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If you go the leased office route make sure you get a 'test for a month' or similar clause inserted as some agreements are *very* tight - read each word, you will be surprised by the contents, including automatic renewals, trust me. I got stiffed for 12 months once that became largely unusable in the way I planned due to unpredictable IT dropouts, voice/IT restrictions and an unexpected hitch with server farm IP address security check delays when switching between home and office locations.
Hopefully those issues won't trouble you, it was a few years back. I'm sorted in new home office now with 37/7Mb fibre and I use GotoMyPc if I want remote access, many other options for this as well, just test well before you sign.
Well its been a while, but generally speaking regarding the local loop latency, it should be about the same as standard DSL because most T1s are just HDSL lines. But with normal use I would expect the average latency overtime to be higher because of its lower bandwidth capacity. Meaning if you're surfing a website and some bursting traffic maxes out your connection then your latency is going to go up during that short burst.
I really don't see much benefit of T1s/T3s these days unless you want to build a WAN between corporate offices for VoIP and you don't want to use VPNs over the internet or Metro Ethernet is not available. If you're paying for an internet connected T1 then your provider can't guarantee any latency requirement in the SLA once it leaves their network.
IMO getting an office is a good decision if you've made trading your career because then it solidifies your job in the eyes of your family, peers, and on a subconscious level with yourself. It opens opportunities to expand your business and collaborate in a professional atmosphere with potential business partners, accountants, and lawyers if need be. I felt more productive at my previous day job because when I was forced to be presentable I was more awake and eager to actually put the time into working (although this could be a result of the amazing coffee machine haha). It's hard to really explain this, but work out of the house allowed me to escape my home life in a structural manner. Driving to and from work, as monotonous as it would seem, helped me think about my life on a deeper level. My daily commute has always helped me digest my day good or bad.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
Please visit this thread for more information.
Josh, my advice is to give it a try. It's one of those things that you'll never know for sure until you give it a go.
I used to work from home, but for the last 6 years I've been leasing an office in a professional building and I absolutely love it. Most important for me has been the work life / home life separation. But there are many pros/cons, and they are all individually weighted. I strongly believe there is no right or wrong answer, you just have to try both and see which one works better for you.
A few more thoughts... If the professional environment helps to improve your trading, then it will more than cover the $400/month. FWIW, I'm on cox business internet at the office, which I've found to be much faster AND more reliable than the cox internet I get at home. There have been many occasions when internet was down for hours at my house, but completely functional at the office, just 2 miles away.
@Itchymoku and @ntvola , thank you very much for your responses. I think you really "get it." Sometimes the convenient option (working at home) is not the best option.
If when in your new office you may still find yourself getting distracted by whatever, then you will know the trading location itself is not the issue. I trade from home and separate trading from domestic life. Closing the trading room door is often enough for this separation. Taking breaks each hour or so, and wandering out the 'office' for a drink/chat is also fine. All comes down to discipline - that awful word we use for trading success itself.
Look forward to hearing how you get on. I would find it lonely away from my home-office! Perhaps analyze and fix what is happening now before you commit?
The main thing I regret working at home is the comradery I got in the office place. Working at home can get quite lonely at times if you don't live with others or if they work during the daytime. Even though getting an office would solve the distractions, for me I'd even consider getting an office with other traders.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
Please visit this thread for more information.
Whether at home or in an office the objective should be to create the best possible environment in which to trade. There is no optimal answer, only optimal for you.
If you get a really nice place, fresh looking and feeling that is just a "nice place to be" for 400 a month and that gets over any issues at home that are caused by friction between your presence as a husband/wife/father/mother/neighbour and your presence as a trader then go for it.
Good point. I find the audio squawk service I use fills this gap a little, giving me the feeling of being with 'others'. I visualize the speaker sitting in same room with me. But a roomful of real traders could be good as long as 'office politics' doesn't rear its head. Left that behind in the corporate world for good reason.