Everyone has heard of the wonders of working from home by now. But it does have some limitations. For starters, not everyone has a suitable space in their home to work from. With this in mind, you might consider setting up a garden business.
In the early stages of the remote working revolution, many people worked wherever they could. This included their beds, sofas, or dining room tables. But these aren’t suitable long-term places to work, because they aren’t designed for work.
If your business simply involves working from a laptop, then you might be able to get away with tucking a desk into a quiet corner of the house, but this still isn’t ideal. Also, this solution doesn’t work for every type of business, sometimes you need more space.
Benefits of a Garden Business
First of all, what are the benefits of working from home? Here are a few of them:
- Non-existent commute, saving time, money, and fuel.
- Full control over working conditions.
- More flexibility over your workday.
- Can keep an eye on things at home.
- Convenient kitchen and bathroom facilities.
- Private working conditions (if you have a separate office).
- Reduced office costs.
It’s obvious why so many people prefer to work from home. If you run your own business, you can also save a huge amount of money on rent and utilities for another property. Many jobs and businesses don’t need anything more than a computer and an internet connection to function, so why would you overcomplicate things more than you have to?
A garden business has the same benefits as working from home, and some added advantages.
As we’ve already discussed, one of the biggest limitations of working from home is space. If you have a spare room that can be converted into an office space, then great. If you need more than a small space on your property or you don’t have the space anywhere, you might have some issues.
But if you have plenty of exterior space, you can eliminate that limitation immediately and get more use out of your garden.
Another potential issue with working from home is that, while some people find it easier to concentrate at home, it’s easier to get distracted by chores and other household concerns. No matter how hard you try, you might not be able to get into the right frame of mind for productive work.
While the lack of commute is lovely, some people need a measure of separation between their work and home lives.
Working from your office gives you the best of both worlds. You still have the convenience of working from home, but you do have a “mini-commute” where you leave your house and go to your office or workspace.
Another benefit of working from your garden is that you can set up any kind of work environment. Yes, a home office might be a viable idea, but if your work requires specific equipment or tools that generate a lot of noise and mess, it might not be appropriate for the home.
Setting Up a Workshop
One of the biggest benefits of a garden workshop is that you have much more flexibility than a home studio. You can set up large, complex equipment that wouldn’t be safe or appropriate for your house.
If your work is loud and generates a lot of mess or debris, you would ideally want to keep it away from your home. But a garden shed or workshop is the ideal place to get it done.
There are several options when setting up a workshop. The first and most common option is to convert an existing garden shed or garage into a workshop. This is a great way to use space that would otherwise go to waste and, in many cases, fits your needs perfectly.
Another option is to build a workshop. As you’d expect, this has more upfront costs and will take more time than a conversion, but it does have the huge benefit of allowing you to design your workshop from scratch.
You know the kind of space your work needs, and designing your workshop allows you to think ahead and make sure it’s perfect.
You can also design your workshop with your workflow and preferences in mind. If you want room to grow as you invest in more equipment, you can add more flexibility to your workshop design.
When designing a workshop, think about the materials you will need to construct it. For example, this type of corrugated plastic makes for fantastic roofing for outdoor areas where you still need some roof cover. It’s light and hardwearing, so you can set up a covered area outside your workshop proper for certain kinds of jobs.
The better your workshop is, the more comfortable and safe you will be while you work. This allows you to work more efficiently and productively.
Garden Office
Even if you don’t need a dedicated workshop, there are still plenty of good reasons to invest in a garden office. A garden office is, as the name suggests, a separate structure in your garden that has all the utilities you need to comfortably work.
It is much more private than a home office, which makes it a much better idea for busy families. You can get into the mood for work during your “commute”. You can even set up a private bathroom and coffee-making facilities in your garden office, although it is worth considering not doing this.
When you’re working for long periods of time during the day, it’s beneficial to take small breaks where you get up and walk around. This is good for your cardiovascular health, your back, and even your productivity. If you have to walk back into the house for coffee and bathroom breaks, you essentially force yourself to take these breaks from your desk and walk around.
Another benefit of a garden office is that you’re in the perfect environment to work. Humans like being outside. As in, it’s literally good for our mental and physical health to spend at least some time outside.
Sunlight allows our bodies to produce vitamin D, which helps your bone health and your mood. Greenery and plants are also good for our mental health and are proven to help us to concentrate and work more productively.
When you have an office in your garden, you have to spend at least a bit of time outside. You can also design your garden office to take full advantage of the nature around it. Install large windows that soak in all of that natural sunlight and allow you to look at the outside world while working.
Get some indoor plants as well, so you feel as though you’re outside even if you have all the comfort of an indoor office.
Working From a Van
Another common way that people run businesses from home is via a van. You can do so much with a van, depending on your skills and creativity.
If all you have is a van and the ability to drive it, you still have plenty of options. “Man/woman with a van” is a genuine career option.
You could become a delivery driver or help people to move large objects from one place to another. The great thing about this kind of business is that you can be incredibly flexible. This makes it perfect as a side hustle, you can spend anything between a few hours a week to a few hours a day delivering packages and food.
On the other hand, if you do have skills, you can offer those skills to potential clients in your surrounding area. For example, window cleaning is an accessible career and can earn a pretty penny. You do, however, have to invest some money in equipment and time in finding clients to build a window cleaning round.
Other options include setting up:
- A mobile dog grooming service
- Florist business
- Cleaning Company
- Handyman/woman
If you’re a skilled cook, you can set up a food truck out of a van. However, in this case, you will need a specialized vehicle that includes cooking facilities and the ability to safely store and transport food.
You will have to set up space in your garden for your van and any equipment or tools you need. While you can store things in the van itself, it’s a safer option to keep everything in a shed. This also means that you don’t have to sort out your van every time you go to work, as you know exactly what you need and where to find it.
As with any business, you need to make sure that everything is on board. Make sure that your van is insured to protect you and your customers. If you are serving food or drinks, look into the correct certification.
Setting up any business can feel overwhelming, but anyone can set up a business in their back garden if they know how to start and how to create an appropriate work environment.
