When Is It Time to Grow?

Working from home can be a real Catch 22. With little overhead, few (if any) employees and the freedom to run your office however you see fit, you've become so successful, now you've got more work than you can handle on your own. For many homebased entrepreneurs, this all-too-common scenario begs the question: Is it time to move out of your office in order to grow the business, or should you stay the same size--and risk turning down work--because you don't want to or you're unable to grow from home?

"When it gets to the point where you need an employee or multiple employees--you can't simply contract with somebody anymore, but you actually need an assistant, you need people to help you run the business--then you've probably outgrown the home," says David L. Deeds, an assistant professor of management policy and entrepreneurship at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.