I was working from home for a long time, not just since the pandemic but for the past 16 years of my marketing career. Finding time to fit in all the daily tasks is one thing, but I found myself migrating from room to room in our home for that nook where I could be creative and tackle all the day had ahead. It was especially great when I found myself working in my daughter’s room while she was at school. I would look around at her pink walls and knew I had some needs I wanted to take care of. There’s something exciting about the prospect of separating work from family time. THIS quickly has become my biggest priority. I wanted to be able to have a space away from the kids where I can focus on my work and be more productive without the distractions and interruptions, and I wanted my home to be solely just a family space where I don’t have to worry about work and focus on my husband and kids.
I was originally planning to find an office space before I moved to Brantford when I lived in B.C. back in February 2019. The leases were very high especially after the first year and it was overall just very expensive and would cause more stress if I followed through with it. Not long after, I moved to Brantford where everyone was working from home due to the pandemic and more than ever I felt like I needed space away from the house. In March earlier this year I was ready, focused and had scheduled in viewings for new office space instead I was met with that school was being cancelled again so I had to stay home with the kids and watch them while working as well. Balance is never easy but 3 kiddos and 2 adults all working in the same four walls was becoming old news and my inspiration for searching for the new office space came in full force once September came around.
Looking online at the prices and the spaces made me realize that I didn’t want to lease an office. It was high commitment and that wasn’t something I wanted; I was just testing the waters having a space away from my house for the first time, so I didn’t want to fully dive into it right away. I wanted to find a space that offered the opportunity to rent out monthly. Well I am so happy to say that time and patience paid off! The space that I found is giving me the opportunity to try out month to month! Another local entrepreneur has opened up a second level in her business and I scooped up one of three office suites.
I had three main priorities for the office space I was going to have location, convenience, and low commitment. This place had all three, it’s in an amazing location on Brant Ave. which is a very popular street for businesses which allows for lots of networking. It is also very convenient, only five minutes away from my home and it is a fully furnished medium sized space. It offers me a comfortable place to meet with people or set up appointments. It’s not a very expensive place and has very little commitment which is ideal for me as I was saying earlier that I wanted to see if I can get used to the feel of a new office. I have been in my office for a week now and I am loving it so far and I feel far more productive having no more distractions and having that separation from the house for once. During the height of the pandemic a lot of people saw being at home a good separation from work but for me it was quite the opposite and I needed to get into a space for myself outside my home. The office brings out a sense of professionalism into my business and can possibly enhance the client’s perspective of our services, down somewhere and find a good office space.
