There’s more to upsizing for a home-based business than square footage and storage space. The house you select must be a productive workspace for you and anyone else who’s involved in your business. That means looking inside - inside your home and inside yourself to determine how best to organize and utilize the available workspace. This will be your office, your creative environment; a place to meet with customers and show that your business is a truly well-conceived venture. Do what you can to prepare your business ahead of the move, then when looking for prospective homes, take care to examine each room to determine where you might set up your workspace, the headquarters of your business.

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Get off the ground before your move

After relocating, you’ll have plenty of to-do items on your plate that come with the purchase of your new home, so try to get some of your business-related tasks taken care of before you move. After settling on a name for your company, you can quickly and easily set up a business website using a free website builder and set up social media accounts. You can also come up with a great slogan and calculate how much traffic your website needs to be successful. You’ll also need to create a logo for your business; there are tools online that can help. One thing you may want to hold off on is getting a business credit card; you may need to run a personal credit check in order to obtain one, which may impact your credit score for purchasing a home. Once you have these essential items in place, move on to finding the home that works best for you and your business.

A space that works for you

It’s important to feel good about your home office. It has a lot to do with how effectively your business will function, so pick out a room with plenty of space for all the equipment you’ll need to be effective. You’ll need a desk large enough to accommodate a computer and space for a copier, printer, fax machine and anything else you’ll need. Ergonomics matter, so make sure your office chair and keyboard are comfortable for you.

Think productivity

It’s all about productivity; think carefully about whether you could be productive there before deciding on a new home. If it’s a dimly lit space that doesn’t get much natural light, you might need to add a lot of internal lighting, which might not be conducive to the kind of relaxing work environment you want. Once you’ve identified the room that’ll serve as your primary work environment, consider whether there’s another room you could switch to if the first one doesn’t meet your needs. Always consider an alternative space - sometimes a change of environment, even a simple one, can help give you a fresh and creative outlook.

Room with a view

Creating your own work environment is one of the great advantages of working from your home. Think back to all those jobs where you had to stare at a cubicle partition, a plain, beige wall or a filing cabinet all day. Now that you have your own gig, look for a house that offers a nice view of some trees or your beautifully landscaped lawn. It’ll help you manage stress and maintain a positive outlook when things get hectic. As you’re checking out a room that might work for your office, imagine positioning your desk so you can see out the window just by looking up.

Efficient use of space

Chances are, you may find a home you love, even though it may lack an office room with lots of square footage. As long as you’re happy with the house, you can still make it work for a home-based business by making efficient use of the space. Consider installing floating shelves to keep your desk and workspace clear of papers and office equipment. A decluttered work area is essential for clear thinking, so make sure you take the time to organize everything carefully. Get some plastic trays so that paper clutter doesn’t run rampant.

Take your time when upsizing to a new house. This will be your office as well as your residence; it should be comfortable in both regards. Bear in mind that it should also be large enough to accommodate your business as it grows and expands