Turning Your Home Workspace Into The Catalyst For Startup Success
A growing number of entrepreneurs are turning their attention to home-based businesses. It’s easy to see the attraction too. Aside from the convenience of no longer commuting, it’s a move that will significantly reduce your expenses. It’ll simultaneously remove a great source of pressure. However, the benefits can only be enjoyed after creating a home workspace that is built for success.
Working from home does present a number of unique challenges. Therefore, it’s vital that you enter the process with a comprehensive strategy. It should enable you to gain optimised productivity and profitability. Here’s all you need to know.
Create A Designated Workspace
Separating your work and home life is arguably the hardest challenge of the transition into working from home. The property hosts many potential sources of distraction. Sadly, then, working from the sofa is probably ill-advised.
Instead, you need a dedicated office space. If the property already boasts a study room, that’s great. If not, you can transform a guest room or the garage into your new HQ. Or, building a garden structure that can become the office is another fantastic solution. One of the great things about this option is that it allows you to escape the noise of a busy family household.
One way or another, a designated workspace is crucial for productivity. Perhaps most importantly, it’ll encourage you to adopt a winning mindset. You can take this to the next level by getting showered, dressed, and ready for work each morning – or before when you start a shift. This will give you the strongest foundation for success.
Focus On Communication Tech
Launching a business from home allows you to grow and expand in an organic fashion. However, it’s impossible to run every aspect of the business with one pair of hands. After assembling a winning team, you must ensure that they can collaborate in style.
Good communication is at the heart of all successful businesses. Even when you are working from different locations, it is possible to facilitate optimal performance. VoIP technologies, team messaging Apps, and project management tools are all great additions. For the most important group interactions, video conferencing is the perfect answer.
When teams work together while enjoying an autonomous approach to assignments, success is assured. Aside from increased productivity, individually and collectively, mistakes are less frequent. Moreover, it will go a long way to helping you maintain a professional front at all times. This ties in with the next step in this guide.
Think About Client Perceptions
Working from home doesn’t exclude you from running a highly productive business operation. Sadly, not everyone knows this. The harsh reality is that some prospective clients and partners will see a residential address and run a mile. Finding a solution is vital.
The best way to sidestep this issue is to secure a virtual office address. This prestigious location can encourage others to view your business in a positive light. Better still, it’ll provide your family with an extra layer of privacy. If you ever need to meet a client, taking them to a restaurant near to the virtual office is a brilliant option.
A professional image isn’t solely reliant on the address. This is why you may also want to hire a managed customer care service. Whether you opt for a receptionist service that provides comprehensive client support or one that only redirects calls is up to you. Either way, maintaining the desired brand image should be a priority for all.
Utilise Financial Benefits
When working from home, it’s inevitable that you will use more resources than usual. For example, your electricity consumption will almost certainly increase. However, it’s not going to be as costly as running a commercial space on top of the home.
More importantly, it may be possible to seek some financial relief. Many of your tax-deductible business expenses will double up as home overheads. For example, you’ll be able to claim back your internet bill. Hiring an accountant to complete a full audit of your business and personal finances is vital. The insight will generate significant benefits.
It may also be possible to gain grants and financial backing from government schemes and other places. Governments want to support small businesses now more than ever due to the impacts of Covid-19. However, the opportunities won’t fall at your feet. You need to discover them for yourself by taking a proactive approach.
Embrace Social Influencers
Marketing is a major feature of any business model. When the venture is a home-based business, though, new obstacles stand in your way. After all, you won’t have a physical shop window from which you can promote the brand. So, you must utilise the digital one.
Building a strong website supported by SEO, social media, and Google My Business listings are crucial. Ensuring that your target audience can find your brand and products in an organic fashion is key. However, in today’s climate, you must also leverage success from others. Customer reviews and testimonials area great starting point.
Moreover, you should look to use social media influencers. They can increase brand awareness and actively boost the conversion rates. The key to mastering this aspect of marketing is to find influencers that share a similar target market. When they do, their engaging content can outshine anything you’d have achieved with a brick and mortar store.
Encourage Positivity
As stated at the top of this guide, the value of a designated office space cannot be emphasised enough. If you truly wish to unlock its full potential, though, you must also consider the interior design. It’s impact on your mood and feelings towards work is monumental.
Several simple steps can be taken to improve the atmosphere within the home office arena. A lighter colour scheme supported by increased natural lighting can have a significant impact. Meanwhile, adding a little artwork or family photos to the walls will enhance the vibe. Achieving a little comfort without causing a distraction is the desired goal.
Adding house plants and investing in better temperature control are essential steps. Keeping the room feeling clean and spacious should feature on the agenda too. Opting for paperless invoicing and paperwork cuts down the need for filing systems and storage. Aside from encouraging improved morale, it can save valuable time.
Make It Comfortable For Long Periods
When taking your first steps into the world of business, you will need to work long hours. The lack of commuting allows you to do this with relative ease. Sadly, you won’t want to do this if the surroundings of the home office cause unnecessary problems.
A lack of comfort can put your physical health at risk while also causing your mind to wander too. Comfortable mesh office chairs provide an ergonomic solution. You may also want to invest in a better HVAC system. Adding a monitor to the wall is another wise move, especially if you need to do a lot of video calls or watch instructional videos.
Working from home means you can pop out to the kitchen for a drink or toilet break. Nonetheless, you must respect the challenges that being stuck in one room for maybe 40 or 50 hours per week can bring. If the furniture and equipment choices do not feed into your bid for added comfort, the harsh reality is that it will quickly take a toll.
Prepare For The Worst
It’s one thing to create a business that performs well when things run smoothly. In reality, though, unforeseen circumstances are sure to surface from time to time. Even when working from home, it’s imperative that you put the necessary safety nets in place.
The threat of power outages is a particularly problematic issue. The fact is that you rely heavily on electricity for the home-based business to keep operating. A backup generator is, therefore, one of the smartest home additions you’ll ever make. Aside from supporting your family when the network is down, it can deliver benefits for family recreation.
On a similar note, a backup solution for gaining an internet connection is highly advised. Your cellphone network is the most common option. However, many home-based businesses will use dongles and portable 4G devices. Aside from providing a backup for the home, it can become a great solution for when you’re in the field.
Establish Work-Home Life Balance
Your thoughts are predominantly concerned with creating the best office space. Still, you must not forget that the property is also your home. It’s the oldest cliché in the book, but all work and no play will leave you feeling very dull indeed.
Investing time and money on improvements for the office is necessary. However, it’s equally crucial to make changes designed for leisure. Whether it’s building a home cinema, revamping the garden, or upgrading the bathroom is up to you. Either way, home updates that improve your time at home will indirectly benefit your work life too.
The whole point of starting a business is to build a better future. If you overlook the need to focus on your home life, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever achieve those goals. So, establishing a good work-life balance inside (and outside) the home is the biggest step of all. Get it right, and all other successes will taste even sweeter.