How to Run a Successful a Home Based Business

Are you planning on working from home to run your new business out of? This can be a great way to save some money in the beginning. Setting it up correctly can make the difference between making the business work or not. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned from 20+ years of working from home.

• Setting up on your kitchen table isn’t practical if you have to pick up everything and pile it on a chair in order for your family to eat dinner at night. And no, this isn’t permission to eat on the couch either. Set yourself up with a dedicated work space, whether it be in a spare room, your garage, a shed, the corner of your family room, or a closet. Our family grew and I lost spaces, so at one time I put an armoire in the corner of my kitchen. I could use the desk portion for my paperwork and computer and other supplies, and when I wasn’t working I could close the doors to keep everything in and small hands out. Get creative and think outside the box about your home spaces. Pinterest has a multitude of clever ideas for setting up workspace in small spaces.
• Have a dedicated work space. I said that in the last tip, but I want to emphasize this. Don’t try to work where in your living spaces or you will always be working. Have a place that is just for work, and when you leave that space, you aren’t working. I can’t tell you how many times I finished eating dinner and just started working again because it was right in front of me.
• Designate a dedicated work time. You may like the fact that you can do a load of laundry in between work periods, but trust me, as you finish folding that load, you will be tempted to unload the dishwasher as you walk out of the laundry room. Yes, working from home means you can do several things at once, but it doesn’t mean you will do them well. Use work time just for work time.
• Live by a schedule. We are so conditioned to multitask that it’s hard not to try to do several things at one time. But you aren’t going to get the customer order out if you keep getting sidetracked. If you worked away from home, that order would be the only thing you would be working on. Treat your home business in the same way.
• Don’t mix your personal and business supplies. It’s a disaster for your record keeping, but it’s also frustrating to not be able to print out an invoice because you used the last of your paper to print out a bunch of birthday invitations. I live out of town, so running out of ink or paper means a major shift in my schedule that day. Keep your business stuff separate and use it just for business.
• Just because you’re home doesn’t mean you aren’t working. Don’t get sidetracked by friends who want to visit during your working hours. Treat your work time the same as you would if you worked away from home. Get rid of anything that takes away your focus. Shut off the tv. Turn the sound off your phone. Get to work.
• Say no. The worst problem I encountered when my kids were younger was the impression that because I was home, I had more time than the parents who worked out of the home. People often don’t realize you are working. No, I don’t have the spare time to do every fundraiser because I’m running a business. I’ll do my share, but during tax season, I’m not going to arrange team dinners. Or bake anything for the bake sale. Or sell raffle tickets. Or anything beyond the bare minimum around my house. Be clear about the fact that you are running a business, do the things you need to for yourself and your family, and don’t feel guilty if you say no to everything else.
• Don’t give anything away. This sounds harsh. But if you treat your product as if it has no value, others will also. This doesn’t mean that I don’t donate goods or services in the name of the business, because of course I do. But I don’t do my friend’s taxes for free, because that’s what I do for a business. And if I do theirs, then pretty soon I’m also doing their children’s taxes and their parent’s taxes too. Although I often do elderly people’s taxes for free because it’s the right thing to do. But that’s a business decision I make on my own. Don’t give away an item you make unless it’s for a promotion. Don’t decorate a cake for free unless it’s for your own mother. You’ll never make any money if you give all your stuff away. I don’t know why running a business out of your home makes it seem like you aren’t trying to make money, you do need to, so protect that for yourself.

The beauty of running your business out of your home is that you can change it easily. Try different things and don’t be afraid to change if it isn’t working for you. If you can save money by operating, you can channel that extra money into starting the business.