Category: Home-Based Business

Working from home and being able to somewhat set your own schedule is unquestionably amazing.  There are times though when working from home can leave you feeling sluggish and unbalanced.  Here are 5 top tips for staying healthy, energetic and productive while working from home.

1. Start your day with Meditation

Mental health is just as important as physical health when it comes from working in a remote location. Even though you don’t have to worry about a long annoying commute, it does help to get up and do something non-work related before you actually start work.

Instead of jumping up and immediately checking your email, clear your mind.  Stretch and meditate for 10 or 15 minutes. Check out online meditation from Deepak Chopra or download an app such as Mindfulness.

If meditation doesn’t appeal to you, take your dog for a walk every morning before work.  Not only will you feel better, your dog won’t be so restless while you’re working.

If you don’t have a dog, take yourself out and walk or jog for 15-20 minutes.  Come back in time to shower before work.  You’ll feel refreshed and up to the day’s challenges.

2. Make Your Own Meals

For so many, working from home means staring for hours at a computer screen. Heading to the kitchen and preparing a simple meal removes your mind, body and more importantly, your eyes, from the screen.  As a bonus, you can control your portions and save money if you’re preparing your own food versus ordering take-out daily.

Beth, the owner of a remote company, LoLBoost.net, suggests keeping snacks to a minimum and when you do feel the urge to munch, make sure it’s something healthy like berries, nuts or yogurt.  These foods will help increase cognitive function and aid in proper metabolism.

3. Exercises from Your Desk

Of course, we all know how important regular exercise is for our bodies and brains.  When working from home, it’s easy to skip the gym so often that the elliptical machine becomes a distant memory.

Invest in a big exercise ball and use it in place of your desk chair for 1 to 2 hours a day.  The constant need for balancing while sitting on the ball increases muscular stability along the spine and improves posture.

If you’re on a long dull conference call and it isn’t a Skype, go ahead and do Calf Raises, Squats or Tricep Dips.  Simply walking around while on the phone is better than sitting perfectly still.  Or better yet, invest in a standing desk extender. Going outside, as long as you have good reception, is another way to get fresh air and a bit of exercise.

4. Learn When to Step Away

Life is a balancing act of obligation and leisure.  Work is an obligation and you certainly owe the company that employs you a full day’s effort.  But you don’t owe them every waking hour.  Put in your time and do your very best to go above and beyond but step away and tend to life outside of work as well.  After all, we work hard so we can play hard, right?  Our spouses, kids, pets and let’s face it, our sanity, requires that we know when to quit each day.

5. Get Dressed!

Getting up and ready for work is better for mental acuity than staying in pajamas all day.  It’s easier to take what you’re doing seriously when you’re dressed in day clothes rather than nightwear.  So go ahead and splurge on that custom suit you have always wanted. Plus, you don’t want to be caught on a must-take Skype call with an unwashed face and coffee stained PJs.

Basically, working from home is an ideal scenario that makes most people green with envy.  Keep it that way by incorporating these simple tips.  Remember, the boss will notice and promote a more energetic and productive employee over a sluggish one every time.

Article Contributed by Courtney Capellan 

You work from home. You’re the envy of the cubicle crowd, the nine-to-fiver’s and the commuters. And the smug satisfaction you get from their jealousy never fails to give you a little boost. You’ve never heard of traffic- the only highway you travel is your hallway. You wear pajamas. And yes- you set your own schedule.

Many benefits are obvious but the challenges are often overlooked.  Above all, you understand that working from home is just a fancy way of saying homework.

Whether you’ve been doing it for years or are considering it– here are ways to maximize the benefits and tackle the challenges of working from home.

Work is work no matter when you do it.  It might be a series of tasks or a big project- either way you’re accountable for completing it at some point. Sticking to your own schedule is key.

• Be honest with yourself. If you’re not a morning person- don’t work in the mornings! Early meetings or urgent deadlines are unavoidable but that doesn’t mean you should sleepwalk through work on a daily basis. Many people don’t “turn on” until the evening. If your hours are flexible, go ahead and work at night if that’s when you’re creative juices are flowing!
• Take breaks. Snacking in front of your screen all day is not multi-tasking. This behavior leads to burnout. Pack a lunch beforehand and avoid too many trips to the kitchen.
• Take down the clock. If you’re staring at it every five minutes you’re probably looking for an excuse. An hourglass is a great desktop accent that’ll measure efficient 20-30 minute sessions of work.

Work Space. Separating your work space from your living space is crucial for productivity.

