How to create the perfect home office

When you start your own business, there is a lot to think about: creating a business plan, finding customers, and all the financial and legal nitty-gritty stuff. But there are plenty of fun things to be done too, and one of these is creating your very own office.

Gone are the days of annoying air con, noisy phone calls and other people’s mess creeping its way on to your desk. Instead when you go to work, you can be welcomed by a friendly, familiar office, arranged just how you want it. And of course, without the commute!

So without further ado, here are our Travel Counsellors’ top tips for creating the perfect home office…

Tip #1: Separate your work from family life

When you work from home it’s important to be able to separate your work from your personal life, so having a separate room that you can shut the door to at the end of the day is ideal! Travel Counsellor Jennifer, says: “Make sure you shut the office door at the end of the day and separate work life from home life.”

If space is limited and you don’t have the luxury of a separate office, as is the case for some of our Travel Counsellors, “having a separate space is still really important, even if it’s just a small corner”, says Travel Counsellor Donna

Tip #2: Organisation is key

Keeping your office nicely organised with plenty of shelves and storage will give you a much more stress-free working environment. Travel Counsellor, Jeanette always try to keep her desk as clear as possible at all times and uses a magnet board for her lists. She also has a white board to track her sales and write her to-do lists which she finds “very satisfying going over and erasing a job when it’s done” – we think that’s a great idea Jeanette!

Tip #3: Make your office inspirational

Travel is quite possibly the most inspirational industry you could possibly work in! You get to spend every day researching destinations far and wide, fulfilling your customers travel dreams, so you need to feel inspired and motivated when you’re sat at home in your office. Travel Counsellor, Sinead, recommends making it “somewhere that entices you to go in, bright and fun!”; and Kate suggests using “calm colours, having pictures of destinations on the wall and things that make you want to go on holiday”.

Tip #4: The bigger the better!

If you have the space, get the biggest desk you can! If you’re planning complex, multi-destination itineraries, you’ll soon find that you’re surrounded by maps, brochures and guides, so having the space the spread out is a definite must!

Travel Counsellor Marie has a world map mounted on her way which gives her “great travel vibes”, a book shelf with all her travel books for easy access, and her favourite office item is her radio to crank up the feel-good music to make sure she’s in a great mood to fuel a great day’s work!

Tip #5: End the day with the tidy desk

Being organised and clearing your desk on an evening means you will start the following day with a nice clear desk. After all, a tidy desk is a tidy mind! Travel Counsellor Robert says, “I hate clutter and mess, so I like to end the day with a tidy desk and everything in its place so when I come in the next morning I don’t have to fight through paperwork to clear my desk. I can start fresh and motivated!”

Tip #6: Pin useful information to the walls

We provide our Travel Counsellors with lots of great tips and advice to help them run their business successful, including our ‘Golden Habits’ for success, tips for closing a sale and how to reconnect with customers; having this useful information in clear line of sight and it will always be right there if you need it!

Without a doubt, the flexibility that comes with working from home is one of the main reasons 96% of our Travel Counsellors say they love their job. So, whether it’s cutting the commute, being there when the kids get home from school or simply having a place to call yours, you might find that the opportunity to work from home is just what you need!