Home Based Business Survey - Michelle Mills

15th Dec 2009

SURVEY REVEALS: IMAGE CONSCIOUS HOME BASED BUSINESSES KEEP OFFICE LOCATION TOP SECRET

Sydney, November 10th, 2009 – Over half of Australian home based businesses choose to keep clients in the dark about operating from home in fear of losing business, according to a survey of 110 Australian home operators.

The survey conducted by Serviced Offices International found 56.2 per cent of business owners believe prospective customers are hesitant to work with a business that is home based.

Of those businesses that do tell clients, 67.6 per cent said they would never hold meetings at their home office. The top two reasons being that it looks unprofessional (47.4%) and ultimately, is their personal space (30%).

Michelle Mills, Managing Director, Serviced Offices International said:

“There are nearly one million people running home based businesses across Australia , but it is no surprise that such a large number keep their place of business a secret. Image is very important, especially for a home operator who has to convince customers that home life will not infringe on the quality of product and service provided.

“Developing a qualified exterior image is crucial to drawing in clients. This can be as simple as ensuring business calls are never unanswered through a virtual office or making sure the business has a professional web presence.

“However, in order to maintain a professional image, a solid exterior must always be supported with great results and proficient customer service within the business. When effectively balancing both, home based businesses are as successful, professional and dependable as their office based competitors”.

The best perks to working from home according to home based operators are the flexible working hours (82.5%), not having to travel to work (68.9%) and being able to live and work from wherever (52.4%).

The biggest challenges working from home are mentally separating work from home life (60.6%), loneliness (45.2%) and the regular home/ family interruptions while working (40.4%).

Struggles aside, the majority of home based businesses are happy just where they are, with 69.7 per cent reporting that they intend to remain home based for the next twelve months.

For more information, statistics or interviews please contact:

Marie Najjar | Public City | 02 9281 7272 | marie@publiccity.com

Linda Moussa | Public City | 02 9281 7272 | linda@publiccity.com

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