Even today, when the communication technology is incredibly advanced, home-based businesses are still seen as less serious than those run from real offices. There’s no real reason for this, since you can run a profitable business from home just as smoothly as you would from an office.
It takes a bit of work and preparation to achieve this. Your goal should be to think of all the ways the office infrastructure helps the workflow and to try to mimic it within your home.
Invoicing
Financing a business is a bit more difficult when you do it from home. These businesses are usually relatively small and when a client misses a payment it could seriously affect your bottom line. It could also hurt your reputation if you’re the one who’s late.
That’s why you need to dedicate time to dealing with invoicing. There are apps and programs that allow you to this fairly easily. This means your end of the paperwork will always be in order, leaving the rest up to the client.
Have an IT person on deck
At this point, all businesses are dependent on the technology. That’s the only way to reach the customers, organize production and run a company. This is especially true for home-based businesses, where all the moving parts are operated remotely. That’s why IT managers are probably the most important part of any team.
The best way to go is to organize your IT support as if you had a real office. They should be available at all times; they should be able to respond to any problems immediately. This will cost you extra, but it will also save you a lot of trouble.
A space dedicated to work alone
It’s tempting to work from all over the home, including your bedroom or kitchen. It’s your home and that’s kind of the point of using it as an office. But, this often proves to be unproductive and encourages procrastination. The best course of action is to create a space that will be used for business purposes only.
Be thorough in doing so; for instance, make sure you install a separate phone line and a separate ADSL line. A skillful electrician from Sydney could easily connect a unit from the main distribution frame, and thus separate your home and office phone. This will allow you to completely focus on the work during business hours.
Organize your day
There are a lot of distractions in your home and not enough structure that you would otherwise find in an office. That’s why you need to take special care to organize your day in advance and have a plan that you will stick to no matter what.
These plans should help you tackle the most important tasks first and provide you with enough breathing room to take breaks and give yourself more rest than you would in an office.
Private data
A company needs to keep and use a lot of private information about their clients. It starts with bank statements and home addresses, but it usually goes much further than that, depending on the exact business you’re in.
This data needs to be stored by an outside agency and it needs to be kept secure as your business grows and changes. It’s also imperative to let the customers know you’re using this service.
A business can be run from home just as well as it can be run from an office. You just need to have a plan and rely on the right technology.
