One of the best aspects of being your own boss is that you are able to decide where you want to work. As an apartment locator in the Dallas area, you’ll be working in your car a lot of the time as you take clients to their next potential living space. But you’ll also need another place to work, the workspace that you can call your office. Some people choose to rent an office space, but when you’re just getting started in your apartment locator job, you might not be able to afford an office (or maybe you just don’t see the need for it). That’s when many people decide to work from home.
Some people experience a number of problems working from home, and they might find it difficult or impossible to work as efficiently as they might in a traditional office setting. But all is not lost. Here are some of the most common problems people have working from home and some potential solutions to making it easier.
The Home Office Space
The Problem: If you’re still working from the kitchen table and have to move all of your office stuff for every meal, you’re not going to feel completely devoted to your job. Not having enough space for your business might make you feel like what you’re doing is temporary, even if you know deep down that locating apartments for people in Dallas is the career you’re dedicated to.
The Solution: Find a separate space. This is almost always more easily said than done, but it’s vitally important that you find a space within your home that you can call your business’ own.
- If you have a spare bedroom that only hosts your parents for a week a year, make that into your office and pay for them to stay in a hotel while they’re in town. The business gained by having a home office will more than pay for the cost of a hotel.
- If you have an unfinished basement, you might think that you can’t afford to have it finished. But what if you just spent a quarter of the money in order finish a small portion, creating a comfortable office? You can finish the rest at a later date when your apartment locator business has really taken off.
- If you have absolutely no space, consider getting out of your home and into a coworking space. Many of these businesses will have offices and desks you can lock so that you can leave your paperwork and work computer at your office.
The important thing is that you have a place to go, a specific location you can look at and say “I am now at work.” As long as you’re sitting at the kitchen table, you’re bound to be distracted by dirty dishes, laundry, pets, and the television hanging on the wall. You need a place to go to get away.
Office Supplies and Furniture
The Problem: If you’ve taken our advice about carving out a specific office space in your home, you’ll need office furniture. Unfortunately, many people will try to make do with what they already have. By the end of the day their backs and necks hurt because they don’t have the proper office furniture. They’re still holding their phone to their ear instead of getting a nice hands-free headset. And the antique desk they’re using isn’t at the right height for a computer and certainly doesn’t have the storage for the necessary tools of the apartment locator trade.
The Solution: Buy yourself some dedicated office equipment. It might be tempting to head out and buy a $2000 standing desk and a $1000 chair, and if you have that money and it’s that important to you then, by all means, go ahead. But in most cases, someone starting up in a new apartment locator job or seeking a broker sponsorship is looking for a better deal.
The first thing many people do is to purchase new-but-cheap office furniture, but it can often be flimsy and uncomfortable. Instead, take a look on Craigslist or head to a used office furniture store in order to get a good deal on formerly-expensive office furniture. The important thing is that the office furniture keeps you comfortable all day long. A reasonably-priced standing desk can take some pressure off your lower back and help with circulation. Get a good filing cabinet (or two) so that you can stay organized.
Finally, purchase the highest-rated hands-free headset you can afford, because you want the best sound and the best connection when you’re working as an apartment locator. And make sure it has an easily-accessible mute button; household noises like doorbells and barking dogs could shatter the professional office you want your clients to imagine.
Showers and Clothes
The Problem: If you don’t have any appointments and are simply doing the paperwork associated with your Dallas apartment locator job, you might be tempted to spend the day in your pajamas. If you do end up getting dressed, you might put on a well-worn t-shirt and shorts.
And since you’re not meeting anyone, do you really even need to shower?
The Solution: Put on nice clothes, those that you wear when you meet with apartment hunters. Even if you don’t have any meetings, putting on your work clothes is an excellent way to remind yourself that you are working no matter where you are in the house. It solidifies the idea that your home office is just as important as your office, a visual reminder to yourself that you are indeed at work.
That’s Not All!
Making the most of your apartment locator job is important to you, isn’t it? You want to be as efficient as possible, and that doesn’t just mean showing up to your appointments on time. It means making the most of your home office, and we hope you’ll take the above points to heart. Come back next time to learn about some more home office hacks that will make you even more efficient.
What’s another way to make your career go even more smoothly? Get an apartment locator sponsorship with Spirit Real Estate Group. Click here to learn more about it!
