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How important is location to your business?



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How important is location to your business?

As anybody who is self employed knows, one of the keys to a successful business is to ensure sure that your clients are taken care of as far as what services or jobs you'll be providing.

Now my question is as a self employed entrepreneur, i want to know and get some honest opinions, does location play a big role in a home or small business success or does the internet play a bigger factor.

My theory is that success in these type of freelancing/work-at-home businesses are not really influenced by location and it doesn't matter where it takes place. Your point of view is appreciated.

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TommyCarey
I own and operate my own SEO and Online Marketing company and I've had an at home office as well as an actual office in a big corporate type business.

Both of these have their pros and cons and I'll try to cover what I can think of here.


Working From An Office Building

Pros:
  • You have more of a corporate identity since you can label your websites with an actual business address and not a P.O box. A professional business image is a big thing for some people because they want to work with established companies.
  • You can have local clients meet you at your office and not at a starbucks or other coffee place to go over details about their project, campaigns, etc. Not many people let clients come right to the office to talk about projects because you can just talk on the phone, so this could be a great selling point in order to get them to sign up since they'll be face to face.


Cons:
  • You have to pay a monthly fee to rent/lease office space in order to conduct business with a professional appearance.
  • You can purchase your own building, but if you're not established and don't have a good cash flow or funds, you will put yourself at risk.
  • If you're renting/leasing an office just for yourself, it's kind of a waste of money since you could invest that money into your business and bring in more clients.



Working From A Home Office

Pros:
  • You don't have to pay for an office space, or buy a building, in order to run your business. You can sit on your couch if you really want to, I know I do How important is location to your business?
  • You don't have to travel and put mileage on your car since you can stay at home. I love this and right now we only have one car because me and my spouse don't need another one since I work from home How important is location to your business?
  • You don't have to wear a suit and tie, or even get dressed in the morning. I typically wear basketball shorts and a t-shirt when working because I can How important is location to your business?


Cons:
  • When a client wants to meet up you'll have to arrange the meeting at a local coffee shop or restaurant since you don't have an office.
  • You can get out of order since you may not have a proper filing system and people in your house could mess up your papers if you have any.
  • You can have plenty of distractions such as pets, family, tv, the radio, etc. I know I have plenty that I have to tone out.
  • People think that since you're at home you can come out to lunch or do whatever you want, which isn't true How important is location to your business?



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CryptoGuru
i completely agree locations have pros and cons, i guess by the end of the day it all falls on the person that is running or working the business and what best suits there style of work just like you said some people just want to be able to have that professional aspect covered when it comes too location and what not but for most freelancers you get the best for yourself and for your business when you work from a home office and just as you mentioned it is also a great way of saving money on rent expenses.



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EliteWriter
You have a point that some people seem to fail to be responsible and properly motivated if they work from home. They cannot set their working hours as they get distracted, and chances are that should they be all dressed up and working in a nice office with a big desk and everything, they would be much more motivated and efficient. On the other hand there are several freelancers who managed to set a good timetable and work from home in their pajamas. It depends on the person and what he feels most confident and comfortable in at the end of the day.



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ajlancer
Hi jkeyz2 thanks for your good question. if you talking freelancing type of business or internet based business. I think location does not matter for successful business. You can operate your business even from home. And your client never visit to your office for buying something physically. So, internet based business location does not matter for business success. But, if you talking about business for physical goods or product, location very importance. You cannot operation it from your home. Because, many buyer will come to buy something directly to your shop or business firm. And for retails business, it also impossible thinking without prime location. Good location means huge people will gather and chance to get maximum customer.

So, it is depend on business type. Location should importance, if business for any physical goods.

Regards by Ajlancer



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CryptoGuru
yea i totally agree first things first you gotta take into consideration of clients , but for those of us that dont have to deal with clients directly working from home could posssibly be the best bet in the long run. definetly agree with a business location being necessary if dealing with good and hands on clients and i also agree with a free lancing internet business thriving from home you dont need to do too much to elevate a business that involves no direct contact except make sure too keep up with what ever it is your working on



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EliteWriter
I guess for freelancing there is no need to have an actual office. It may be nice and look professional and everything, but at the end of the day, only local people are going to see it. As a freelancer you are going to get orders from people all over the world, so effectively it does not matter to them where you are based and how fancy your office premises and furnishings are. It is basically a cost that you can avoid. Besides I prefer to work from the comfort of my own home, without having to travel to and fro.



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Corzhens
With the internet as the business hub, location is not that relevant anymore especially if the service is content wrting. Freelancing is more online than offline and proximity of business office to clients become relevant in cases of deliveries. Naturally there is cost in delivery so distance is taken into consideration. But if there is no physical delivery involved then distance is not an issue.



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