If you have children and are a small-business owner, is it better to work from home or to have an office outside the home? That’s a question many entrepreneurs–who have the choice–continue to debate.
Susan Dobbe is president of Dobbe Marketing & P.R. Inc., a firm that provides strategic marketing and public relations services.
Currently based in her home office in Crystal Lake, Dobbe knows the answer to the home versus outside office question because she’s done both.
Several times.
The marketing consultant, who is married to Craig Dobbe, director of accounting for Culligan USA, and has two children, ages 13 and 16, has this opinion: “Both are right at different times.”
“Having a home office works if you’re organized and focused–I don’t do laundry in the middle of the day. You can work any time of the day or night and you’re there for the family. But the downside is that often you have a steady flow of clients, coming in and out.”
And having an off-site office also has its pros and cons.
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“It enhances your stature because the business community sees it as more professional and it’s easier to concentrate on whatever you’re doing because you’re separated from your family,” said the entrepreneur, who has a bachelor’s degree in business management.
“But you often get caught up in what you’re doing and work long hours. And if you have a long commute to and from home, it’s very hard.”
Dobbe, who worked for 12 years in marketing for a corporation, started her business from home in 1989 when her first child was born.
“I worked from home until 1997,” said Dobbe, who is a former national president of Women in Management and served on the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women in Illinois from 1994 to 2003.
“My original plan was to work two days a week from home and spend the rest of the time with my family. But in 1992, I started working longer hours and building my business. When my younger child started school, I worked five days a week.”
In 1997, Dobbe moved out, rented office space and added to her staff, which now includes three employees and two summer interns.
“But in 1999, I moved back home again,” she said. “I was tired of renting space, commuting back and forth and not being there all the time for the kids. We had renovated the basement so I had much more space.”
That worked for a while but in 2000, Dobbe moved out again. “I figured I would have a lot of flexibility, but in 2003, I realized it wasn’t working. I was gone too much. Nothing tragic happened, but the kids were just home alone too much.”
So last year, she moved back home again. And it, too, has worked well. “My business is doing well, the staff leaves at 5 p.m., and I’m there for my kids. At night, if I need to, I can go back and finish things. My home is cleaner than it ever was, I bike ride, walk, have wonderful friends and family, and my husband and I have weekly `dates’ to do something.”
Dobbe also spreads the word about the importance of flexibility: One of her clients is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, which has an innovative program called “Flex-Options for Women.” It’s a free, 12-month course that provides opportunities for women business owners to be mentored by other women business owners and work/life professionals to learn how to implement flexibility for their employees. Dobbe is the program’s Midwest coordinator.
Always on the go, the entrepreneur just bought an office building in Crystal Lake a mile from her home and will move to it in October.
“Now I want a more structured environment and easier access for clients,” she said. “It had to be near home so I can still be there for my family.”
But when she does leave home, it won’t necessarily be the end of her odyssey.
“In five years, my children will be gone and I then might consider moving back home,” said Dobbe. “I have a wonderful basement.”
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Carol Kleiman’s columns also appear in Monday’s and Thursday’s Business sections. Hear her on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:21 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. Mondays and 11:20 a.m. Saturdays. Watch her “Career Coach” segments on CLTV. E-mail [email protected].