Many successful companies would beg to differ. Working from home:- controlled environment. The distractions are not a problem if you set expectations.- controlled interruptions from colleagues (have you tried coding with people coming to your desk every hour?). Switch off phone and email, complete isolation ensues.- cheap. Burn rate is king.- distributed teams work, and allow you to pick great talent

Very intriguing article. We started our company about a year and a half ago and we use Co-Working spaces in Atlanta. Currently at Strong Box West and I have to say it does separate home from work and maintain that much needed work life balance.

Ps your last sentence was pretty shitty. Your logic seems to be, office rental = you have a big opportunity. Working from home = you don't have a big opportunity. Did you put that in your pitch deck?

While I tend to agree with most of the points in this article I think it depends on the overall layout and environment you can create in your home as an office. I used to rent an office in the center of town. While it was great separating my home and work/life. It felt like I was an employee still travelling 40 mins in the subway and the crowded busy streets. Most of the office spaces near to me were very expensive. In the end I moved the office back to my home and converted on room into a proper style office. I feel much more relaxed and productive as every before and feel more motivated. Whereas before I was wasting time travelling on transport. But yes working in starbucks is the worst idea you can every have to do your business…

Assuming you're capitalized well enough to take down some rent, sure, but not every startup is headed by single 21 year olds able to live on Ramen. Some of us have other ventures, mortgages and kids, so we're working on building revenues and looking for financing/funding… But yes, as someone who has worked from home/Starbucks for the last 5 years you've nailed the distractions and the eventual normalization of every minutes of the day basically tasting the same. I look forward to an offfice and daily interaction with people, but sometimes you gotta take what ya got. It's about survival and tenacity more than anything….

I agree partially with this post, only the part about getting proper space IF and only IF you have more than just a few people and they are all in town and they all agree to it – it just makes sense! However, if you are the only person working in your startup, working from home or a coffee shop is highly productive, yes there are some distractions but you can control them. If you are at the coffee shop you can just put on your headphones and code away, if you're at home then just find a room and make it your office. In the other side, when you are in an office environment, people would come to you often and interrupt you, it is just very easy to do. Also, I tend to believe than when you are in an office environment people like to have meetings all too often, again, it is just very easy but most of the times those meetings aren't productive and they last too long!

WFH (working from home) seems to be one of those polarizing topics. I believe it largely depends on your work-style and personality. Some people are as effective from home as they are on a plane (given equal accessibility).Working from Starbucks? For some headphones+latte+laptop is more than enough to concentrate. For others its a relief from home-life interruptions. I personally can't do it, but known folks who could. Its like reading technical documentation online. Some people can absorb from reading a PDF and others have to print it out and annotate the page with a pen to retain information. One is not inherently better than another, just different.Where I depart from the author is in the notion that office space = productivity. He's confused his personal opinion for fact then compounded the mistake by framing it as a virtue.

All my life I thought it would be heaven to work from home. Now I do.From morn till midnight, wife, toddler, mother-in-law, housekeeper, builders, and three phones.Thing is, I know when I'm finished for the day. The wife, totally different idea. Heaven.

Couldn't disagree more. Love to know where you arrive at the 75%productivity number—personally I get alot more down working from home.Some people need the social interaction and the peer pressure /oversight to work so they need a 'setting; to do so. Others are adults –

Productivity – all surveys show that homeworkers get more done than those in 'traditional' office environmentsSpace – the idea that we should work in factory-sized spaces is relatively new, dating from the Industrial Revolution. Cottage industries are the more natural human work spaceThird Space – boundaries between work and life are already very blurred. The idea that you only work in an office is outdated, as a younger generation of workforce will tell youSpace is cheap – It's not terribly expensive but it's simply unnecessary for many companiesWorld Class – the list of creative minds working from home is too vast to detail but would include Gustav Mahler, Henry Moore, Trevor Bayliss, Peter Gabriel, Roald Dahl, etc

I couldn't agree more with your last sentence… “Others are adults” Yes!

If your idea of having a company and apply for funding at VCs then you need a working office space. But for some small companies that does not need funding and just for having an extra income, a home office is enough. Also, working from home is best for people who have self discipline.

