Working From Home: Tips To Ensure Your Home-Based Startup Has The Best Chance Of Success

September 23, 2015

Running a company from home carries many benefits. One of the most appealing aspects is that the low overheads make it possible to start a venture without the need of business loans or huge capital.
Nevertheless, taking this route does come with its own set of challenges. Here’s how you can give your new startup get off the ground.
Structure
One of the biggest challenges that any home-based business faces is the need for good organisation and structure in their day. For starters, there are many potential distractions and you must find ways to separate your business and personal lives.
Meanwhile, being your own boss means that you’ve got to set the parameters. Gaining a clear direction isn’t always easy, but it is one of the most important aspects of gaining long-term success.
As well as knowing where you are going, though, you must stay organised to ensure it happens. Text reminders and other organisational tools will keep you on the right track. Not only will this help productivity. It will give you the assurance that you’re doing things correctly. This in itself can be invaluable.
Keep Track Of Finances
It might sound a little condescending to tell you that money is the key barometer of how your business is performing. However, you’d be surprised at how many startups fail to give the financial aspects enough attention.
Keeping track of your finances isn’t something you can leave until the end of a fiscal year. If you don’t know where you currently stand, then how can you possibly set about driving the business forward in the most appropriate manner?
Quite frankly, if you aren’t paying enough attention to these aspects, you might as well give up now.
Embrace Help
Just because you are starting a business from home, it does not necessarily mean that you’ve got to do everything alone. Running the operation from top to bottom is far too much work for one pair of hands. Utilising the available help is a must if you want the company to grow.
A successful business relies on many factors. If hiring someone else to take care of certain jobs will increase the overall profits, you’d be an idiot not to take advantage. Working from home makes hiring full-time permanent staff difficult. But there’s no reason you can’t hire freelancers to help.
Whether it’s designing your website or handling your customer care needs, the extra hands will make life a lot easier.
Have A Presence
When working from home, it can be easy to forget about the outside world. However, you cannot be a success all by yourself.
A strong online presence is a must for most new home-based businesses. SEO and social media marketing are two essential strands. It doesn’t matter whether you take on the challenge or hire someone else to do it. The key is that you find the most effective way to make it work.
In addition to a strong presence with customers, you should make yourself known to the industry too. Attending networking events can help form business relations, and might allow you to pick up some useful tips too.

Mark Asquith

That British podcast guy, Mark is co-founder of Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast host. A Harvard, TEDx, Podcast Movement and Podfest speaker (amongst many more!), he's a wildly approachable Brit and Star Wars/DC Comics geek.

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