• Justify the extra room. Even if it’s above your budget or beyond your instinct – having that extra room for work is imperative. Convert that spare bedroom or start combing the ads for a bigger rental. At the very least, make sure you have a door to close on your business space.
• Negative space. Arranging furniture can be inspiring but paying attention to where furniture isn’t is also important. If there’s a window that lets in great light, don’t block it with a bookcase. Leave open space between the entrance and your desk. Use Feng Shui principles in designing your office. It’s not as esoteric as you may think.
• Sit and stay awhile. A good office chair is like a good bed. You spend a lot of time there so spend a little extra on one.
• Green space. Plants create a comfortable environment and the right ones purify the air.

Things that work. Technology, communication, compatibility and portability – all allow us to work remotely. The trick is having batteries in your remote (control).

• Get user-friendly. If your company provides you with a device or software, they expect you to use it. If you don’t understand how to use it, what’s the point? Reach out and get help.
• Going mobile. The laptop at a coffee shop scene is a privilege. Invest in good headphones that block out distraction. Don’t forget your chargers. “My phone died” is as lame as “my dog ate my homework.”
• White boards work. Step away from the keyboard and pull out your dry-erase marker. Brainstorming in a big visual way is helpful when you’re stumped.
• Look good. Sometimes getting dressed just makes you feel better. Even if there’s nobody to be presentable for- take a shower and do your hair. It’s part of feeling like you’ve shown up to work.

Working with others. You don’t have to be a homebody to appreciate the quietude of a home office. On the other hand, you don’t want to feel isolated.

• Team communication. Whether by video or phone calls- keep in touch with your colleagues daily. No shame in calling people just to chat. It may be that they just want to talk to someone too.
• Many entrepreneurs and small business owners have a tendency to take it all on themselves. Developing, maintaining, and tracking an online business takes work and experience you may not have. Partners worth considering for a healthy website are web designers, digital marketers and an SEO team.
• Music is a great companion. Turn up the tunes. Cloud music and radio streaming can fill unwanted silence and these services eliminate the distraction of fiddling for songs. Create playlists of songs with limited lyrics.
• Be clear with family members about your space and schedule. Interruptions from others may be unavoidable but they have potential for becoming unproductive habits – for example, letting your kids in your office.

Work out. Your brain gets a workout all day long. Make sure your body gets one too.

• At-home gym. If you don’t have a gym membership, high quality gym equipment can be purchased in packages that will fit your living space and ability.
• Spinal exercises. Yoga postures are great for everyone. Seek out a teacher or watch a video and incorporate the six movements of the spine as part of your routine.
• Hands on relaxation. Massage is therapeutic and often overlooked as physically beneficial. Build a relationship with a local masseuse and inform him/her of your office desk lifestyle and injuries.

Don’t work. Some imagine that working from home would be hard, fearful that they would never be able to get anything accomplished. As it turns out, most people say the opposite is true. It can be tough not to work when work is always right there!

• Don’t work on Sundays. If you have to put in additional hours, plan for Saturday instead. Having that one day off before Monday is important to feel recharged and productive.

If you’re accustomed to a lifestyle of cubicles and fax machines, making the transition to a home-based business can be harder than you might think. You have to contend with all of the challenges of starting your own business, while also dealing with the personal and emotional stressors of bringing your work into your living space. However, from the many people who have taken the risky road to starting a home business, there are a few pointers that every new home business owner should note:

1. Figure out what it is you actually want to be doing. A new small business needs to satisfy a few requirements. It needs to be based on your personal interests and career goals. It needs to address a market niche that you believe is unfilled. It needs to be appropriate to the local area. Finally, it needs to be feasible for a home-based business. For example, you wouldn’t want to start a home business that was going to be dependent ultimately on major manufacturing operations. Unless you are planning from the beginning to begin operations out of the home and move them into an office space eventually, you should only start a business out of the home that can stay in the home.

2. Have a plan of attack before you start. It wouldn’t be wise to quit your current job and invest all of your time and money into launching your home business, only to realize that your business plan is off base or overly complicated. Have a fairly crystallized plan of where your business is coming from, who is supporting it, and when you can expect to see a return on investment. Understand your primary market, know what talent you will need to support your operations, and have a generalized growth plan in place. You should also be certain that you know how much money you need to start out and where that money is going to come from. If it’s going to put you under too much financial strain, you may want to retool. You will also need to make a careful evaluation of the amount of money you truly, honestly need to get by. Does your plan provide you with enough?