Speaking from the experience of starting up like you say (with an office), and then getting rid of our office, I totally disagree. At least for a somewhat established startup. Once you've got a core team that works well together I think you can get more done working from home, or at least having the midset of a virtual company even if you do maintain a small office space for meetings and whatnot.There's a huge difference between an office culture and a “work anywhere” culture even if you do have an office. I'm WAY more productive at home in my separate room that's a dedicated office. I shut my door when I don't want the girlfriend or anyone to bother me. When I actually need to have a meeting, I think twice about it because it means getting in my car and driving somewhere. If we're in the middle of a big release we can get together daily. But the other 3 weeks of the month when we're just doing our thing I don't waste 1 minute commuting somewhere.Regarding 75% productivity, did you factor in all of your employees that have hour-plus commutes, plus the productivity you're loosing by not being able to hire people who are awesome but won't relocate just so they can show up at your startup's office?I recently wrote about the 7 key reason we got rid of our office and took our startup virtual: http://blog.printfection.com/2010/10/7-reasons-we-ditched-the-office-and-started-working-from-home.html

Or maybe office space for a small startup is a waste of money?The startup world doesn't entirely hinge on Venture Capitalists footing the bill for office space, phone lines, and other crap. Many startups are bootstrapped by their founders, who are wise to reinvest in marketing their stuff rather than dumping cash into the money pit that is office space.Being smart with finances makes your company go farther, and also keeps the barrier to market entry low.

I would add a 6th. People with voyeuristic or unsavory intentions using applications like Fire Sheep to peak into your unsecured online activity… Lock down those devices folks!!!

Recent research has suggested that people who create their own working environment are more productive than those that don't. A vote for the home office?Run a business from home for improved productivity, reduced costs and maximum flexibility but make sure you have the perfect external workspace available on tap when you need it. Coffee shops are great for a change of scene and for informal catch-ups, but there are also a whole range of private spaces available for occasional use, from business centres to community centres, libraries to cinemas and most can be booked for an hour plus. Why stick to one place – variety is the spice of life! http://spaceontap.blogspot.com/2010/08/external-workspace-makes-home-working.html

For the everyday business tasks it's quite ok to have office atmosphere. But for really creative and strategic thinking, isolated home spot is a king. There is no way you will envision some great innovative service in office: distractions and lack of creative focus are too high.

Sorry – I strongly disagree especially with the “productivity” argument… Granted, not everyone is the type of person/worker that can be productive/motivated on one's own (i.e., they NEED to go to an office). But for the others, a place with a whiteboard won't make a difference.

@Joshua Chase: I used coworking spaces in Atlanta for years, also used city clubs from time to time as image need demanded. I couldn't agree with the article more — working at home was for me and my team a bad option, and the notion of working in a Starbucks on an unsecured wifi connection just did not do it for me absent a VPN or something similar. The only real difference I have with the author is that he presents only two options: rent your own office or work from home. This does not do justice to the other options (including, ahem, my own) which are worth looking into. It isn't any harder than looking for traditional office space, and it is pretty easy to decide if something “clicks”. Not to mention, with shared office space it really is a matter of a couple hundred bucks for office space, not a couple hundred bucks a month for office space, and then some more hundred bucks for utilities, cleaning, repair and maintenance, decoration, furniture (you know, those white boards don't grow on trees). When you find one you like it really is like coming home. Honestly, unless I had more than 15 salaried employees I think I would keep using coworking and shared space options. The advantages just keep on piling up.

Whats a phone booth ?

