There are many reasons someone may begin to work from home or out of their home. You may have a job that doesn’t necessitate a formal workspace, you may be starting your own business and haven’t acquired or renovated a commercial space yet, or you may be downsizing and using your home as a temporary business headquarters. Whatever your reasoning may be, it’s important that you turn your home into an area that you can be successful in for your career. To help with this, here are three tips for turning your home into your small business headquarters.
Create a Work Space
While you may think it easier to simply work from your couch or kitchen table, many people who work from home have found that they’re much more focused when they can create their own work space that’s separate from their normal living space. Amy Fontinelle, a contributor to Investopedia.com, shares that by having a space specifically for work, you can create a better psychological boundary between your work and home life—something that will make both areas of your life more functional. Not only this, but your family will thank you as well for not feeling like you always have to work when at home.
Don’t Isolate Yourself
Working from home can be pretty lonely, especially if you’re the sole person working on your business. If you’re running your own business, it’s important for you to be able to get away from your workspace and drum up some business for yourself outside of the home. To do this, Liz Phillips, a contributor to The Guardian, suggests making it a point to go to industry or community events where you’ll either be able to learn how to better grow your business or make contacts that can help your business become more successful. In between these events, you could also change your daily routine so you’re more likely to interact with people outside your home rather than just working by yourself each and every day.
Make Marketing a Priority
If part of your business involves selling product out of your home, you may find yourself at a bit of a disadvantage as compared to businesses with physical storefronts because your home likely doesn’t look like a business location. To remedy this potential disadvantage, Keith Evans tells Lisa Smith of BPlans.com that it’s important not to underestimate the money you should be allocating toward marketing. While many people choose to run their business from home to cut down on costs, marketing is one area that you shouldn’t skimp on if you want to see your business grow, especially if you’re running it from home.
If you set yourself up correctly, you can find a lot of success running a business from home. Use the tips mentioned above to help you prepare yourself and your business for success.
Originally posted on September 9, 2016 @ 3:32 pm