Working From Home – Tips to consider for a successful Home Business

Home-based businesses are a large part of the Australian business community, with nearly one million people running a business from home. Working from home can offer flexibility and convenience, and can often be a great opportunity to start a new career.

We asked home-based business owners to share their best tips and advice. Here’s what they had to say about organizing a home office, skillfully operating a business from home, and more.

1. Work on your business, not in your business. “There’s a big difference between working in your business and working on your business,” says Jeannel King, a visual facilitator and coach, and founder of her own home-based business, Big Picture Solutions. “A home-based business typically translates into being a small operation of one: you! In that situation, it’s easy to focus only on product or service delivery. However, it’s essential to make time to work on our business, and that means focusing on the finances, the marketing plans, the vision and strategy, the systems and processes that provide the infrastructure for our businesses to be not just successful, but thriving and sustainable.”

2. Don’t underestimate the importance of branding. “Branding is the most important thing when building an identity for your company,” says Michael Di Pippo, founder of Penfishingrods.com. “The objectives that a good brand will achieve include delivering the message clearly, confirming your credibility, connecting your target prospects emotionally and motivating the buyer.

3.Be honest with yourself. Not everyone is capable of working from home. Be honest with yourself about your work habits and what makes you happy before you decide to start a business from home.

4. Keep your office infrastructure distinct from that used by other family members, recommends Aparna V. Singh, the founder and editor of Women’s Web, an online magazine for Indian women, who once lost important data from her pen drive when it was used by family members. 5. Be aware of local zoning laws. Zoning laws vary depending on where you live and are determined by the city or the county. Home businesses that deal with the public, have employees working out of the home, or have nonstandard business hours are at higher risk of being challenged in front of a zoning commission