With so many brits ditching the 9 to 5 and setting up shop in their spare room, we thought we’d take the time to give you a few hints, tips and tricks on how to run a business from home. So whether you’re going completely on your own or just setting up a side job, planning world domination or looking for a bit of pocket money, there are some things you should bear in mind.

In today’s technological age, you can get find a personal trainer on the internet, buy everything including a kitchen sink from your living room laptop and even sell your house. In fact, if you’re not looking into the online options for business-expansion, you may become obsolete…

Red Tape & Legislation

First of all, you definitely need to tell your tax man! In your first three months you need to get in touch with HM Revenue & Customs letting them know you’ve taken the plunge and have started your own business. You’ll also need to state whether you’ve set up with a team or you’re going at it alone, if it’s the later you’ll need to register yourself as a sole trader – official, right?

 

Office Space

Get yourself a virtual office, what better way to get your business on the map? Having a virtual office is a great way to gain some presence, it’s even better when you’re set up in some of the most sought after locations in the world! There are companies out there which offer affordable solutions to actually renting your own space such as Orega virtual office.

 

Accountant

An accountant may sound expensive, but in the long run it will definitely save you a few pennies! They’ll let you know what costs to expect so you can budget your spending. One of the best benefits of hiring an accountant is that they can let you know what costs you could claim for. For instance, if you’re running a business from home, you may be entitled to claim for the costs of expenses such as heating bills. If you’re local to Chester (like me) Mitchell Charlesworth are renown for their start-up services.

 

Insurance

Insure yourself! We’re not saying you need business insurance if all you’re doing is setting up a computer and sending round a few emails, but if that computer coming to a dead stop would cause you a whole lot of bother, we’d recommend insuring it! There are a lot of forms of insurance you may need including public liability and commercial, make sure you do your research before opening up your business to the public!

 

Organise Your Paperwork

Investing in a filing cabinet may be the best thing you ever do for your business. You may remember having a special tray in school that you kept all your text books and important letters in, think of your filling cabinet as your grown up tray. This is where you should store your payment records, receipts and all other important documentation you may be asked to show. You can thank us later!

 

Boundaries

Most importantly, don’t let yourself become your work. Even though you’re working from home it doesn’t mean you have to be on call until midnight every night! Give yourself breaks to make time for your loved ones. It’s so easy to get swept away in the world of work, so designate break hours for yourself to make sure you have a little me time.

If you can keep focused at work, you should be able to get done in 8 hours per day (in theory!). Parkinson’s law dictates that the length of a task will swell to fill the time available, so set yourself deadlines and focus on 2 or 3 things per day to get done.

 

Learn By Mistakes – Not all Yours

Learn by your own mistakes, by learn by others as well.
Do lots of research before starting your own business – books, videos and articles.  You can learn by your own mistakes, but these can often be costly, so read and learn by others too.

See a list of books here.