3. Take care of your basic necessities. Potential investors aren’t going to want to invest in your business if it doesn’t seem like you are a real operation. Make sure you’ve addressed all the basic things before trying to attract new business. This will include making sure you’ve done all the required paperwork to be considered a business in your state and that you’ve copyrighted your name and basic info. Come up with a marketing package which might include your branding, likea logo and slogan, business cards, printed materials, a website, and social media presence. If you don’t feel capable of handling all of these things yourself, you can hire someone through an outsourcing website or someone who advertises marketing and design in your local area. Different materials will be relevant for different company types, so choose as appropriate. For example, if you don’t focus on the local area, you might not need business cards right away. This can wait until you attend a professional event or until you get a bit more established. Make sure your branding is very strong so people will remember you.

Virtually every company needs robust web presence including, at the very least, a professional-looking website and a few social media accounts. It doesn’t have to have high functionality, but it should look nice and respectable, and it should be hosted somewhere secure. Make sure you know how to protect your website from hackers by applying web security software. This will ensure that your customers can 1) get to your website without any errors and 2) safely browse your site without their personal information being compromised.

5. Make your home space work-ready. There are a few common complaints that home-based workers share: that it is hard to keep from getting distracted, that you miss the social interaction, and that you sometimes feel left out of the professional loop. You can help prevent these problems by having a designated office space. Your brain will then be able to go into work mode when you are in your work space, which will help prevent distraction. You may also want to equip your office with a few things that will make it easier to promote interaction with partners and clients like teleconferencing software.

Other things to consider:

-Do you need any special licenses or permits? Make sure to double check on this and to keep copies on hand in case someone wants proof.
-Do you need to get a PO Box address? Many people prefer the security and anonymity that this provides, especially when doing business with remote clients outside of the local area.
-If you need to hire other employees, how will they work for you? Out of their own homes or out of your space?
-What capacities can you handle yourself? What do you need to outsource right away? Are you able to handle the books on your own or should you get an accountant? Small business owners are more likely to face an audit, so make sure you have a way to keep careful track of your paper trail.

Starting your own home business is a great way to be independent and to find your own way towards professional commitment. It certainly takes plenty of hard work and preparation, but with some time and care, you’ll soon be on the right path.

The thriving American cottage industry includes the smallest businesses of all, ones that can fit into a spare room, basement or garage. But even a business small enough to fit on a kitchen table has to keep impeccable records, function efficiently within its allotted space, and keep its overhead as low as possible. If you are a work-at-home entrepreneur, you get to make the rules, but if you want your business to expand, there are a few resources you will need in order to run a legitimate business.

Licenses, Certificates and Tax I. D. numbers

If you plan to cash checks or other remissions made out to your business, you will need a D.B.A. (Doing Business As) certificate. For tax withholdings purposes, a Federal I.D. number is required for all businesses with payroll. Entrepreneurs may also need state and city business licenses or I.D. numbers, in order to comply with tax requirements. If your business is selling a product that involves another product in its manufacture or shipping, you will need a Resale number to avoid paying sales tax on the auxiliary product. You can find out how to obtain all of these certificates on line or by phoning the entities involved in their issue. If you have a personal accountant, they can also give you information about what you’ll need in this area.

Computers and Internet Access

You will need a fast running computer (the newer the better, for speed and efficiency) and a high speed internet provider in order to communicate with your vendors and customers, manage your inventory, and keep accurate records of your sales. A good computer will be a lifesaver when it comes to organization and documentation. Whether you have a desktop or laptop, this will be where you keep all your records and important papers—the days of having a messy desk or bursting file cabinet are over. A scanner, printer and label writer are also indispensable to the at home entrepreneur, and can often be included as business expenses.

Organizing your Books

As mentioned above, everything is done digitally now. Luckily, there are plenty of software programs available to help you stay digitally organized and accurate. Your electronic records now take up a lot less space in your tiny home office and are instantly accessible to you. You will need a bookkeeping program like Excel to keep track of your sales and taxes collected. You will need a database such as Filemaker Pro, to store customer information, such as street and email addresses, credit card numbers, buying history and notes. You will want to have files devoted to vendors you deal with, places you advertise with, records of your correspondence, in short, everything relevant to your business, at your fingertips at all times. Do not attempt to do your bookkeeping in reverse—do it as you go, and you will save yourself a headache later down the road.

Equipment

If you are an entrepreneur creating your own product from home, you likely have machinery, equipment, and supplies that you rely on. If you are relying on a specific machine to reproduce the product you are selling, you may also want to keep a backup machine on hand, in case the first one fails. This could mean the difference between next day shipping and two week later service. If you require large machinery to produce, store, or move your inventory around, the professionals of Arpac who specialize in warehouse equipment in Calgary suggest that you rent this equipment for the time being until you have more money or your own warehouse.

