Home Office

6 Steps to Start Your Home-Based Business

August 15, 2022 by Guest Contributor

For individuals who are currently unemployed, considering a leap into entrepreneurship by starting a home-based business is a great option. Low start-up costs, no commute, more control over your time, (and earning capacity) are a few of the many benefits of a home-based business. But, as an owner, the responsibility of finding clients, paying bills, and managing operations will all be on your shoulders. In this article, we explore six steps aspiring entrepreneurs should take to start a successful home-based business.

Create a Business Plan

A business plan is a detailed document covering all the important aspects of the business, such as:

Goals: These are time-bound objectives that you seek to achieve in the short and long term.

Financial Requirements: Specify the costs you’ll incur to launch the business and manage it monthly. Additionally, include a budget to cover these costs which can be done via bootstrapping or obtaining external funding, until the business becomes self-sufficient.

Market Analysis: As reported by Pestle Analysis, this includes conducting research to understand current market trends and the performance of competitors. Additionally, collect information on your target market, their wants, problems, expectations, and purchase behavior.

Boost Your Productivity While Working from Home

June 20, 2019 by Guest Contributor

According to inc.com the average commute time in the U.S. in 50 minutes round trip. The same article said, “In England, the average daily commute time has risen from 48 minutes to 60 minutes in the past 20 years and one in seven commuters spends at least two hours on their daily round-trip commute.” Fifty minutes a day five days a week 50 weeks a year is over 200 hours a year or over 8 2/3^rds DAYS wasted a year. If you multiply that by 20 or 30 years you can easily waste a full 24 hour a day 365 day year of your life just commuting! If you count just waking hours it is more like two years wasted!

Instead of wasting time stuck in traffic breathing exhaust, most people would gladly choose the option of working from home. They can set up their own home office, start being their own bosses, or simply work out an agreement with their employer which allows them to work from home (at least part of the time). These are the people who get the best of both worlds – the comfort of being at home all day long and the paycheck that keeps arriving month after month – but only if they can remain productive and make everything work. Employers appreciate the less crowded facilities as long as productivity is maintained.

If you too are thinking about making this transition, here’s how you can boost your productivity and keep it at the highest level.

Create the Best Home Office to Suit Your Needs

Depending on the type of work you do and how big your home is, your new office could take up an entire spare bedroom, or you might be limited to a tiny corner in the kitchen. Both of these ideas have been used and you could make them work if you put your mind to it. It goes without saying that you’ll need to dedicate a certain part of your home to your work-related duties, so get right on it.

This could sometimes be rather hard, but you can make it work if you remember that size does matter when it comes to home offices. This means you need to give yourself as much space as you possibly can. Unless you do that, your motivation will plummet, and you won’t be able to get any work done whatsoever. [Read more…] about Boost Your Productivity While Working from Home

Organize Your Home Office for Better Productivity

January 21, 2019 by Guest Contributor

The number of people working exclusively from home has increased steadily over the last few years with over 5% working from home in 2018 up from about 3% in 2000. But as many as 24% work from home occasionally according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many of them have home offices and are therefore constantly on the lookout for tricks to help them become more productive. Having an organized office is essential to your productivity, so you need to follow a few simple rules in order to create a real home office.

Instead of working in a chaotic and cluttered space, create an office that will help your business grow and provide you with comfort and coziness of a proper corner office. Here are a few hacks to help you with the basics of a fully functional office.

Comfort is Key

No matter what type of business you do, you need comfortable furniture to be able to pull those long hours. Start with finding the perfect spot for setting up your desk and chair, and try working from there. Many people like utilizing corners and placing their table there, but professional designers recommend creating a focal point in the center of the room. That way, you’ll have plenty of space around your table to add everything you need. You can go for a big desk and dedicate some space for your laptop and paperwork. Apart from that, you can choose an L-shaped desk which will divide the space into two little corners giving you a sense of two tables and leaving you with plenty of room for all of your office supplies you need every day.

When it comes to finding a perfect chair, try finding one that’s comfortable and fits into your office. People have a tendency to buy huge office chairs that take too much space, so measure everything twice before making the purchase.

Add a Personal Touch

Although your basic instincts tell you to remove everything related to your personal life from your office, things aren’t as strict when it comes to personal belongings. Hang a few pictures, add some travel memorabilia, find great inspirational quotes and add a couple of artistic details. These will give you a feeling of a relaxed and comfortable space where you’ll be able to work.

In addition to that, [Read more…] about Organize Your Home Office for Better Productivity