Setting Up a Small Business from Home

Thinking of Setting Up Your Business at Home?

Setting up a small business from home is a low cost option for setting up your small business but there are a few things you should consider before you hand out your flyers.

What Type of Business can be based at Home?

Not all types of businesses are suitable for setting up as a small business from home and to some extent, the decision about the viability type of business you want to start at home will also depend on the location and size of your home.

If you are living in a high-density area in rented accommodation, breeding pedigree dogs is probably not a good idea but you could manage a mailing service or a virtual PA business!

How much room will you need to operate your small business from home?

Will you be spending most of your working day indoors or do you need a production area or warehousing? Is your yard or your shed big enough for what you want to do? What about your neighbors? Is your business going to be noisy or are your customers need to come to you? What about parking?

With the exception of home based businesses located in rural or semi-rural areas, most of these businesses are service providers or cottage industries, which are small manufacturing businesses producing small specialized or hand crafted items.

Yet another option for a small home based business is an online business. This type of business does not need a lot of space and the location of your home is not a factor. You customers do come to you, but only in a virtual sense. You won't have to worry about parking!

Approvals and Permits

If you are planning to start a small business from home you may have to look into obtaining the relevant permits and approvals.

If you are planning to operate in a regulated industry, for example the building trade, you will need to be certified by the governing body and hold the relevant government permits. In many cases you will need to obtain approval from your local council or municipal authority to operate your business in a residential area, particularly if you will have customers coming to your home.

Working Hours

One common issue for home based small business owners is to differentiate between work hours and personal time.

How many hours a day, are you going to work on the business?

What times of day will you start work each day and when will you knock off for the day?

If you do not set specific times, you are opening the door to temptations. You may be tempted to procrastinate, and your family and friends will be tempted to interrupt you whenever it suits them!

If you are starting a small business don't let the fact that you are doing it at home allow anyone to take it less seriously! Set your business hours, tell your family and friends that you are not available during those times and enforce it!

Work Space vs. Home Space

At the moment my workspace is a chair in the lounge room. I am sitting here surrounded by books and files with the computer on my knee and believe me, this is definitely not the ideal work situation for a home based small business!

If you are serious about starting a small home business, set aside some dedicated space to work in. Preferably somewhere with a door, so that at the end of the day you can shut the door on your business and your business 'stuff' will remain undisturbed until you return to work the next day.

If you can, organize dedicated equipment for your business. If you need a computer to run your business, buy a second one specifically for the business so that you do not have to share with your partner or your kids!

Get a second phone line, one for the family and one for your business, and train everyone who lives in your home to either ignore the business phone when it rings, or to answer the business line in the correct way!

As mentioned above, when you are at work, be at work. Let the answering machine get any calls to your home phone line, and let your family and friends know that you are working.

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