Da Biz Strikes Back: Segregating Living and Business Expenses

So I don't know if you're getting this but that thing was a pseudo-business plan. Telling people exactly what you would do with money makes it all the more likely that they'll just give you the money if they want that stuff done.  That's more or less the entire point of Kickstarter. I want to make this thing. You want this thing made. Let's do lunch.

As I already hinted at one of the main reasons why I just don't do that is that segregating the business from myself would be hard for a number of reasons.

1. A lot of the accounts I use for this blog are personal. YouTube in particular would be rough to migrate meaning probably a hundred or so man hours of downloading and re-uploading videos.
2. Opening up the type of bank accounts I would need to just get going would take more money than I have.
3. And the one I want to talk about now is that due to the fact that my ideal work space looks a lot like my ideal living space segregating the expenses would in essence mean buying two of everything and being the broke bastard I am that's really hard to justify

The thing that the people in my life don't get is that my bedroom really does double as my office. And if I were setting up an office from scratch it would almost be a clone. I find that an interesting topic so let's do this.

Computers
So for almost as long as I can remember I've had a computer in my work space. As a kid it was neccisary for homework so there you go. I've never had a large place to live so my computer went in whichever room I spent the most time in, causing a chicken and egg philosophy question. Do I spend the most time there because that's where my computer is or is that where my computer is because that's where I spend the most time. I dunno.

All the same "work" i.e. most productive tasks would require a computer. A pretty sizable investment, especially considering a lot of the software is the same sort of stuff I would buy no matter what. Photoshop, Microsoft Office, you get the drill.

This would be all the more trouble later in life when when I might have multiple businesses operating out of the home. Do I really buy a web development computer, a fun computer, and a studio computer, all with common apps and software.

The same could be said for tablets and cell phones and all that good stuff.

Furniture
So I've never been a laptop guy. Sure if I had the money to buy whatever I want I would get a laptop and a desktop and a tablet oh my but in order to get a laptop to work the way I want I would have to stick a bunch of stuff to it that would eventually turn it into a desktop making the mobile point moot. Mouse, keyboard, microphone, external hard drive, camera, printer, scanner, heck maybe even a larger monitor. Disconnecting all that stuff would be a nightmare and a tower is just cheaper anyway.

But you can't have a desktop without a desktop.  So there's that and all the stuff that goes with it.

And while I'm at it a bookcase for technical books and a file cabinet would be nice.

A TV
Yeah I know this might be controversial, but part of what I want to do is observe and write about culture so that's necessary and even if I were doing straight reporting I would want to keep an eye on news, and be able to watch important YouTube videos and streaming events on a second... well third screen.

So with that all the stuff connected to comes into play, a set top box or two and maybe a cable hookup for C-Span (and let's be honest and Comedy Central).

Couch
It would be a place for people visiting the office to have a seat and a place for me to lay down when I want to think or am pulling an all nighter.

Food Corner
What it sounds like a minifridge maybe microwave and storage for snacks, soda, coffee and stuff like that.

Apartment
This starts getting really nutty considering I would still like to work from home. I would in essence have two rooms that are clones of each other for the sole purpose of an abstract concept and maybe a tax write-off.

By the way probably for budgetary reasons calculate the expense of the work area as a proportion of floor space of the apartment and rent.

Accountability
All the same I really would want to be able to show investors and donors an itemized spreadsheet of what exactly their money bought through the quarter and year placed publicly and prominently on any website I maintained. In my head segregating living and business expenses is just kind of what makes a business a business but damn is it wasteful.