Your Business: Working from home - Jenny Drury, Ketz-ke

Jenny Drury, founder of Ketz-ke.

Jenny Drury is the founder of Auckland-based women’s fashion brand Ketz-ke.

Why did you decide to run your business from home?

When I first went into business I didn't need a huge office space or warehouse so it made sense for me to work from home. I actually worked in an office that was about two metres by three metres - it was like a small cubby hole. When I look back on it now, I laugh about how small it was! I also had a one-year-old at the time, so I still needed to be around a lot. Working from home was a really practical option as a parent.

What's your home working environment like now?

We had to make some modifications to our house to accommodate the office we have now. It's worked out brilliantly because the office is at the front of the house and courier drivers and delivery vehicles can come and go without impacting on anything else. We have some of our customers visit our house too and this is really easy because they can just come to the front office. A lot of my customers have become my good friends so it feels comfortable inviting them into my house to see ranges.

I understand others in your company also work with you from your home. How does that work?

One of my staff members is my sister so that's really easy, and the other full-time and part-time workers have become like family. It's a comfortable situation and the girls say they enjoy working in this kind of homely environment. We live three houses back from Milford beach so it's a pretty nice surrounding to be in and there's a great view out of our office window. It beats looking over an industrial area or other office blocks any day.

Our office is also quite separate from the living area - although it does make my husband put on clothes in the morning before wandering around the house, just in case the girls spring him! All our lookbook photo shoots are shot here at home as well. It's so convenient having everything at arm's reach, like an ironing board, a coffee machine and a ladder.

What would you say have been the major benefits for you and your business of working from home?

The major benefit is the low overheads, which have definitely contributed to the success of my business. Another great benefit is I can work my household jobs into my day. I sometimes nip upstairs and put on a load of washing or empty the dishwasher. My husband is a pilot, so he's away quite often and what I tend to do when he's away is work late at night in the office. It's really easy to do this when my son Matt is in bed, and I can catch up on lots of work without the phone ringing.

How about any downsides?

One of the challenges is it's really hard to pull yourself away from work. I put in some really long hours because it's so easy to always access the office.

Do you envisage working from home long term in your business?

I have no intentions to work away from home. It works fantastically for me to get up in the morning and walk straight into the office. I don't ever want to sit in peak-hour traffic for an hour or more to get to the office and then do the same thing to get home again. It's such an efficient use of time being right on the spot.

What's a key piece of advice you'd have for anyone else thinking of working from home?

Quite simply, do it. The savings are amazing, and the productivity you can gain in both your personal and business lives is huge compared to when you're traveling to and from an office.