There’s something wonderfully comforting about the idea of working from home. For many NLP4Kids practitioners, it’s an ideal setup – no rent to pay, no commute, and the flexibility to be close to family. But like most things that sound too good to be true, working from home with clients has its own quiet chaos.

And if you’re setting up your coaching franchise from a spare room, back-garden studio, or makeshift home office, there are some truths you’ll need to reckon with before you welcome your first child client through the door.

The House That Therapy Built – Or Broke

You’d think having a home-based therapy space would be peaceful. But you’re still at home – and that’s where the trouble begins. There’s always washing to fold, dishes to stack, and someone knocking because the Amazon driver needs a signature. People in your life can forget (or ignore) that you’re not “just at home,” you’re working – and you need firm, unwavering boundaries to keep your practice sacred.

Then there’s the blurring of personal and professional space. You finish a powerful therapy session and want to decompress – but instead of leaving the office, you’re still in it. That energy lingers. And when a client is pouring their heart out with your family photo or a pile of laundry visible behind you, it can start to chip away at the professional image you’ve worked so hard to create.

✨ It’s hard to hold the space for someone else when you haven’t protected your own. ✨

Beware of Pets, Phones and Perceptions

My own office is close to my home but a different address, and yet, my cat, Hindsight, knows where work is and has learned to sneak into my therapy sessions by popping up in the window mid-session. Now, imagine how helpful that is when your client has a phobia of cats 😬. These aren’t just funny anecdotes, they’re reminders that working from home needs just as much strategic planning as renting a clinical space – sometimes more.

Sound travels, too. A family member chatting on the phone in another room, the ping of a microwave, the unexpected shout of a child playing in the garden – these can all break the flow of a session. And when you’re working with children, whose focus may already be fragile, this can significantly impact outcomes. Your professionalism should never be drowned out by domestic noise.

Working from home isn’t lazy or unprofessional – but it can look that way if you don’t set it up with serious intention.

Why a Home Setup Still Wins – When Done Right

Let’s not pretend there aren’t advantages, though. The savings on rent alone can be a game changer, especially when you’re starting a coaching franchise. And it’s convenient. Many of our practitioners juggle work with family life – young children, elderly parents – and having the freedom to be close by is invaluable.

But the biggest win? Time. No commute. No school-run madness. I used to work a job that involved a two-hour round trip each day. At the time, I justified it by listening to podcasts and calling it “self-development.” But when I realised it was eating up a full workday each week – 40 hours a month – it stopped feeling so educational. It felt exhausting. With that time back, I could have written a book. Or started a business. (Spoiler: I did! 🧠)

The Right Kind of Easy

There’s a kind of ease that comes with working from home that has nothing to do with laziness. It’s about feeling more in control. Not being trapped in the 9–5 loop where you come home, shove in some food, stare at the telly and then wake up to do it all again.

This is what our coaching franchise at NLP4Kids offers – the chance to work in a way that actually works for you. You still change lives, support families, and build a meaningful career, but you get to do it on your terms.

Because when you master the art of working from home, you’re not just making therapy accessible – you’re redesigning your entire life. And if you’re ready to do that, we’re here to help you make it happen.

by Gemma Bailey (with the help of Ai)

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