245 days is worrying a little as the new venture starts in earnest

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I'm not sleeping the last bit in the night/morning very well. I have no trouble getting to sleep - I inherit this habit from my father. It's the last hour or two, usually from about four or five in the morning where I start thinking about what I'm doing and what I'm about to get myself into. I think that it's the mixed focus that's getting me in a spin at the moment. I've got three things in trying to focus on a they are all a drain on time and effort-

Making money to replace the list income from reducing my hours at work.

Getting the house in shape so I don't have to spend time and money in it when the business starts.

Actually setting up the business that I think will be the thing that keeps me gainfully employed (or self-employed) until I retire.

The extra money will come from the mystery shopping I do and from buying books and games and selling them on Amazon along with sales of my two existing self-published books plus any new ones I write.

There are several jobs that need to be completed around the house, most of it painting. I want the house in a condition where we have it just how we want it, as I won't have the time to spend on it when I'm setting up and starting the business. One of the most important of these is the home office. Getting this ready will give me the space to so what I need, without getting in the way of everyone else (and without them getting in my way as well.)

Which brings me to the reason for the whole blog, my change in working hours and everything I'm doing at the moment - the new estate agency business.

I've documented before in this blog what I feel needs to be done, so it's now a case of just doing it.

I'll keep you updated with the actual process of each step, as well as updated in how I feel about things.

Options for my home office

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I've started my home garage, changing it from this-

and now, today I've got to this point-

Whilst spending my day painting the walls and floor with a weatherproof sealant, I have been thinking about what the next steps will be in converting this space into an office that will allow me to work in quiet and comfort, whatever the weather conditions outside.  First consideration has been to waterproof the walls and floor, as the UK winter (and often the other seasons) can have a big impact on the security and safety of this potential workspace.  It has flooded more than once, through the walls from the outside garden flower beds, so I have accentuated the beds and put in more plants to soak up any excess water.  Next step is to make the office a place where I can work and be inspired to market properties as well as I can.

Options-

Option	Pros	Cons
Leave it as it is	Least cost and time/effort            Has the effect of a New York loft	Will be more expensive to heat, as there is no insulation
Another coat of white paint	Low cost and effort again            A blank canvas to add pictures and effects to inspire	Doesn’t solve the heat and insulation problem
Lining the walls with an insulating material	Will help to keep long-term heating costs down            Cheapest option that involves further action	Major concerns over building regulations            Brings fire safety issues in to play            Time and money to source the right materials at the right cost
Line the walls and then plaster/board over and decorate	Will look like a conventional office            Will be more insulated and save on heating costs	Expense starts to grow            Sourcing materials is even more costly and time consuming than above
Pay a builder to convert officially	Will add value to my home            Will be official and legitimate	High cost solution to what may be a temporary problem            Will accentuate my desire to permanently work from home, rather than eventually build up the business to an office base.

I am genuinely undecided about the best way forward, as I want this to be a low-cost solution to a problem, for the time period that I am working from home, and I also want it to be weather-proof, comfortable, safe and inspiring.

Decision time will be my next full day off work, 2 weeks from now.

Making time for everything needs planning

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Here comes another weekend, another weekend off work and another weekend where I've made loads of and for what I'm going to do to entertain the kids. But I am using today's blog to remind mysf that I need to make time and make plans for my fledgling business.

A trip out tonight and a quite full day out tomorrow make the weekend feel hectic at the outset, but there's light at the end if the tunnel. I'm going to a talk and discussion on the future of social housing tomorrow - a sort of busman's holiday. During the day out with my wife and kids, I will break away for a couple of hours, leaving them to explore the city. I'll be interested in the theory of the talk, in the future of social housing, but with always a slant towards how this relates to my business and how I can use the information to expand the business and earn money.

Tonight's trip out will be to an illuminations, and I need to use this time to get my homework done for my photography class.  I need to take one photo, bearing in mind the discussions we had last week on composition. It needs to be well composed, using the rule of thirds, leading lines, the balance of colours and textures. I will also need to present it to the rest of the group and explain my photo in technical language. Wish me luck!

I'll share the photo on here and the feedback I receive.