Every private practice needs a home. These days, the location of your business can range from rented office space, desks within doctors offices or outpatient centers, co-working spaces, coffee shops, or even your kitchen table. More common than ever before, however, is having a home office for your wellness business. This is especially popular if you’re just starting out or offering virtual telehealth services.

Let’s explore what you should consider when setting up a home office.

Benefits of A Home Office for Your Wellness Business

• Cost is probably the biggest advantage of having a home office. Renting formal office space can be one of the biggest overhead costs for private practice practitioners starting out, but it isn’t always necessary. Instead, designating a room or area in your home can get the job done.
• Convenience is another advantage of opening a home office. Your place of work is now only steps away! This has substantial implications on how you can set your schedule, flexibility, and more.

Questions to Consider When Deciding If a Home Office Is For You:

• Are you comfortable receiving clients in your home? Depending on your clientele, this can be an effective way to build close relationships.
• Are you planning to see patients virtually? If so, a home office may be exactly what you need!
• Would you benefit from a formal separation between work and home? Some of us work better in a formal office space, away from distractions of home.

Here are our top tips for opening a home office for your wellness business:

Decorate to Reflect Your Wellness Brand, Not Your Home

If you’re working from a spare room in your home, it may already be decorated to reflect your personal taste. To make this room more of an office, consider adding a few pictures, professional certificates, or decorations to make this space feel more like your office.

Always Keep Your Space Professional

Keeping professional can sometimes be hard and frustrating when figuring out the necessities of your at-home business. Some things to keep it mind are how you’ll be obtaining clients, what their experience should be like, and how you can prevent distractions and interruptions during appointments.

Do you have a separate entrance for clients? Is your office handicap accessible for clients who cannot use stairs? How will you make sure your kids or pets will not interrupt your appointment?

In addition, it’s important to determine how you will be handling early client arrivals while you’re in a session. Thinking ahead so you’re prepared before this occurs will help keep your home office professional.

For Virtual Wellness Appointments: Think About Your Background

Setting up a virtual practice is an entirely different experience than at-home visits. Keep the background of your computer and the room you’re working in professional (i.e. not your children’s toys sprawled across the floor).

Create a Comfortable Client Experience

Think about the small things:

• Do you feel comfortable having clients see family photos?
• What about anything that represents your religious affiliation?
• Will you offer water or other snacks to clients? If so, have them in close proximity to where you’ll be meeting clients.

Determine what will enable the best experience for you and your clients to help you establish if a virtual at home practice is right for you.

Consider using Healthie’s services to assist you when establishing your virtual practice