[dropcap type =”circle”]R[/dropcap]ecent research shows that as many as 1.5 million people in the UK now work from home-an increase of a fifth in the last ten years. In the South East one in 16 people are now working from home on a regular basis-with many more wishing they could live the home working dream.
Bicester Today is part of the UK’s home working success as we are based in a garden office building, giving us flexibility and low overheads as we don’t have a fancy office to pay for.
One other local company that has embraced the work from home culture is Bicester Living, a partnership of two couples Andy and Vashti Bedwell and Mike and Clare Hedgecox. The company specialises in bespoke shared living for young professionals moving to the area.
Clare said: “We are all professional, full time landlords who take pride in what we do. Our home office is based in the village of Stratton Audley it’s a beautiful commute to work! Our Bicester story started in 2012 when we bought our first house with a mission to create high quality, shared housing to meet the needs of this rapidly growing town. Since then, we have enjoyed transforming bricks and mortar into great homes for people to live, meet new friends and socialise.
“We’re all passionate about what we do and seek to be the best in Bicester, both in terms of the homes we provide and the way we run them. We own and operate all aspects of the business so we have a real stake in making sure things run smoothly and dealing quickly with any issues that arise.”
Andy and Mike have loved swapping their corporate worlds for maintenance toolkits whilst Vashti and Clare could spend hours chatting to housemates and getting the house design just right.
Clare added: “We have over 90 rooms between us many with en-suite facilities and we have a great community of young people living and socialising together. We love what we do, we take pride in looking after our properties and our housemates.
“The best thing about working from home is the greater flexibility it gives us to work smarter and achieve our work/life balance. It helps our business by having low overheads and is great for the environment.”
Top tips for successful home working
Spend time getting the workspace right including connectivity/communication and layout.
Create a space that can be separated from your home life.
Enjoy the flexibility that you create by spending more time with family and friends.
For more information about bespoke shared living for young professionals visit www.bicesterliving.com
Do you work from home? Do you run your business from a shed, yurt, shepherd’s hut, spare room or converted attic? Get in touch and tell us all about it bicester@hyperlocaltoday.co.uk