5 reasons why I think this “5 reasons working from home (or Starbucks) is a bad idea” article is off baseI’d like to offer my perspective on why working from a coffee shop (a Coffice) is actually a very viable option! I wrote this from a Coffice while about 30 people were blabbering around me (many of whom are Cofficers themselves), the espresso maker was shooshing away and baristas were calling out orders – I think I more than managed.Before I get into my response, I’d like folks to understand that where and how you work is a VERY personal issue. Please keep this in mind – especially when reading an article like Mr. Reinhart’s. There is no absolute solution to your office preference conundrum.ProductivityI’d be fascinated to know the origins of the “75 percent productive” statistic. From where I’m sitting – a local Starbucks, if you must know – my productivity is great! I’ve done the downtown cubicle. I’ve tried my best to work from home. And now I’m choosing to be a Cofficer; I’ve never been more productive than I am here. It certainly takes some getting used to, sprinkled with a degree of self-discipline; but once you’ve done it a while, the noise fades in the distance.Sure, I get shiny ball syndrome from time to time. But who doesn’t in ANY work environment. An open concept office with cubicle walls or your buddy listening to music too loud while drumming on his desk with a pen at the desk in front of you can be just as, if not more, distracting than a Coffice. Part of the reason I decided on this work environment is because I’m accountable to one person – me. Well…also to my clients, suppliers, vendors and others. But they couldn’t care less where I work.I have all the tech tools I need in a day to do what I do. In fact, I may have more than you office dwellers because I don’t have an I.T. person wagging a finger at me for downloading a new application for trial. I just do it. I am my own I.T. guy.Space to thinkI’m not sure why Mr. Reinhart chose to trivialize the talented folks who create apps or “features”. What kind of smart phone does he use? Is he certain that his company’s website and its features weren’t 100 percent coded from a home office or Coffice? Would he care? I wouldn't. The site looks great!My Coffice has plenty of space to think, work and collaborate. I chose it because of its size (among other reasons). Technology has allowed me to work collaboratively AND remotely with others. I don’t need a boardroom table and a whiteboard to do what I do. Moreover, as an independent consultant, I consider my company real – so does the government, because they keep taking some of my income. I provide a real service with real results for real clients. The size or location of my workspace has very little to do with any of that.Don’t lose that third spaceThis one’s easy. If I have a deadline for a client, I stick to it. If I’m working from Starbucks or Panera, a deadline is a deadline. If I miss it, my client gets angry, takes her business elsewhere and there goes my income, not to mention my credibility. Why would an office situation be any different? An excuse sounds the same no matter where you give it. Oh! And I know how to play and work AND separate the two. Sometimes I wish they were the same thing.World-class teams don’t work from homeQuite the sweeping generalization here. It’s likely that Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams (co-authors of “Wikinomics” and Macrowikinomics) would have a hard time swallowing it; so, too, would outspoken media consultant Chris Brogan, co-editor of Workshifting.com. Chris proudly works from a Coffice.Mass collaboration is becoming more and more commonplace; yet the rules governing where folks need to be collaborating from aren’t written in stone. Any quick search on Google will produce thousands of links to sources, articles, statistics, tips, tricks and other information in support of telecommuting, teleworking and workshifting. A world-class team doesn’t get to be world class because of the cubicles they’re in, but because of the world-class work they’ve done.Space is cheapMath isn’t exactly my strongest skill set. Ok…it’s downright embarrassing. But according to my calculator, if I bought two $2 cups of coffee every day each month ($124 in 31 days), it’s still cheaper than any rent check I’d see myself cutting for the luxury of office space. I think if I added a bought lunch every day, it could add up. But for me, a daily bought lunch is financially unrealistic and a line in my budget I refuse to add. In re-reading Mr. Reinhart’s piece and then reviewing my own response, the thought of having my own office space just seems ludicrous and a waste. I have the self-discipline to work from a Coffice. I also have everything I need here: a table, chair, wifi, power outlets, my own laptop bag of tricks, daily potential networking opportunities, great coffee (and snacks) and the motivation to prove to the uninformed that working from a Coffice is a viable option for anyone in business and beyond.Sam TitleChief Executive Cofficertwitter.com/thecofficefacebook.com/thecoffice

I both agree and disagree with many of the points. But in the end it all comes down to what your 'product' is, how many people are involved and how much face to face time you need with your customers. Not to mention what your personal preference is, regarding work environments.The main reason why I have so many distractions at home is that I am still watching over my youngest, who is not in school yet. So I do not sit down for more than 15 minutes straight. It also allows me to plan dinners ahead of time, and run errands during the day.One day however, I would like to return to the office, and be able to speak with adults on a more regular basis.

