Q & A: Can You Give Me A Cost Example For A Small Home Office?

Running a small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer- or Personal business, like professional, contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants from home, is one of the most cost-effective ways to start a business, so here are some costs I can foresee:

1. Office Set-Up. You may have a desk and computer and internet already, the kitchen table can often be used for your production work, depending what you do, it may be the garage. If you do not have desk, computer, buy some second hand stuff, look in the local paper, ebay or other auction sites, to find what you need cheap. I estimate $1,000 / £500 for that one off, if you don’t have the office equipment.
2. Telephone & Fax. Get a second telephone line, get your faxes via email and get someone to answer your telephone. Use a virtual assitant, I hate small businesses who do not answer their telephones, it’s one of the biggest business turn-off’s. Estimated set-up cost $100 / £ 50, monthly cost about $60 / £ 30 per month.
3. Online Presence and E-Commerce. I am a little biased here - use our OnlineOffice and get your web-site - for customer information, e-shop - for selling online, online blog - for marketing and PR, online file-store - to keep you data safe, accounting software - to work with your accountant online in real time, and be able to outsource and work with virtual assistants, to save time, money and make yourself look professional. This all includes free 24/7 live support. Per month $20 / £10.
4. Accountant and Bookkeeper. Important, to get an accountant as early as possible, to plan your cash-flow talk about special rules that apply for taxation, insurance and other red-tape. One of you most important business partners if you get your choice right. Estimate on average $100 / £50 per month, the initial consultation should be free.
5. Bootstrapping. Do not spend any money on flyers and other printed material, don’t spend any money on any marketing until you can afford it and you know you will get a result - because it’s all free on the internet.

So you are looking at a professionally run home-office with telephone and accountant back-up for a total set-up cost of around $ 1,100 / £550 and a monthly average cost of $180 / £90. You may need some insurance, depending where and what you do?

This is the cost for running your small business from home, your accountant can talk to you about tax-breakes for working from home too. ST

Disclaimer: As with any of my readers questions, I do not have all the answers and this is not business advice, since I only know very little about your business. If any of you can add anything here do so for the benefit of my reader, who asked the question and everybody else, leave a comment below - I thank you for your effort.

4 Responses to “Q & A: Can You Give Me A Cost Example For A Small Home Office?”

1. Awards website
   http://www.awardsintelligence.com/
   
   Said on October 16th, 2007 at 4:31 pm

   Good to know.

2. Bruno The Home Business Guy
   http://www.mjcsystems.com
   
   Said on January 21st, 2008 at 5:56 am

   Great post, and very informative. Just as a bit of side-note here - I think it’s also important to note that having your own home office is truly and incredible thing. Thanks to technology, it allows us to do this. What about those that struggle to keep an office outside of their home. BOOM - you just work in your own. It’s amazing. Like right now, I run a business from home, and most of it’s done on my laptop. It’s amazing. Anyways, great post, and great blog. Keep it up!

3. Joey
   http://www.thesecret-income.com
   
   Said on January 26th, 2008 at 11:43 am

   I agree on point no 5. Almost anything is free, but sometimes it also consume much time. You buy advertising it means you buy spare time to relax or do other things.

4. Brad
   http://completeinfo.wordpress.com
   
   Said on July 3rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm

   Thanks for the information, and great articles.. But the costs is kinda expensive

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