Many people get a little bored of the mundane nine to five job role. Sometimes people just fall into jobs after school or university without the faintest idea of what it is they want to do. Sticking with something that pays the bills can be demotivating, and often people dream of making a change in this area. Starting your own business and being your own boss might have become an ambition of yours, and often you already have the idea in your mind. Nurturing it and helping it grow so that you are ready for when the right time strikes. But when will that be?
The truth is, you can start your work from home journey the moment you have the courage and the faith to make it happen. The only thing stopping you is the worry of a consistent wage, and losing that job security. So if you think it is time to take that leap of faith then here are some of the steps to take to help you start your business from home.
Nurture your idea and build up your plan
One of the first and key steps to take when it comes to starting your business from home is to nurture the idea you have. Take the time to really think about the direction you want to take, the opportunities you might have and if there is potentially any stumbling blocks along the way. It might be a good idea to use this time to create a business plan. This will help you to look towards the future, project earnings and income, and also enable you to look at your options such as gaining investment or considering a business loan to get your business off the ground.
Create a dedicated area to work from
Once your idea is fine tuned and you feel that you are ready to go, it is now worth the time to think about where in your home you are going to work and the logistics. The dream for some people is being able to work from anywhere, even your bed if you wanted to. But the reality is that you can easily be distracted at home, so it is always worth having one spot that is your work area or your business hub. This could simply be a desk in the corner of a room, or an office if you have the space. Another thing to consider is storage. If your business sells physical products do you have the space to store your stock? You may need to consider a storage unit or an outside shed for additional space to help your business start to run smoothly, without it taking over your whole home.
Keep things on the move
The beauty of running your business from home is that you can work from anywhere, and while working from home is going to be ideal, you should also consider getting out every once in a while. It can be isolating be at home all of the time, so taking your laptop or iPad to a cafe for a change of scenery could help you to be more productive. You could also use this time to meet potential clients and customers. Keeping things on the move will also be essential. This is when virtual mailboxes from websites like PhysicalAddress.com could come in handy. Enabling your o have important documents and letters on the move. Also cloud services and software can also help you to keep in work mode when out and about, enabling you to have presentations or copies of contracts, for example, when needed.
Consider different techniques to keep you on track
There is no denying it, if you work from home, you will be easily distracted. You might hear that your dishwasher has completed a cycle, so you may as well empty it. You might think that having the TV on in the background is not going to cause you any harm. Distractions are everywhere, and so working on time management hacks could help you to be productive in shorter spaces of time. Time blocking for certain tasks or even timing yourself to dedicate a certain amount of time to one thing could help you to be more productive and get things done in half the time.
Dress for the occasion
Finally, it may be so tempting to stay in your pyjamas all day etc, but this can be counterproductive when it comes to your mindset. Make sure that you dress for the occasion, even if you won’t be seeing anyone that day. It helps to get you in the right frame of mind for work.
Let’s hope these steps help you to make your dream of working for yourself come true.