Some of us like to work from the comfort of our homes, while some others prefer 9-5 jobs. On the other hand, some of us accidentally ventured into entrepreneurship or starting a home business.
One of the easiest ways to start a business is by starting a home-based business.
If you prefer to work from the comfort of your home or you are a stay-at-home mom who is looking towards running a home-based business in Nigeria, here are some great tips to help you:
- Find the right niche: Starting a successful home-based business requires that you find the right niche or idea. Not all ideas can be fully executed by working from home, so you need to find those unique ideas you can carry out from the comfort of your home.
- Have a business plan: Just because you would be operating your business from your home doesn’t mean you don’t need a business plan. You need a business plan, so take out some time to craft it or hire someone who would help you with it.
- Set a clear schedule: One of the disadvantages of running a home-based business is that you might get carried away with other things and dabble into them. And so, create a daily schedule for your business and stick with it. What are the times you would resume work, go on a break, close from work?
- Set clear boundaries: Boundaries are another important part of working from home. You should when to stop working and attend to your personal or family needs. Likewise, you should know how to separate work from family and let work stay at work.
- Have a dedicated workspace: One of the ways to be more productive is by having a dedicated workspace in your home. You can either turn an extra room to an office space or you create an area for work in your home.
- Be accountable: Hold yourself accountable to things you said you would do. Just because you are working from home does not mean you shouldn’t be disciplined. Discipline will help you grow your business faster.
- Treat your business like a business: Home-based businesses are also real businesses, hence, they should be treated as such. Make sure you register your business, pay your taxes, have a separate business account, invest in your branding, etc.
- Utilize digital marketing: One of the ways to build a thriving home-based business is by fully utilizing online marketing channels such as digital marketing to promote and get your business noticed by your target audience no matter where they are globally.
- Keep learning: One of the ways to stand out online is by learning non-stop and implementing that which you have learnt. Learn about your business, learn about the market, learn about how to effectively market your business, find out ways to upgrade your skills, and so on.
- Charge your work’s worth: Just because you are running a home-based business doesn’t mean you should not charge your work’s worth. Calculate your costs such as time, resources, light, internet, and so on and make sure you add your profit. Don’t be intimidated into charging low because you run a home-based business. A home-based business is still a real business!
