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Juniper · 10-19-2008, 02:01 AM

This is an idea I've bounced around in my head for about a year now. Tell me if I'm crazy or foolish, or maybe it'd be a nice idea after all.

As I've said, along with going to college, I work at home as a freelance copywriter. Been doing that for about 3 years now, been doing other freelance writing for about 10. I have a little office of my own in the basement. It's dark and dreary. Hubby says he's going to convert our 2-car garage into an office for me and build us another garage somewhere else - this is a good idea as it would solve some of our house's structural problems (weak support beams) but who knows when it'll get done. And sometimes working at home isn't all it's cracked up to be anyhow. Too many distractions, too many people who think that if you "work from home" that means you're available all day for whatever else they have in mind.

So I started thinking it might be nice to get me an office someplace else and actually Go To Work. Someplace close. Someplace where I could physically "hang out my shingle" as a brick & mortar business location, to receive clients (though mostly I work online with out of town clients, now), and maybe even actually hire an employee to handle the office admin stuff one day. I hate office admin stuff.

The work IS there, the potential IS there, if I can devote full time to it in a day instead of a couple hours after the kids are in bed, and a few sessions in between laundry and mopping, you know? And now that my family is getting used to the idea of me not being home all day, while I am attending classes, maybe working all day and then not having homework at night would be a relief instead of a nasty shock, KWIM?

SO. I live in this cute little town with a mile-long strip of historical buildings, dating circa 1820-1880, many with brass historical markers and plaques. This section is literally two minutes' drive from my house.

I was thinking it might be cool to buy one of those 1880's houses on Main Street, use it for an office. If the place I buy has a storefront, I could sell writing-related stuff like stationery, cool pens, journals, etc., maybe have poetry readings and writing workshops along with my regular copywriting business.

Here's a picture of one of the houses currently for sale, priced at $143K:

(the color's a bit off, but it's a cute place.)

I know real estate is an iffy investment right now, but this is main street, an affluent town, so I think it's pretty safe.

Anyhow I can't do it till I finish that degree...but it's a fun thing to think about.

I suppose it'd be wise to rent an office space somewhere on Main Street first to see if it works out - there's always a spot somewhere.

What do you think?

10-19-2008, 02:01 AM	#1
Juniper I know, right? Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,539	Idea for My Business This is an idea I've bounced around in my head for about a year now. Tell me if I'm crazy or foolish, or maybe it'd be a nice idea after all. As I've said, along with going to college, I work at home as a freelance copywriter. Been doing that for about 3 years now, been doing other freelance writing for about 10. I have a little office of my own in the basement. It's dark and dreary. Hubby says he's going to convert our 2-car garage into an office for me and build us another garage somewhere else - this is a good idea as it would solve some of our house's structural problems (weak support beams) but who knows when it'll get done. And sometimes working at home isn't all it's cracked up to be anyhow. Too many distractions, too many people who think that if you "work from home" that means you're available all day for whatever else they have in mind. So I started thinking it might be nice to get me an office someplace else and actually Go To Work. Someplace close. Someplace where I could physically "hang out my shingle" as a brick & mortar business location, to receive clients (though mostly I work online with out of town clients, now), and maybe even actually hire an employee to handle the office admin stuff one day. I hate office admin stuff. The work IS there, the potential IS there, if I can devote full time to it in a day instead of a couple hours after the kids are in bed, and a few sessions in between laundry and mopping, you know? And now that my family is getting used to the idea of me not being home all day, while I am attending classes, maybe working all day and then not having homework at night would be a relief instead of a nasty shock, KWIM? SO. I live in this cute little town with a mile-long strip of historical buildings, dating circa 1820-1880, many with brass historical markers and plaques. This section is literally two minutes' drive from my house. I was thinking it might be cool to buy one of those 1880's houses on Main Street, use it for an office. If the place I buy has a storefront, I could sell writing-related stuff like stationery, cool pens, journals, etc., maybe have poetry readings and writing workshops along with my regular copywriting business. Here's a picture of one of the houses currently for sale, priced at $143K: (the color's a bit off, but it's a cute place.) I know real estate is an iffy investment right now, but this is main street, an affluent town, so I think it's pretty safe. Anyhow I can't do it till I finish that degree...but it's a fun thing to think about. I suppose it'd be wise to rent an office space somewhere on Main Street first to see if it works out - there's always a spot somewhere. What do you think?