Place of business

[Doug Nelson]

For those of you earning an income from your efforts, where do you put out your shingle?

This was asked in an earlier post, but I thought a poll might attract more responses.

[Jakaleena]

Currently from home, but after I make like a zillion dollars I might rent a place...

Home is FAR out in the boonies. I actually do more pick-up and delivery than I have drop off business, but "I work out of my van" wasn't one of the options...

[jeaniesa]

I'm also working from home. I'm just starting up though, so don't really have any experience to share. I do live outside of town, but luckily it's only 10 miles to the center of a large town (100,000+), so I do have access to good labs if I need to offer more than my home setup can provide.
Jeanie

[DJ Dubovsky]

Home. Couldn't afford the overhead of an office.
DJ

[alceria]

I put down "other". I do the actual retouching work at home in my home office, but I *get* my work through a custom lab that I work at. So while I am doing the work at home, I don't have to deal with the customers or pick up/drop off anything. I just burn the files here, take them to work with me and print enlargements and send them out to the people that work on the counter to call the customer and ring them up. It works out perfectly for me. The store brings in more work than I could get on my own. If I decide to start doing this independently I'll have to start cutting back hours from my actual job because I'm swamped as it is now.

[gblount]

I'm with Jakaleena, I work out of my home but do a lot of driving to give estimates, pick up and deliver work. I'm just getting started and live in a rural area so this is a necessary part of getting the message out locally...

Gregory

[Swampy]

I'm lucky enough to be able to work from my home. The tax breaks are great, but there are pros and cons.

Pro: Can work in my PJs till all hours of the morning, the above mentioned tax breaks and everything I need is right here not "left at the office".

Con: You still have to keep the house clean for those times when clients come to discuss projects, when you think you are all caught up, you turn around and there are still dishes to do, nobody around to ask for opinion or input on a project.

[Mike]

Not enough choices! I have a studio, in its own building, but it is in my backyard!

I really think that this is just about the best way to do it. I have seperate utility/phone lines etc, so the studio gets its own bills (makes tax time a lot easier!). Don't have to keep the house all the clean just in case a customer comes by. Can still run into the house and do a quick chore if I get a break during the day. Left overs are way to close!

I have a 27 foot commute and since it rains a lot here, I put up a covered walkway for that commute, so if I want to sneak out with just my jammies on, I do not get wet doing it

I do have some advantages (location location location) that work in my favor. I live in the county, but the city limits is the center line of the street in front of my place. So I do not have to pickup and deliver.

I really think that having a seperate building for your business in your own backyard can be just about the best way to go.

Mike

[rutherford]

hi everyone!

i have joined retouch pro recently. I work as an illustrator / retoucher in a studio in Brasil called seagullsfly. We do digital / creative retouch, 3D graphics and animation for the publicity market.

Appart from my job, i also work from home on a free lance basis.

I would also like to say that retouch pro is a very good place to meet people, learn and share experiences. Congratulations for the inciative!

Cheers,


George Rutherford
www.segaullsfly.com
www.fotolog.net/rutherford

[RooB]

I work from home-- since I live in a rural area, and the cost of living is exceptionally low. Also, as a sole proprietorship, I don't have to register my business here and anything I make from it only needs to be claimed as personal income on my tax forms until I make a huge, luxurious amount. Aside from the computers and the software (which I already own anyway), my business has almost no running cost (my computers are on 24/7 with or without the business, etc).

[emarts]

I have an office in my house but I also have a part-time job where I sneak work in sometimes.

My goal is to have my own studio (I'm studying to become a photographer) like Mike. I wanna be like Mike.

[Bryan L]

I rent a large office space from which I run two businesses. I own a large computer service and repair company and also a video production/photo editing company. The photo editing and video production go hand-in-hand as we mostly make biographies and tributes for funerals.

-B

[RL Design]

I have a home office (actually my entire basement). Working from home allows me to avoid daycare for my toddlers and enjoy their youth (most of the time ). My husband would love to open a retail site, but that will wait till the kids are in school.

[Jon Foster]

I'm just getting started but will do it all from home.

Jon.

[fpellerin]

I work from home. I've set-up an office in my basement where I can get away from distractions and concentrate on the photos!