warehouse some day.  I work alone, but I have 3 trusted employees working for me in india since 2007.

Adrian G. · Answer

This is pretty much my same situation.

Martin CS · Answer

Thanks for all your input guys. I agree that I need to get out more and maybe have lunch out more often with friends. At this point I will remain working from home but eventually my goal is to work from an office suite.

Is funny I was just reading a book about business credit and it touched on this subject. Til this point I knew little about business credit but I am looking into using credit lines and then loans.

The author says that working from home tremendously reduces the amount you can borrow because creditors want you in a real office. He also says that you must have a landline phone # associated with your business entity as your cell phone # won't help you borrow much money.

All these points make me realize that is smart to work away from home because of credibility. I guess it would depend on the individual, as if you already have access to lots of money then it might not matter much to you.

I laugh because I studied so much real estate but the business side has been a slow process to adjust to. You live and you learn as they say. Thanks!

Justin S. · Answer

If you are an agent, you can join a brokerage that has common space.  Guys in my brokerage bid on auction properties, so we will sometimes bid together, etc.  It is a good break from the home office.

Rich Weese · Answer

I don't like overhead.... In the 70's, I was the employing Broker for offices in 2 States! I think I lost more time babysitting salespeople while earning less net than if I just worked out of my home. Partners aren't always the geatest thing either, imo.  I've done almost all investing and real estate  from my home office for last 30 years. I enjoyed seeing the kids and my wifey was my asst/sec/friend/lover etc. 24/7 for 30 years. I didn't need others when I already had the best!

Martin- Bigger Pockets is always available to find those friends that are oriented toward real estate. let them fill the void.

Rich

Lynn McGeein · Answer

Sounds to me like this is more about work atmosphere than location.  I do not know what your family/home situation is, small children, space issues, but I had an acquaintance (her son lived with her but he was grown) who turned her dining room and living room into offices and had 2-3 others on her team that just came to her house and worked from there.  I thought, Perfect, conduct business, team atmosphere, and you can do laundry, too!

I never minded being alone in a home office, but my husband is definitely a more social creature and really needs that team environment.  Just coffee breaks with colleagues, even office meetings just refresh him, give him better energy than working alone.  Sounds like you need that, too, so don't ignore it, just look for economical ways to make it happen.  Maybe hook up with 1 or 2 others at an investment club or just go out for coffee with them once a week, a refresh mode for yourself.

Geof Greeneisen · Answer

Martin,

As Nathan indicated above, having office space outside of the house is a huge overhead drain, however it is one I had to spend if I were make a go of it. I've tried the home-office route in the past and it never worked for me. I have to get out of the house to go to work.

I have several groups of partners that buy properties together. One group of four purchased the office building I'm in. We finished out 1k sf of space in the lower level, nothing fancy and each of us have an office, share conference room and share book-keeping staff/reception personal which is a huge advantage to me because I'm bad with Quickbooks.

We manage the 10k sf office building and offset our rent through management fees generated. I'm still coming out of pocket $125/mo. for rent but I really don't do well at home.

Martin CS · Answer

Thanks for all your input guys. I think for me, the biggest issue is being a 1 man company. I feel like is not fun and is not what I pictured real estate to be, when I first started. I feel like I have the experience to form a small group to do it as a team. I look at the guys from CT Homes and they seem to be having fun while making a lot of money in the process.

The problem is that I don't have the right partners in my life. My friends for the most part don't care about RE or are just not motivated. I have some RE professionals but they are focused on their own niche. I feel like I have to go looking for my "dream team".

HOW DO YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS?

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