Quick Tips For Running A Small Business From Your Home Office
Whether you’re supporting your family by starting a business from home or supplementing
your income in the evening and weekends, loads of us have side hustles these days. But
setting up small business ideas from home isn’t easy. To help you on your way, we’re going
to look at:
- Setting up your home office
- Building your brand from home
- Ways to gain business exposure from your desk
If you don’t start the right way, you may have trouble later, so let’s get your home
office and small business up and running…
Setting up your home office
Having a safe, clean space dedicated to your work is essential to maintain your work-life
balance. But we don’t all have a spare room, do we? Instead, try to find a spot where a desk
naturally fits and doesn’t negatively impact your day-to-day.
Ladder desks are a great option as they often double up as bookcases and save a lot of
space. What’s great is that you can find loads of stylish options to fit in with your décor that
won’t look out of place.
Another option is to have a completely temporary desk that can be packed away at the end
of the day. Folding desks and chairs are great for this, but you might want to consider
transforming furniture as well, like a coffee table with a rising tabletop you can hide
everything away under. There’s also the option of the dining table if you have a laptop as
you can pack up and put it away every day.
Next up: the office chair. Sitting all day can be bad for your body and posture, so choosing
the right chair with adjustable height, maybe armrests, and lumbar support is essential. Don’t
worry too much about the look of the chair so much as the support it gives as you can
purchase more on-décor chair covers to help it look right at home.
Now for the extras. A home office doesn’t have to be all corporate and grey, it’s part of your
home and should feel like it belongs, so don’t be afraid to add in some cosy comforts like:
- Rugs
- Blankets
- Fun stationery
- Photographs
- Fancy footrests or massagers
- Air-purifying plants like Peace Lily’s and Dracaenas.
- Nice smelling essentials oils
Now your home office is all set up, it’s time to get started on the actual working from home.
How to Build your Brand from Your Home Office – 5 Steps
You likely don’t have access to an expensive marketing agency to do all your branding for
you, so you’ll probably have to call in a freelancer or DIY it from your fancy new home office
setup. So, here’s a quick rundown of the essentials:
1. Choose a brand name that represents your product and/or services. The clearer you
are, the easier it will be for customers to find you.
2. Make sure your brand values align with those of your target market – i.e., if you’re
targeting vegans, make sure your values are aligned with ecological and animal-
friendly goals. Research shows customers prefer to patronise businesses that align
with their likes and dislikes.
3. Develop a brand personality that matches your product. It should be appropriate and
reflect how you want your brand to be seen and how you want to interact with your
customers. Make sure this personality comes through it all your communications.
4. Create a logo that reflects your product and personality – simple single colour logos
are best as they are the most versatile. A good guide is to imagine how it would look
on a stamp. Not convinced? Just think about how effective Nike and McDonalds
logos are!
5. Don’t skimp on your packaging. In one survey, 72% of Americans noted that the
packaging influenced their buying decision. This is less necessary for a home office-
based business, but it all feeds into your overall look and feel.
Ways to gain work form home business exposure from your desk
With your home office and all your brand basics in place, now is the time to start building up
an audience and gaining exposure for your products.
You can start by setting up a website using WordPress, Esty or Shopify – whichever works
best for your product. Don’t forget social media accounts either. The key is to have all these
branded and use the right personality in all your copy, posts and communications.
Once these are all sorted, start to build brand awareness with Paid social and PPC adverts,
you can get involved in social media conversations and even consider getting involved in
community events (digital and in-person). You want your customers to know who you are
and what you stand for, so get your voice out there!
Some other ways you can get your brand out there are:
- Write articles for your own and other like-minded business sites. SEO optimise these
to support your Search Engine Page Rankings (SERPs) too. - Send products to popular bloggers for them to review.
- Work with any influencers that fit your niche.
- Contribute to podcasts.
- Start a loyalty scheme
- Set up a newsletter
These are all relatively simple ways to build your brand awareness and business, and most
can be done from your home office too.
There are stages to making your small home office business a success, and it all starts with
making sure your home office is set up, prepped and ideal for your home life. It is
your home after all, and the beauty of a small online business is that you don’t always
need loads of space to accomplish wonders. So, set up your home office, build your
brand and start building exposure – there’s no time like the present to get started.
