Neighbours and Your Home Business

When setting up an electrical repair business from your home you will have a lot of organising to do. Work space, family life, customers will all have to be considered. However there is one thing you must not forget – your neighbours.

Setting Up Your Workshop

With an electrical repair business you will have to have a space to work in. Quite often this will be a garage or spare room. You will need it to be close enough to an outside door as you will have to carry large items in and out of the home for delivery back to customers. If the room is in an upper part of the house it could cause problems both with transportation and with noise in the home. A shed or outside garage that isn’t integrated could be an answer to your workshop problem.

Informing Your Local CouncilYou have to gain permission from your local council before running a business from your home. Normally this will not be a problem if you are not manufacturing or going into light industry. Many people these days work part time from their homes even when employed by a company. The majority work on computers that take up a small space in the corner of a room. But, an electrical repair business is another matter.

Mortgage and Insurance

If you have a mortgage on your home you must tell your lender that you are using part of the home for business purposes. If you rent your home your landlord may not permit you to use it as a base for a business either. Home insurance could also be affected and may become void if you make a claim that was the result of your business activities. Also, business insurers must also know that you operate from a family home.

Consider Your Neighbours

When working in a home environment noise is a major factor. You may not be using power tools or making a noise repairing electrical items but general traffic from moving about the home could be enough to upset your neighbours. Can you reduce this problem? If not you will have to reconsider your working hours or space where you work otherwise your neighbours will be able to ask your council to stop you working from home.

Part Deliveries

You will no doubt need supplies of material and spare parts for your home business. If this is made by the postal system and couriers it is not normally a problem. But neighbours will soon become very annoyed if large lorries are parked or trying to turn in a street, holding up traffic and blocking their driveways. Perhaps try to collect your own materials from local suppliers in your estate car or van thus causing less concern for neighbours.

Receiving Customers

Try to go to customer’s homes rather than have them turn up at your home carrying televisions and other large objects. These customers may have trouble parking and consequently park in a neighbours parking place or even their driveway. This will infuriate otherwise mild mannered people who want to be able to park their car for the evening only to find you have people coming and going late at night and causing them distress.

Nosey Neighbour

We’ve all had them and nosey neighbours are often just laughed about. But, get one that enjoys complaining and writing letters and you know you will never be in the right. Try not to make an enemy of these neighbours. Perhaps do the odd cheap job for them or even offer them a part time job. By keeping your neighbours sweet you will be assured that your home business will not suffer from complaints and you will not become distressed.