BY MARSHALL LEE writing for TheSelfEmployed.com
Home (Not So) Sweet Home
There’s never been a better time to strike out on your own as a self-employed freelancer. In about the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee, you can build a simple, sleek website, plant your flag on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and begin bidding for contracts and projects, without ever leaving home.
Is Starbucks really an effective office space? The short answer is “Yes, but…”
But working from home has its drawbacks. Most freelancers are lucky to have a dedicated corner, let alone a whole room to re-purpose as an office. Partners, pets, and children break your concentration, and everywhere you look you find a new distraction: Floors to wash, walls to paint, dishes to be dried, laundry to be folded.
Cut to a few weeks later, and your house has never looked better, but your inbox is empty and you haven’t closed a contract since last fall.
For solopreneurs looking to break out of the home-office rut and set up shop somewhere a little more, well, public, the most common solution is the local coffee shop. But is Starbucks (or Seattle’s Best, or Panera, or your local all-organic, independent brew joint) really an effective office space?
The short answer is “Yes, but…” and freelancers who spend their days slamming lattes, munching scones, and waiting for a stable table near a power strip to open up need to read on to discover why (and how, and where) they might want to look for another place to conduct business.
Cheap, Quiet, and Convenient: Why Starbucks is Great
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