If nothing else, COVID-19 has shown us how much we can accomplish from the comfort of our homes. Home-based businesses were a growing trend before the pandemic, but they’ve become even more popular with people having to adjust to “sheltering in place” and other pandemic-based measures.
Starting a business from home could be the right move for you and your family if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, a little seed money, and nowhere to go. However, starting a business from home doesn’t mean you can be lax about it. Continue reading to learn what tools you need to get your home business up and running.
Business Space
Even though you’re running a business from home, you need a setup for your company that isn’t too homey‚Äîespecially if you’re running a white-collar business. It’s easy for homeowners who operate an enterprise from home to get too comfortable and become unproductive, so it’s imperative that you create a space inside or outside of your home for your business operations.
If you’re going to be doing office work and you have a spare room in your home, you should turn it into your office. Working in your bedroom makes it too easy to sleep all day, and working in the living room or kitchen could open you up to constant interruptions. Having your own office will give you space where you’re able to focus on work and no one can disturb you unless it’s an emergency or about work.
Turning a spare room into an office, or whatever kind of workspace you need for your business, will be expensive, but you have financing options. One of the most common ways to pay for home renovations is with a home loan.
Many people think of a home loan as only a way to pay for a new home, but that’s not the case. Many people use a portion of their home loan to pay for home improvements. If you lived in an eligible rural area and wanted to start your own auto shop, you could even use a home loan to build a car garage as an extension of your home. It’s worthwhile to check your eligibility by researching potential lenders in your area and seeing how much of a down payment it would take to get the project moving.
Even if you’re in the market for a new home, with an FHA Loan you can get a mortgage loan worth 110% of the home’s value and use the excess money for home improvements. The key is to know what options are available to you and choose wisely.
Supplies
One of the things you’ll notice quickly as you get our business up and running is that it takes a lot of equipment to run a business. You need everything from a constant influx of ink and paper for your printer and equipment for your operations. You may think that since you’re starting a business from home that you can use your personal equipment for your business operations, but there’s wisdom in not mixing your business and personal lives or equipment.
If you use the same network and operating system for your personal and business affairs, it will be easy for you to get important information mixed up or make it harder to find. Running a business from home does cut your overhead costs, but it doesn’t eliminate them.
Assess what you’ll need for your business before you start. Separate the items into one-time needs like computers and office furniture and periodical needs like bulkUSBs, device drivers, and ink for your printer, and create a budget around them. Find the vendor who will give you the best price, whether you’re purchasing printer paper or a USB device. Soon, it will become second nature for you to invest in your business.
Customer Relationship Management Software
When your business is in its fledgling stages, it’s critical for you to build lasting relationships with your patrons with the goal of converting them from occasional customers to loyal ones. If you and your spouse are running a family business, your family vibe should be the heart of your customer service model. With customer relationship management (CRM) software, you can customize each of your patrons’ experiences. If you didn’t know, customer service is the new way to build a brand.
Opening a home business is a great idea, but it’s not necessarily easy. Keep your eyes on the prize every step of the way, and make sure you’re investing in equipment, customer service, security policies, and a home office that will allow your business to soar.