I think this article generalizes far too much. It really depends on the people, the situation and the overall workload of the company as a whole. Having worked in both situations, I'd say I get far less done working on a set schedule at an office somewhere than at home on my own time.When I'm working in an office it's not very comfortable to me and there tends to be an excessive number of meetings and questions of little importance eating up my available work time. Then there is the issue of time needed to time available; in an office you tend to take lunch at a specific time and go home at a specific time, whether you are done your current task or not. Sometimes you leave something half done and have to waste 15 minutes the next day sorting out where you were before jumping back into it. Sometimes you finish a task, but you only have 5 or 10 minutes before it's time to go home. There is a tremendous amount of time lost to setting a schedule like that and a tendency to get distracted with over-planning.When I'm at home I can far more easily get “in the zone” and get some serious work done. I shut the door, put on some loud music and let the code flow out of me. It's like I've shut off the rest of the world and all that matters is what is in front of me. I can do in a day what would have taken me a week in an office, because I'm not being constantly bombarded with distractions when I'm trying to get my work done.If I really need to communicate with the team, I have Skype. It doesn't take any more time to type my question than to say it in person, and with text messages being logged and staying there until they are read, they can answer when they are ready, rather than getting distracted when they are in the middle of something important. Plus, explaining code or exchanging snippets is infinitely easier in writing than in person. Instant Messaging doesn't necessarily require an “instant” response; it makes for an excellent message queue, like email but faster and more fluid.There is many successful remote businesses. You even named a rather notable one right in your article. 37 Signals, the creators of Basecamp, are largely crowd-sourced, with programmers all over the map. They seem to be doing pretty okay regardless of that supposed weakness. How about Mozilla, they've got people all over the map too, but they manage just fine. In fact, I would argue that Mozilla couldn't possibly be as productive as they are if they worked out of one location. You can't find that much talent in one place. It's just not possible without some serious pull. Until you are the next Google, you have to take what talent you can get, and if that means making a choice between that rock star programmer from out of town or some local programmer that has a basic understanding of what you are doing you should totally go for the rock star.

Too bad this article didn't have any verifiable research to back up its wild claims about productivity and that “no” world-class teams work from home, both of which are demonstrably false. The author should have rephrased the article to “Why I prefer working in an office and not at home” rather than setting it up as an attempt to bait a whole host of responders into disagreeing with him about his silly claims. Many companies these days build large teams who are almost entirely virtual – and they still manage to be quite successful. All that aside my opinion is that it really depends. I worked at home almost 2 years for a Fortune 500 company that had a very active telecommuting program, especially for IT employees. The drawback was I didn't really have an ideal work space – our detached garage – which was usually too hot or too cold. It also didn't help that the garage was chaos personified – i.e., all of massive piles of junk were piled up around my so-called “office.” Now, if I had had a real home office with four walls where I could maintain some order I would likely have a different opinion of telecommuting but if you're like me and have a bunch of kids – a baby and two kids that at that time were both being homeschooled and thus were home all the time – and can't work in the house effectively then telecommuting isn't necessarily the best option.

It totally depends on your personal working style, what your role is, and the specific task you're working on.Some people do not have the maturity or discipline to work outside the office. Clearly the author does not.

Reading though the comments I see a lot of people have already said what I feel, but I want to express my opinion as a founder and developer of a bootstrapped web start-up.If you are a real start-up bootstrapping your early development, it is very doubtful you will have the spare cash to throw away on office space. Sure it's a nice idea, and yes conducting meetings would be easier, but in reality unless you have investors chucking cash at you, chances are you can't afford to rent office space, let alone furnish it.Home is not a bad place to develop. Distractions like T.V can be solved by simply turning it off, or moving to another room, it's a no brainer really. Yes distractions at home can be a pain, but the office has its fare share too. If you can discipline yourself, and are truly dedicated to getting your start-up off the ground, then you will rise above these problems.The only thing I have found working at home is the lack of people to bounce ideas off of, but that can be solved by attending tech meet-ups or hitting the forums.I can see James's side of the argument, but for a true bootstrapped start-up working from home in the early days is often the only answer.

Individuals and companies need to decide what environment is right for them. You can't say one formula is the formula for success for everyone.Working remotely does work for some people. Some people think more clearly in an active environment like a coffee shop. Many people I know enjoy the blur between working and private life.Offices I've worked in have had some distractions. (hope I didn't offend the guys passing around the football pool).

I'd like to disagree with you here on all points. On productivity – it's all about perception and discipline. On space to think – you forgot that most small businesses or startups need to cut cost. On third space – again, it's all about perceptions. World class teams don't work from home – I bet even Mark Zuckerberg has a home office stashed comfortably at his home. Space is cheap? Contradicting right? It's far cheaper to have your own secluded work space at home. Well, we're entitled to our own opinions, I guess.

