Looking for a job can be a tough and lonely time. How many afternoons have you spent looking those job listings online and sending out cover letters and CVs? Probably too many already.
It’s no surprise that in such situation home businesses are flourishing: 23 percent of the country’s businesses are now home-based, according to data from the Federation of Small Businesses. Rather than looking for a job that doesn’t seem to be there, many people have resorted to going it alone.
But before taking this step, planning is essential. And this involves all aspects, from a business plan, to the logistics and the actual configuration of your ‘home office’.
What kind of enterprise can work in that empty room, then? Professionals such as IT consultants, graphic designers or freelance writers can give their best in such a quiet and independent environment. Party and wedding planners, as well as online sellers can make the most out of what the internet has to offer: for the former, outreach and networking is made easy by all the social networks out there, while the latter can benefit from free, popular sales websites where their items will be visible to buyers around the world. Whatever the business of your choice is, advice from friends who are experts in the area will be vital.
Once a business model is chosen, it’ll be time to deal with more practical matters: setting up the office itself can actually be one of the fun bits. The challenge also lies in dealing with narrow spaces and restrictions: a wall can be enough to rely on for your shelves, and you can easily push a table against it. Photos, decorations and souvenirs are all welcome, but try to stay on the professional side just in case you welcome future business partners at home. Also make enough room for your computer and printer, and keep a comfortable armchair for guests too, so that they’ll feel welcome in your home-office.
Finally, if you think that showing your home address on your business card doesn’t look credible enough, there is a simple enough solution to represent your home-business in a professional manner: virtual offices give you a business address, professional call answering and the possibility to rely on external meeting rooms if the meeting is a particularly important one. If you think that your home business could benefit from this service, click here to find out more about virtual offices.
My brother uses a virtual office setup for his digital sign business. It wouldn’t be great for business (he thinks) if his clients knew his biz was being completely run out of his garage!
I used a virtual office for my ecommerce company for about 2 years. I made it easy and I could put my address on everything. It looked professional and they easily took care of my mail and signing for packages.
We used a virtual office at my last company, which was really convenient. An address downtown and nice meeting rooms seemed to impress the customers.
Virtual Offices / PO boxes are a great idea! The internet has revolutionised how we work and I predict that more and more offices will be home based in the future!
I know my last job was looking to move people remote. I know my current job would never move that way because they think they would lose control over their employees. I think the younger generations will make the push towards remote work.