A legal home-office saves a lot of woes

Traffic woes, steep office rents, the effort involved in coping with career and family, and the nature of their respective businesses are key factors that influence people who opt to have an office in their homes. It is hardly surprising that this global trend is reflected in Dubai.

And just as the number of people who choose to work from home elsewhere in the world is on the upward curve, there is an increasing number who are choosing to so in this city. There seem to be three legal or legitimate options for these home-based entrepreneurs, and not surprisingly, a majority of them are women.

Local ‘sponsorship' AK represents the time-trusted and traditional form of doing business in the UAE, as she runs her successful children's dress-making outlet from her home in Mirdiff. Her operations fall under the purview of an Emirati to whom she pays an annual fee for licensing, an arrangement known in colloquial parlance as ‘being sponsored by a local'.

Since she sends her finished pieces to a boutique in Singapore, she has never had anyone check on her credentials, but she had wanted to ensure everything was legal even before she began. She says she has only once visited the office assigned to her by her sponsor, and it turned out to be a beehive of activity, and not very pleasant at that.

“The office was crowded, there were about 20 people cramped into a small space, and I could not foresee doing any element of my work sitting there — not even basic designing. So I agreed with my sponsor that I could work from my home and I continue to pay him a nominal office rent in addition to my annual licensing fee.

“At my home in Mirdiff, we have converted part of the garage and the utility room into my work space. If you see my ‘office', it is a quite a laugh. I do have a computer, a desk, phone, fax, and printer. But the rest of it is just books, paper, fabric, my sewing machine and an unholy mess. But this is an arrangement that suits me just fine.''

Virtual office

MK is fairly new to Dubai – she has only lived here for a year — but she is happy to have been provided a solution to her situation by no less an authority than the Department of Economic Development. And she cannot stop singing their praise.

“I didn't know how easy it was to work from home in this country, especially when I consider the fact that so many people gave me incorrect or incomplete information when we first arrived here,'' she says. “People threw all kinds of things at me: there was much talk of a free zone visa, local sponsor, compulsory office, steep expenses and other stern warnings.

“But after some research, I found the ideal solution in the guise of DED's virtual office solution. And it cost a lot less than I had imagined - Dh15,000 as an annual fee is really affordable, and the greatest benefit is that I don't have to hire baby-sitters or send my children to creches despite being a working mother.

“I have just woven my work hours around their schedule,'' adds MK, who lives with her husband and two children in a villa at Umm Sequim. Minor limitations

MK adds that it is a relief for her to run her management consultancy legally, but it does have a few limitations, chief of which is not being able to hire staff.

“For just now, this suits me fine. I don't need any staff at the moment, and I am glad I don't have to invest in expensive office space. When I am ready to expand my business, I can upgrade to an actual office. Thanks to DED, small entrepreneurs like us have been provided significant support in this country for start-ups,'' she adds.

Hot desk

Samantha (not her real name) represents a third category of home-based office patrons, as she does her freelance technical writing from her one-bedroom apartment in Bur Dubai. “I have a legitimate licence issued from Dubai Media City, and I pay rent for a ‘hot' desk, but the ambience is not always complementary to my style, so I opt to work from home,'' she explains.

The popular hot desk concept at the free zone encourages freelancers to legitimise their operations, by allowing them the use of a work space and other community facilities for limited amounts of time — at a fraction of the fees required to set up a full-fledged office.

Her work involves writing for long spells of time at a stretch, and working from home is more productive than when she works out of the hot desk. “DMC is a great place and they have provided enough facilities to make it both very professional and very welcoming.

“On the other hand, my office at home is a joke — I have a cat sitting at my feet at most hours, the music is loud, and I am usually dressed for work in my pyjamas.

“I am grateful to DMC for issuing me a licence, and I do go there regularly to collect my mail, mingle with people, and to meet my clients, but everyone has a comfort zone when it comes to work, and given the stress and strain involved with mine, I just prefer to work from home.

“The other advantages are that I am never stuck in traffic a few hours before an important deadline, I eat three balanced meals everyday — at affordable prices, and I am far more productive than when I am surrounded by people.''

Much like Samantha and her licence from DMC, several media freelancers who have registered at the more recently launched media free zone in Ras Al Khaimah find themselves able to operate freely from the comfort and convenience of their homes.