7 tips for working well at home:
So you have decided to start a home business. Congratulations! and welcome to the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship. While there is a lot to learn, your efforts are worth it. The thrill of growing your business, the freedom and flexibility to set your own hours, and the ever-increasing financial rewards possibilities are all wonderful reasons to start your home business.
Now that you have decided to start your business, you may be asking yourself “How can I start as strong as possible?” These seven tips will help you:
1) Set up a separate workspace in your home. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small bedroom, part of the garage or a corner of the living room. The important thing is to have a space that you can designate as your work area. It will give you the space and room you need to create your dream.
2) Store your workspace with materials. It sounds basic, perhaps, but one of the underlying elements of success is that you have easy access to the tools, materials, and other resources you need. Gathering everything nearby also saves you wasting time looking for it, so this step can also be seen as a time management strategy.
3) Speaking of time management, your third step is to define the parameters of your business. What days and hours will you be working? When are you going to market? When are you going to provide services or products to customers? How are you going to keep it all straight?
4) Balance action with planning. One of the most common pitfalls of successful entrepreneurship is getting too caught up in the action without enough planning. In other words, it means that you confuse “being busy” with “working on important projects”. The best approach is to plan your next goals and then work backwards to create step-by-step action plans to achieve them. Once you have the plan, it’s time to act.
5) Network like crazy. One of the fastest ways to grow a business is to connect with other people. Make sure to share your passion and enthusiasm with others at every opportunity. Let people know who you are and what you offer. Remember, people can’t buy if they don’t know you are selling.
6) Present a professional image. If you want to be treated professionally, present a professional image. Create a separate bank account for your business. Install a separate telephone and fax line. Create professional marketing materials. Be courteous and pleasant in all your interactions with customers. Basically be someone that people want to do business with.
7) Automate your business as much as possible. Granted, you’re just one person (at the moment) and you might have a lot of extra time to take care of all the details. It might work for now, but will not work in the future because you will get busier and busier. It’s best to have automatic systems and processes in place early on to free up your time to focus on the most profitable businesses.
These seven tips will get your home business started (and grown) in the right direction.