Thinking of starting a home-based business? Here are a couple of things you might like to
consider before you take the plunge:

  • Are you suited to working from home – are you self-motivated, disciplined,
    independent and can you be accountable to both yourself and your clients and
    customers?
  • Are your goals realistic – it takes time and dedication to create a successful business?
  • Have you worked out your finances – how much money you need to start up and what
    you need to earn to make things work?

If you’re secure in your answers to the aforementioned questions you’ll need to do two
things: define your business identity and set up your work space.

A business identity requires a name and logo, a website (even if you, yourself are the
business) and a clear sense of purpose.

And then your work space…for a homeowner, moving work into an everyday living space is a
big deal and has to be thought about quite carefully. Primarily, you’ll need a comfortable
place to work that is away from distractions, helping with focus and productivity. These
things will all depend on what type work you’re doing – photographers or dentists and
chiropractors will require a whole different home context from a writer or a designer.

Other than the nature of the space you’ll need to make your business succeed in the home
environment, you’ll need to reflect on the prospective energy requirements of your work and
whether you r home has the infrastructure to support the technological needs of your business
(speedy wi-fi, for example). From there, you can think about clever ways to cut costs; like
energy saving bulbs, tuning off appliances at the sockets etc.

Working from home is a wonderful thing; it’s challenging and not without its own unique
stresses but if you’ve done your research and planned accordingly, you’re off to a great start!

For more advice on energy usage or home refurbishments, contact the team at AACooper
01689 485007 or info@aacooper.co.uk.

Source: bbc.co.uk – “Setting up your own home business”