If you haven’t heard the news, working from home is well and truly a thing in 2021.
Another newsflash is that we’re in an entrepreneur era. In other words, starting a business is well and truly fashionable as well, with more people jumping on the start-up bandwagon.
Joining the two together can create the perfect mix for some. However, starting a business from home can have its pitfalls and through today’s guide, we’ll take a look at some of the key areas to keep an eye on.
Is your home equipped for business?
As we all know, all businesses are different.
For some of you, you might be starting the latest and greatest ecommerce brand, and you’ll need some form of storage to keep your products. Or, rather than tripping over boxes left, right and centre, you might opt for garages and lockups for rent facilities instead.
How about if you need to meet clients? On a lot of occasions, your living room won’t suffice, and you’ll need something more professional. Again, you’ll need to assess your options.
As you can see, this is one question that does not have a one-fits-all answer. Before you take any sort of plunge, assess what your business needs are, and how your home can cater for it. Just because you might be physically working at home, it doesn’t mean to say that all other strands of your business need to reside there as well.
What about your own working space?
In truth, this next question could relate to anyone – whether they are self-employed or not.
As the past eighteen months have taught us, working from home can bring its challenges. Whether it is the kids running around in the background on Zoom calls, or if it’s just trying to get your head down in the middle of family life – it can be tricky.
In order to stay efficient, you must have your own private working space. This is a permanent arrangement, and the side of the kitchen counter just doesn’t work. Have somewhere where you can lock yourself away, put your head down and separate work life from home.
Do you have all of the paperwork in order?
Again, the answer to this question might depend on the type of business that you are setting up.
For example, if you do decide to store products in your home, what are the insurance implications? How are you going to protect your business if a disaster occurred (i.e., if they got damaged in your home, or even stolen).
On the subject of insurance, it will also be time to look at your home insurance. As you will be conducting business at your home address, you’ll have to make amendments to this policy. If you don’t, it might mean that your policy becomes invalid (even for domestic purposes).
These are just a couple of paperwork issues but you’ll hopefully realise that they can quickly add up and add extra complications to the process