A First-Timer’s Guide for Starting a Home-Based Business

A First-Timer’s Guide for Starting a Home-Based Business

A First-Timer’s Guide for Starting a Home-Based Business

A First-Timer’s Guide for Starting a Home-Based Business

By: Amy Collett

 

Right now, many offices continue to reopen, and employers are asking people to go back to in-person work. Although we may have reached a point where collaborating in person is safe, some people have found that working from home is far more effective for them. If you’re someone whose creativity and productivity have been sparked by remote work, you may not be champing at the bit to get back to the office.

 Luckily, you have other options. For example, you could consider starting your own home-based business. This is a leap of faith, yes, but it’s one that can pay off in a major way -- and no one knows that better than the clothing entrepreneurs at Jamison and Bexley. Here are some great tips from them on how to start a home-based business and give yourself a foundation for success.

 Stay Finance-Minded

 Working from home as an employee and running a home-based business obviously has a fair amount in common, but you have a lot more responsibility in the latter role. First and foremost, you need to learn how to keep your business’s long-term success and financial stability in view at all times. It’s very easy to get lost in the little details and forget the big picture: Ensuring you can actually make a living working for yourself at home.

 

There are several steps you can take to make sure you stay financially solvent. For instance, you can look into hiring a financial advisor or accountant to help assess your cash flow statements and ensure everything’s on track.

 You can also look into investing in software that makes financial tasks, such as invoicing, easier. A program that allows you to create custom invoices faster with batch-processing features is a healthy addition to any business. Anything that saves you time and ensures you get paid appropriately for your work is worth considering.

 Other ways to save money include using DIY options for things like website and logo design, marketing and social media management. Many entrepreneurs choose to build their own websites through sites like Wix, Squarespace or Shopify. These website builders are great for those who need to launch a professional-looking website on a tiny budget.

 Other great tools can help with tasks like creating your business logo or managing your social media. A free logo design tool with intuitive capabilities can help you create a custom, high-quality logo that fits your business perfectly. Tap into whatever tools you can to help save money and set your business up for success early on.

 Practice Self-Discipline

 Another major difference between being a remote employee and working for yourself is the source of motivation. As an employee, you get plenty of external motivation in the form of supervisors, coworkers, and clients. You’re beholden to other people, which may be a bigger influence on your ability to get work done than you might expect.

 Indeed, many people who transition to working for themselves struggle to access internal motivation at first. However, there are several tools you can use to trick your mind into thinking that the pressure is coming from outside the house, so to speak. For example, you should always create deadlines for tasks on your to-do list, whether they’re truly time-bound or not. Having a specific finish line signals your brain to take the task more seriously than something that just needs to get done “whenever.”

 Understand Your Limitations

 Not every first-time business owner is fully versed in how to run a business. In fact, most business owners don’t start out that way. However it’s critical to manage the financial side of things properly, both for tax purposes and to help you make business decisions properly. That’s why it might be best to research bookkeeping services pricing on Upwork and hire a professional to keep track of your bookkeeping. With a professional handling your numbers, you can rest assured that you’re keeping your i’s dotted and your t’s crossed.

 Also, gaining valuable insight and enhancing your knowledge through an advanced business degree program is a great way to learn the ropes as you bring your business to life. And when you apply to an online program, you have more freedom and flexibility necessary to help you tend to your studies and your venture.

 Create a Serious Home Workspace

 Finally, if you’ve been working off of your couch during the pandemic, you’ll need to upgrade when starting your home-based business. Productivity is challenging enough for self-employed people, but trying to get into work mode in your off-the-clock space might be almost impossible. You need to have a dedicated office — ideally, with a door — to help shift your mind into productivity mode when it’s time to get down to business.

 This isn’t just important for ensuring you can be productive on the clock. Creating a dedicated workspace allows you to foster more work-life balance than you’d get working out of your kitchen or living room. Commit to working only in your office and leaving these other spaces for unwinding. This is a great way to reduce your odds of developing burnout on your business ownership journey.

 If you’re not interested in returning to the office and have an idea for a business of your own, this might be the path for you. Focus on giving your small business a strong foundation, and take a hard, honest look at whether or not things are working for you. This will give you the best shot at long-term success.

 Jamison and Bexley offers the very best in adventurous clothes for adventurous kids. Visit our store or check out our blog today!

Photo Credit: Burst

 

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