The consensus that the value of working at home or Starbucks versus a professional Officing Solution environment (such as an OBC – Office Business Center, Co-Working location. etc.) really depends on the job/assignment, individual and his/her discipline — is on target. One size doesn't fit all here. Anyone is capable of succeeding and flourishing at either of these environments, depending on the individual and/or situation.But one additional consideration to factor into the equation is not the 'you' but the 'client', if your job involves dealing with clients. I'm just the messenger here folks, but, legit or not, some clients shrug off Starbucks-based Operators as fly-by-nighters lacking the financing or resolve of an Officing Solution to anchor them (at least with a physical address to send correspondence to). Others even pooh-pooh home-based entrepreneurs for similar reasons — such as: “are they wholly and legitimately in business, or are they one of the 10-20% unemployed out there, hanging on and testing their produce/service from the kitchen while they find their dream job, and will they be able to deliver if I give them a deposit?'Again, this is not a universal-held belief, but in certain instances, a perception, legit or not, that applies to product & service providers who will have some clients who will judge their legitimacy before they pay them for something, especially if it's a new or developing client. For independents who are established, recognized and respected deliverers of work, perhaps with a loyal client base…or for those who work for an organization that allows and even encourages off-campus work, this is not as much of an issue. While discipline and delivery of excellent results rule the roost on this issue, there's no reason why, in certain instances, a person can't have the best of both worlds: save money, work freely and casually, and enjoy the conveniences of working out of home or a coffee shop . . . yet have the advantage of a membership or relationship with a good Officing Solution provider in the area, for that occasional need to meet or work out of a dedicated, private and enclosed work environment, and just pay a nominal, a-la-carte monthly, daily or hourly fee that OBCs charge (and perhaps have an official business address on your business card and letterhead, and maybe your name in the lobby directory, if that suits you and helps reinforce your business anchoring and legitimacy quotient). Virtual Office, touch-down space and hourly officing solutions at an OBC is a monumentally booming business these days.One other plus about working out of one of the 10,000 OBCs in the world, or at any other Officing Solution provider, is that many are the epitome of a living, breathing, perpetual Chamber of Commerce where you'll meet other legitimate and financially committed entrepreneurs like you, informally and just by walking down the hall, or attending scheduled networking events on-site. At an OBC, you have tremendous opportunities to develop your business by exchanging leads, closing deals and generating income. It's a place where ongoing, natural, face-to-face networking happens . . . which you can't do as much of at a Starbucks or out of the home. An OBC is a place where you go to also make money, while spending very little of it, if you sign up at the right one.There are tons of great sources on-line for as-needed, professional Officing Solutions providers to explore such as Davinci Virtual, Select Office Suites, and OBCAI.com.Save money . . . work out of the home or coffee shop if you can . . . but if and when you need a professional environment, do what millions of people all over the world do and sign up at an OBC or other low-cost Officing Solution provider.Work at home, if that works for you — or commune it

Definite proof that a controversial title gets you lots of response I thought the argument you made very one-sided. As someone who's spent many years working in office environments from start-ups to large multinationals, and now works from home, my experience is that working from home offers great flexibility and is way more life-friendly than an office desk. I find the environment much easier to concentrate in than a busy office – which has lots more distractions. Okay so computers might dominate my front room – but that's a good thing in my book! Creativity comes much easier in familiar surroundings, although there's no-one to bounce ideas off. You can always go work from another location if you fancy a change of scene. Money should not stop someone with skills and a good idea from starting up on a minuscule budget, and an office might be an unnecessary expense initially – especially for the sole trader with no staff.Your questioning the commitment of business owners for their lack of rented office space I thought somewhat misplaced. A business isn't destined for greatness or mediocrity just by its' location (unless it's a shop), especially in these days where wondrous technology enables far great cooperation and productivity anywhere.

I disagree.

I worked from home for about 6 years whilst my boys were pre-school age. 5 of those years in a dedicated room in the house (as a corner of the kitchen or lounge just didn't work). I'm back working in an office during the day and I like the routine it forces upon me. I also like the office banter and the feeling of 'belonging' which isn't as strong when you work from home. Technology may have come up with substitutes for communicating and a multitude of productivity aids but we're still human beings and we tend to miss a great deal of the non verbal clues when we're not communicating in person. I work from home in the evenings & weekends for a select number of clients and manage to fit it in around having a life too (it can be done!).I agree it depends on your maturity, what industry you're in, what your home conditions are like and to a large extent, how well you've trained your family, friends and neighbours to respect your work:home boundaries (oh, and a door you can close helps enormously!).I've always been worried about working from unsecured wifi too so 'Coffice' working hasn't appealed to me in the slightest.Sarah BradleyNational Sales Support @urbanplanters by dayExecutive Virtual Assistant eves & weekends