Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[blakesq]

Hi Fellow IP professionals.  I just read a post where Jim Ivey talked about how economics favors solo patent attorneys and home offices. That got me thinking. I used to have a home office, but found myself going a little stir crazy (actually a lot stir crazy), such that when my wife came home from work, I needed to leave the house.  I now have an office (not a home office), and I love it, easier to leave work at work, and not go stir crazy. 

Anyhow, we may be making a move, and I am considering going back to home a office.  I have a 4 month old baby (our first).  I wonder what you guys/gals with home offices do to avoid going stir crazy?  What do you do about meeting clients (i used to meet them at coffee shops or at their office, but not at my house, if i could help it).  Does it even make sense to have a home office with a baby at home?  Thanks!

[BobRoberts]

I started out with a home office, and moved to leased office space as you did.  It seemed to give potential clients a feeling that I was more permanent when I had an office to meet them at.  Like you, I met at local coffee shops, library rooms, and sometimes at my home.  If you have alocal bar assoc, there may be the possibility of renting a meeting from them to meet clients.  Or, if you are dealing with a small local company, you could meet at their place of business.

Re: going stir crazy, I would often go to the local coffee shops (and at times, the local university where I did my undergrad), bookstores, etc... with my laptop and portable printer, and use their free internet access.  Call forwarding could be set to my cell when desired, or voice mail was used.  I had both a business line, and distinctive ring with a different 'logical' telephone # for my phone line for a fax number- essentially, I used my business line for work.  The 2nd 'logical' telephone number rang over the same telephone line (with the distoinctive ring) as my home phone.  I could set my fax machine to answer to the distinct ring.

Good luck...

[Ghoti]

Remember to consider that this will be different with your child.

If you are working from home with your partner also at home with a young child it can be tricky (been-there-done-that). At 4mths it will be fine but the significant noise starts at prob 6mths and continues forever. Depending on how close your work desk is you may find it difficult to mentally tune-out or prevent any callers hearing your screaming child. Just another aspect to consider.