The story: I was recently laid off from a decent-paying job (for me). I moved out of state on my own to do it and it was going to be a long-term career. Unfortunately I was laid off after only about 18 months. I gave a lot and stayed late during the busy months for up to 70 hours a week sometimes. I lived frugally, and while coworkers were buying new houses, paying for renovations, and of course buying the biggest clown trucks available, I have a paid for '92 Honda wagon and an electric bike I was starting to use more and more for transportation. I was making small headway in my many debts.
Anyway, after being laid off I decided not to stay in the area and move to be closer to my niece. She has an extremely rare genetic condition with a lot of unknowns, so according to doctors her life expectancy is anywhere from 5-45 years. I've already been away in different places most of the time, and I've felt keenly to be missing out on her life, which may or may not be for very long, and of course, time is something that you can't get back when someone precious is gone.
So I'm close to her now, which is great, but wages generally suck where I'm at unless you're tech-savvy (I'm not) or are willing to take jobs of higher-responsibility and stress and of course, require overtime. It's the classic question here on these forums: make money fast with a job I hate/make it slower with something less soul-sucking. I'm not willing to give up my time and being for money like I did before.
So what I've done is picked up a graveyard shift that pays 9.50/hr. It's just not enough for my expenses, and hair-on-fire debts. I also have a side business I started a year ago that I really want to focus on to build up to be my main income. I happened to find a small office space for rent in an old building on the main street of the town I live in. It's $250/month. I'm very seriously considering renting the space for my business and covertly living there. I see many advantages that make this a real possibility:
*Because the building used to be an old hotel and has been renovated a few too many times, the layout is a bit weird. But because of this, there will be very little traffic from the other offices and businesses past the office I would be using. Most people won't be aware of me during the day at all. There are also no security cameras.
*Because I work a graveyard shift, I will be leaving every night, and returning in the morning. Who's to know I'm not going "home" to sleep?
*There is a bathroom with a shower there. I'm not sure about a kitchen, but I think it's extremely likely that there is one somewhere (a fridge and microwave at least), but if not, I'll have to adapt. I figure I could have a mini-fridge and a microwave in the room without anyone thinking it strange to have.
*Mostly, I think this would give me a big leg up in my business. Having an actual business address will help legitimize my business and get me higher in Google's local search results. I'll have a place for potential clients to come, and even a large room I can schedule for presentations for groups, etc. And like I said, it's a fantastic location on main street, for only $250. It's a ridiculous bargain!
*My brother is quite handy, and thinks he can build me an L-Desk with fake cupboard doors on one side that I could hide a small bed in. I've already pared down a lot of my belongings but I'm trying to be even more minimalistic, so I think with this extra incentive, I can pare down even more and be able to reasonably keep most of my things in the office without looking out of place. A professional-looking wardrobe could probably keep most of my clothes and things while most people who see it would assume it has brochures, or paper and other office supplies.
I read the blog of a man who lived in his office for about a year and a half at
www.theofficehobo.com. Several different sites shared his story, and if you google anything about living in an office, you'll see it. It really got me inspired. I have a lot more advantages in my location that the Office Hobo did in his, and far fewer chances to get caught.
I believe this office space would go a long way to helping my business bring in more money, which I desperately need while my current rented room I'm living in does not. I can only afford one, and I think I would get a lot more mileage out of living in the office than running my business in my room, and it's cheaper than my rent, AND includes utilities which current rent doesn't. I'm curious if anyone has done something like this, or knows anyone else who has. I'd like to get any ideas that could help me pull it off.
