By Virginia Cooper
If your current job has become unfulfilling, or if you recently retired but want to try something new, maybe you’ve considered turning one of your passions into a home-based business. More people are realizing the benefits and ease of starting home-based businesses, and this can be a lucrative way to generate additional income.
But what does it really take for a home-based business to become successful? Consider these four important steps that will help you make your dream a reality:
Prepare a Home Office
The first thing you need as a fledgling entrepreneur is an office. And as a home-based business owner, you need enough space to manage your business and stay productive. To encourage focus, take over a room in your home with a door to limit distractions. Alternatively, carve out a space in an area with less foot traffic such as your basement or even a garage area.
It’s also important to make sure you have the basics. This includes a desk (preferably adjustable height so you aren’t sitting all day), a quality ergonomic office chair, a computer monitor, reliable internet, and possibly a web camera and headset. There are a lot of products to choose from when it comes to office equipment, so do your homework and invest in items that are durable and likely to last.
Take Classes
If you want to turn something you love into a profitable business, you need to become really good at it. Let’s say you enjoy designing websites and want to start doing it for a living. Even if you’ve created projects for you and your friends, becoming a professional web designer will require developing your skills as technology is always evolving, and you will need to learn about new SEO techniques, programming languages, and web design theory.
Getting IT training or even a degree is a great step if you want to start a business in cybersecurity or IT consulting. Whatever your field of business, obtaining the proper credentials and certificates will help you look more established and professional to potential clients. And with so many opportunities to learn online and at your own pace, this doesn’t have to take over your life while you’re trying to run a business.
Establish Your Business Structure
Most small business owners choose to form a Limited Liability Company or LLC. An LLC has many advantages for the business owner like pass-through taxation (you will pay individual income taxes on your earnings instead of corporate income taxes), it offers limited personal liability, and it’s an overall simpler business structure, perfect for a small business.
However, if you plan on hiring employees and want to attract outside investors, you will need to form a corporation. Whatever you choose, you can handle this yourself online, or you can use a formation service that will help you navigate the formation process and advise you on which structure is best for your particular business.
Market Yourself
Nowadays, the best place to advertise your goods and services is on social media. If you work in IT or anything web-related, you may already be pretty savvy when it comes to search engine optimization tools, website optimization tools, and email marketing tools. Establish an online presence with a business website that clearly reflects who you are and what you do. Make sure your contact information is easy to find when potential customers navigate your site. Create online content that appeals to your ideal clients, and start a blog to improve your website’s visibility, adding a call-to-action on your posts so that visitors can subscribe and receive regular emails from your business.
Beyond the online world, you can reach out to potential customers in your community by sponsoring local events, offering free samples or demos in your neighborhood stores, and talking to your local radio or TV hosts about your business.
Set Realistic Goals
As exciting as it is to start a new business venture featuring something you’re passionate about, it also comes with a lot of risks, both financial and personal. So start by setting attainable goals that will help you keep your momentum. You will have to dedicate a lot of time to your new business, at least in the beginning, so make sure to break your long-term goals into shorter ones, and don’t forget to reward yourself when you’ve reached one of those steps.
Setting financial goals from the get-go is important to make sure you don’t spend more than you should, especially on advertising and marketing. Measuring your marketing ROI, or return on investment, will help you figure out what works and what doesn’t when it comes to your marketing campaigns.
Turning your passion into a business can be a rewarding experience. Find the right tools to help you, discover your market, continue to learn about your field, and you’ll soon achieve professional fulfillment.
Article Written by:
Virginia Cooper