The vast majority of start ups begin on a small scale, and a lot of people even start them from the comfort of their home. For a lot of people, this is the ideal situation. It means that you can choose your working hours, and don’t have to venture out on those cold winter mornings in order to make some cash… but running a business from home also comes with a lot of responsibility. Of course you have to be incredibly self-motivated and dedicated, but also you want to ensure that your business and all of its relevant information are safe. If you’re just starting out running a business from home, and you feel as if you need a little guidance, then here are some top tips on how to run a successful business, from home.
Stay Safe, And Get Insured
One of the first logical steps, would be to make sure that your home is secure. Of course there are burglar alarms, CCTV cameras, and effective door locking systems, but take it a step further, and make sure that your work related belongings are correctly insured.
When you work from home, it’s even more important that you’re correctly insured on your house and all of the belongings you keep in there – specifically the work related stuff like laptops, computers etc. Of course, we hope these things never happen, but if you were to become the victim of a crime like burglary, then it’s better to be safe than sorry – particularly when your entire livelihood exists in the parameters of your home. This should be easily done with a domestic and business insurance cover.
If you do have to meet with clients inside of your home, then it would be suggested that you take out some sort of public liability insurance, just so you know that you’re fully covered for all eventualities. Again, this shouldn’t be too expensive. It’s precautionary more than anything, but it is important that you do it.
Check If You Need To Pay Extra
If you’re running a business from home, then there is a chance that you will need to pay a business rate on top of your council tax – but that is dependent on whether or not you have other employees working from the property. It’s best to check what you owe before you do anything.
Likewise, if you convert any area of your house into a workshop or specific place where clients come into, then you’d be liable to pay it too. All you need to do is contact the valuation office agency, and they’ll tell you whether or not you have to pay a fee.
Get Yourself An Accountant
On top of running the business, keeping track of finances can be near impossible. This is why you should consider hiring an accountant to keep your finance in order for you. Yes, you do have to pay them a fee, but the amount of money having your accountant will save you in the long run is likely to outweigh the fee you pay them initially. Your accountant may even be able to tell you what costs you can offset with running a business from home, for example claiming back on heating and electric costs. Every little helps!
Remove Distractions From View
One of the downsides to working from home, is that it’s a lot easier to become distracted than if you were in an office environment. It’s almost too easy to switch off your computer, retreat to the sofa and binge watch the latest Netflix show. But you’re not going to run a very successful business by doing that, are you?
Make a room that’s dedicated entirely to your work – your own office. Remove any books, magazines, and televisions, and make sure that your work computer isn’t filled with distracting apps that you’ll be tempted to browse. Regardless of how good your self-control is, it is very easy to get distracted on those long working days, so remove the distractions, and you’ll increase your work productivity.
Be Organized
Finally, be organised. It’s as simple as that.
Keep your home office tidy, and make sure that your physical paperwork is organised into labelled files or drawers. Likewise, make sure that the work on your computer is organised into folders so that it’s easy to find.
Not only will being organized make you more successful, but it’ll also relieve a lot of stress. Simple knowing where things are can make a huge difference.
