Many people dream of working from home to enjoy a greater work/life balance, avoid the daily commute and experience a more relaxed business setting. If you're about to embark on a home-based venture, read our helpful question and answer guide for inspiration.
Q - How much does it cost?
A - The cost of setting up a home business varies greatly depending on your industry. If your work will be computer-based, you might need to pay for a professional website to be set up, invest in a special desk and an ergonomic chair and pay for things like a business phone line, broadband, virus protection and promotional goods like business cards.
If you're planning to make things, you might need extra space, a workbench, special lighting and equipment. You'll also need to pay to register your company name and might need to pay for business banking services if you want to set up a dedicated account. Other costs to take into account include utility bills, subscriptions to unions and potential insurance costs.
Q - How much room will I need?
A - Again, the amount of space you'll need will depend on what it is you want to do. You might have a spare bedroom or a box room you could convert into a home office, or a shed or garage where you could set up a workbench and store any equipment. You could find setting up only requires a corner of your home with a small laptop table and chair squeezed in, and some stylish metal shelving for storing your paperwork. Take a look at storage supplies for your business at BigDug.co.uk.
Q - Will I need insurance?
A - If customers will be visiting your home or if you'll be travelling to them, you might need to make sure you have insurance to cover accidents or claims that arise from your dealing with clients directly. You'll need to make sure your property is safe and check for any hazards or risks. Public liability insurance can give you financial protection in these situations.
You may also need to amend your contents insurance to cover your equipment, and also take out buildings insurance depending on the type of business you'll run. An alternative is to invest in a specialist policy for home businesses.
Q - Do I need permission?
A - If you want to start your own business, you might need permission from a number of people first. If you already work for a company but want to set up your business on the side, you may need to check your contract or speak to your boss to ensure you can do so. Some contracts have clauses that specify that you can't set up in competition while you're working for the company, or enter into additional employment. However, it's worth asking someone directly as the firm may be happy for you to run your own business and give you written permission to do so.
Another person you may need to check with is your landlord if you live in rented accommodation or your mortgage provider if you're paying back a home loan. If your business doesn't require changes to the property or visits from clients, you may find your plans can go ahead without any problems. However, if you want to alter the building or start taking visits you may have some negotiating to do.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let me know by leaving me your valued comments in the comments section below.
Related articles:
Get A Head Start On The Holidays With A Home-Based eBay Business
The Business Of Pleasure: Profiting From Your Hobbies
For more business tips, use this link:
http://www.derekjones.co/search/label/Business%20Tips
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Until my next post tomorrow on the topic of commerce journalism aka affiliate marketing, enjoy the rest of your day! See you back here tomorrow!
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Q - How much does it cost?
A - The cost of setting up a home business varies greatly depending on your industry. If your work will be computer-based, you might need to pay for a professional website to be set up, invest in a special desk and an ergonomic chair and pay for things like a business phone line, broadband, virus protection and promotional goods like business cards.
If you're planning to make things, you might need extra space, a workbench, special lighting and equipment. You'll also need to pay to register your company name and might need to pay for business banking services if you want to set up a dedicated account. Other costs to take into account include utility bills, subscriptions to unions and potential insurance costs.
Q - How much room will I need?
A - Again, the amount of space you'll need will depend on what it is you want to do. You might have a spare bedroom or a box room you could convert into a home office, or a shed or garage where you could set up a workbench and store any equipment. You could find setting up only requires a corner of your home with a small laptop table and chair squeezed in, and some stylish metal shelving for storing your paperwork. Take a look at storage supplies for your business at BigDug.co.uk.
Q - Will I need insurance?
A - If customers will be visiting your home or if you'll be travelling to them, you might need to make sure you have insurance to cover accidents or claims that arise from your dealing with clients directly. You'll need to make sure your property is safe and check for any hazards or risks. Public liability insurance can give you financial protection in these situations.
You may also need to amend your contents insurance to cover your equipment, and also take out buildings insurance depending on the type of business you'll run. An alternative is to invest in a specialist policy for home businesses.
Q - Do I need permission?
A - If you want to start your own business, you might need permission from a number of people first. If you already work for a company but want to set up your business on the side, you may need to check your contract or speak to your boss to ensure you can do so. Some contracts have clauses that specify that you can't set up in competition while you're working for the company, or enter into additional employment. However, it's worth asking someone directly as the firm may be happy for you to run your own business and give you written permission to do so.
Another person you may need to check with is your landlord if you live in rented accommodation or your mortgage provider if you're paying back a home loan. If your business doesn't require changes to the property or visits from clients, you may find your plans can go ahead without any problems. However, if you want to alter the building or start taking visits you may have some negotiating to do.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let me know by leaving me your valued comments in the comments section below.
Related articles:
Get A Head Start On The Holidays With A Home-Based eBay Business
The Business Of Pleasure: Profiting From Your Hobbies
For more business tips, use this link:
http://www.derekjones.co/search/label/Business%20Tips
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
Until my next post tomorrow on the topic of commerce journalism aka affiliate marketing, enjoy the rest of your day! See you back here tomorrow!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
Great set of tips. Thank you for sharing Derek!
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