Starting a Small Business from Home: 3 Steps

Did you know that 69% of all American businesses began in an entrepreneur’s home?

Although a home-based business means you won’t need to lease any office space, it will require just as much due diligence, foresight, and planning as starting a company elsewhere.

If you’re considering starting a small business from home but are unsure about the steps you should follow, here are three expert tips on where to start.

1. Assess Your Home and Consider Your Business Needs

While not all business models work well for home-based businesses, there’s no reason selling handmade items or homemade edibles online won’t work if you use a same-day courier company (like https://www.reliablecouriers.com) and carefully evaluate your situation.

If you want to sell goods online, you’ll need to ask yourself questions: what kind of inventory would you need to keep? Does your home have the space? Is it possible to reconfigure an area of your home to store your materials and products?

It’s vital to anticipate the future needs of your business and whether your home space can accommodate them, and any potential challenges you may encounter. Proactively anticipating issues is the best way to set your business up for success.

2. Decide if Working from Home is Right for You

It’s important to remember that working from the comfort of home isn’t for everyone. Before beginning your endeavor, you’ll need to know precisely how you work and what type of person you are.

To determine whether a home-based business is right for you, you must evaluate what motivates you, whether you work well on your own, and how easily distracted you become. At home, there can be a lot of distractions to deal with – especially if you have children or lack the self-discipline to resist your comfy couch and Netflix subscription.

Because there are so many potential distractions in your home, you will need to be self-motivated and goal-driven to make your business a success.

3. Designate a Space for Work in Your Home

Working in the living room or kitchen while your pets or children distract you is definitely not the way to run your business efficiently. You must designate an area for work to separate it from your daily life.

Converting an extra room into an office is ideal, but partitioning an area of living space and dedicating it to work will also do in a pinch – just make sure you have enough room for all the essential equipment you’ll need. You’ll probably need a computer, label printer, packing materials, etc. Allowing your business items to intermingle with your personal belongings is asking for trouble.

To create a designated home office conducive to work, consider the basic infrastructure you need – such as access to an electricity supply, a Wi-Fi connection, good lighting, and adequate ventilation.

When it comes to aesthetics, consider adding at least one visually-pleasing item to make your home office more comfortable. You can set up a few appealing houseplants, a window with a view, some art prints, or even a board of family photos.