For many, working from home is a dream job. No commuting to an office, dealing with co-workers (face to face, anyway), and most importantly, you can do your job in the comfort of your regular home-environment. Moreover, you can make money on the side by staying home.
Working from home is one thing, but taking things up a notch and starting your own home-based business is a different ball game. Here are five tips to help you run your own business from the comfort of your own home.
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Have an Organized, Designated Office
First thing’s first: you are going to need an organized space that’s your office. Without a designated area for you to get work done, you might feel disheveled and disorganized. Worse, you might come off as unprofessional to clients.
Maybe it’s time to convert the guest room into an office space. You’ll have an organized place with limited distractions to focus.
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Get all of the Necessary Software
In order to keep your business growing, you will need to get all the appropriate software to stay organized for both you and your customers.
Depending on what your business does, you will need a variety of software, but for most businesses you’ll need some kind of bookkeeping software and management tools. One great inventory management tool is topShelf inventory management, which will help you keep track of what you have in stock and stay on top of inventory, no matter what size business you have.
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Sign up for Paypal
Another important thing to have as a small business owner is a way for your customers to easily and quickly pay you.
Billing with Paypal is a very popular choice for many small businesses, but you should also factor in the small fee that Paypal charges per transaction into your overall price.
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Set Office Hours and Create a To-Do List
If you don’t create a set schedule for your workday, you’ll find that you will seldom get any work done at the normal working hours.
In order to create a business that will be efficient and successful, you will need to set strict hours for yourself so you will be working as hard as you would be at any in-person job. These hours will set clear times for customers to communicate with you.
And while on the topic of communicating with customers…
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Set Up a Website, Business Email, and a Skype
- With a business website, you not only get the word out about your product, but you also open up a line of communication between you and your customers. Have a link on your webpage that allows them to contact you directly so that you can follow up with any questions or concerns.
- You should also have a company email that you use solely for business. Your email will be one of the main ways that customers reach out to you, so it is important to keep this route of communication open.
- Lastly, you may want to think about creating a Skype account for your business. Not only will this allow your customers to feel more comfortable dealing with an individual online business-owner, but it will also help you sell your product. If a customer wants to see a finished product from you, you can use Skype to chat and show off past projects. Skype is a great option for having ‘in-person’ meetings with your clients in a way that feels personal, but still doesn’t force you to get into the car and meet up.
Bottom Line
Overall, running your own business from home can be a great opportunity to set your own schedule and work from the comfort of your own office. Luckily, with these 5 tools and tips, it is easier than ever to run your business in your pajamas.
