Home Based Business

by Bei Maniago

Putting up a home-based business is never easy. From planning to advertising, every aspect requires your attention. Here are ten tips that will help you on your quest to make your home-based business a success.

1. Keep tight with your schedule. Working from home is powerful – but taking a nap in the middle of the day is more alluring. Setting a tight schedule for your whole day is critical.

2. Have an office area. Home based-business does not mean you have to work on your dining table or kitchen sink. Dedicate an area solely for office work and nothing else.

3. Be professional. Dress and act as if you are inside the office and just at home when it is time for work. Be up and ready by office hours – being late or drunk is not an excuse even if it is a home-based business.

4. Advertise. People still need to know that your home-based business exists. Even if you have a website, who would know it exists if not for traditional advertising means? Be creative on leveraging traditional advertising methods such as pamphlet distribution, commercial ads, attendance to trade symposiums, and the like.

5. Familiarize yourself with tax laws. Consult with an accountant or financial professional if you are not familiar with the accompanying legal obligations and taxation calendar when running a business.

6. Check with your zoning commission. Make sure that your home-based business abides with existing zoning laws for certain classes of businesses; else consider another location where your type of business would be allowed.

7. Have a sensible business plan. Have specific financial and strategic targets for your home-based business for specific periods of time. Let these targets be milestones for your business to achieve.

8. Get on the Web. The Internet is a great equalizer for home-based businesses and large enterprises. Do not just provide information about your business or marketing blitz on your website – use it primarily to sell!

9. Do your research. Know your business, know your competition, and improve on your business offerings. “Make a better mousetrap, and the world would make a beaten path to your door” - get started on knowing and building that better mousetrap. There are plenty of avenues for research such as workshops, interviews as well as the Internet.

10. Do not get discouraged. Running a home-based business requires intestinal fortitude and the will to move on despite a disappointing starting period.. Hang in there and do all that you can to make your business the success you know it can be. Finally, have your home-based business registered with the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within the next 3 months to avoid a £100 fine. You may also need to file Form CWF1 with the tax office to inform the HMRC that you are operating as a business and have the appropriate taxes processed right away. For more tips on growing your home-based business, visit http://www.businessonly.co.uk/home_based_business.html