That is the question I am asking in this weeks reader poll. I have been curious what the readers of Home Office Warrior do when they are asked this question or when they are talking to potential clients. So, take a second to answer the poll which I have included below.
And if you have additional comments, please leave them here so we can keep this conversation going.
I voted, but I always tell those I work with that I work at home. When I first started out I was leary of it, but I find more often than not they do as well. Nobody seems to mind. It is best to tell them so they do not expect to drop by to visit or drop off papers.
For me… it depends.
I maintain a business address in a professional office building… and that’s where I meet clients, receive mail, etc. The executive suite company that operates this location provides an “image package”, that includes receptionists, phone answering and voice-mail services (forwarding calls to my home office or cel), conference rooms, etc. The cost is low, and the image projected is very professional.
When it comes to revealing that I’m a home-office-lawyer, I try to get a sense of how the client will react.
As often as not, I DO tell clients that “I’m working from home today”… when they offer to “drop by later”, or whatever. (My business address is 40 miles from home).
So far, I’ve not had anybody react badly to learning that I’m a home-office-lawyer.
My clients have never had any issues of me working from home — in fact, my business began while I was traveling and living abroad in Italy. A law firm in Washington, DC whom I had done work for enlisted my services while in a 400 year old house in a medieval village. I figured then that if I could do the work there (on dial-up), I could do it from anywhere.
I believe that as long as one conducts business consistently professionally — no dogs barking in the background on phone calls, answering phone calls during working hours, etc. — there is no noticeable difference to clients.
Perhaps the nature of one’s business might matter, but it seems quite commonplace for designers - graphic, web, print, etc.; and for computer programmers and web developers.