Office and Warehousing Space

You will have to set aside space for creating your product as well as desk space to manage the related paperwork. Storing data should be a no brainer, whatever can be electronically stored should be carefully entered in your computers and backed up in several places. Storing inventory is the biggest challenge when space is at a premium. Inexpensive, hard plastic shelving can turn garages and extra rooms into neat, well-organized mini warehouses. Some warehouses will allow you to rent a portion of their space for a lower price which is a great option as your business expands—you might not need an entire warehouse to store your inventory, but eventually your product is going to overrun your home.

Materials and Supplies

If you plan to ship a product directly to your customers, a Costco or Sam’s Club Small Business account will offer the best prices on all the packing supplies, shipping envelopes and heavy duty storage shelving you will need for your stock. If you are acting as your own supply chain, other helpful shipping equipment may include a shrink wrap machine and postage meter. Remember the Resale number, so you don’t have to pay sales tax on these supplies.

Once you have jumped through all the hoops and received the proper licensing, you are well on your way to creating a successful home business. Some entrepreneurs are content with running their business out of their garage forever, but if you want to expand your business and one day run a legitimate operation, you need to be professional and legitimate from the start. Sure, it can be tough to act professional when your office is your basement or the guest bedroom, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

VentureMom.com is a website devoted to encouraging moms to start their own businesses and giving them free exposure. Founder Holly Hurd knows all about entrepreneurism and has helped many moms by featuring them on her website and by showcasing their products in the VentureMom Shop. For moms who are looking for ways to market their products, Hurd shares these 10 ways to market your business for free:

1. List your business in free online directories and shops. There are hundreds of business directories online where you can list your business for free such as People’s Guide and Yahoo! Local. You simply sign up for an account, add a business logo and description and you’re good to go. Some directories are more customizable so you can add even more information about your business. The VentureMom Shop is a great online store that will feature your mom-made products so other moms can shop your brand and you can support fellow mompreneurs.

2. Reach out to be covered by bloggers. Befriending bloggers who have the same target audience as your target customers is beneficial for you and the blogger. Start a partnership where you agree to feature or link to their blog on your website in return for them featuring your website or products on their blog. VentureMom has a Featured VendorMom each month that gets a great spot right on the site’s homepage as well as featuring other venturemoms’ products in the site’s collage blogs.

3. Write guest blogs. Guest blogging is a great marketing strategy that has many good advantages. When your blog post gets featured on another blog, if your post has good content then the readers of the blog will most likely click the link to your website and may potentially become your next clients. You can get back links to your website from other blogs and increase traffic for your own website. VentureMom.com posts guest blogs on her site from time to time which give moms ideas on how to make their way in the world of entrepreneurism.

4. Use Facebook to tell the world about your product. Anyone can create a free Facebook page for their business which allows you to have a big cover image, icon image, and customized tab pages. Make sure to post updates often and schedule posts in advance to save time. Whenever you have a new product or special promotion, post it on Facebook to keep your fans updated.

5. Start a Twitter page to Tweet your info. Setting up an online Twitter profile is so easy that every business should have one. Follow other businesses that have similar target customers and see who their followers are and who they are following. If you follow these users, chances are that they will follow you back because they will have the same interest in your business. You should use Twitter to interact with your followers and get their feedback.

6. Build your email list. Include a simple email sign-up form on your website to gather emails from all of the people who visit your site and shop your products. It’s a good idea to give users an incentive for signing up to your list such as sending them a free eBook to download or some helpful tips. Having a substantial email list will help you with the next step.

7. Send out a free email newsletter. Create an account with a free email marketing company like MailChimp to help you create your own newsletter from a template to send to your customers. The newsletter can include short articles, feature new products, include promotions or contests, or just keep your customers updated on what’s going on with your business.

8. Create online YouTube videos. This is a great way to use your creativity and have fun making videos that feature your products or services and show your business in action. You might want to create a “behind the scenes” video to show all the work that goes into running your business. You can even create a “meet the team” video so your customers get to know the faces behind your brand. You can add links to your website in your video descriptions so more people can click to your site.

9. Make sure your website is search engine optimized. You want your website to show up on the first page of search results on Google and the higher up your website appears, the better. Include commonly searched for keywords (but not too many!) relating to your business within the text of your site. Try to get other trusted websites to link back to your site and offer to do a link exchange. Optimize the images on your website by adding a title, description, and alt text. It takes time to optimize your website but the results are worth it.

10. Start your own thread on a forum. There are so many online forums for all different interests and audiences. Find a forum community that would be interested in your products or services and actively post on the forum to get to know other users and promote your business. Forums are also great for sharing ideas with people and getting feedback.