How to Build a Successful Home-Based Business

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How to Build a Successful Home-Based Business

The entrepreneurial spirit leads many talented individuals to start their own home-based business. If that spirit resides within you, here are a few tips to help you build a successful business out of your home.

Create a Business Plan

Harvard Business Review recommends you first create a detailed business plan. Think through how you will get customers and the steps needed to provide them with your products or services. Make sure you have enough money on hand to get your company through the start-up phase and sufficient time to devote to completing all the tasks required to run the business. Once your company generates enough income to break even consistently, you can think about expanding it to include other services or products and additional employees, if needed.

Take Care of Legalities

To protect yourself from personal liability from any lawsuits filed by creditors or customers against your business, legally designate your company as a limited liability company. Having an LLC gives your home-based business credibility with your customers, offers tax advantages, and allows you the flexibility to add additional managers in the future. Each state has its own fees and regulations for forming an LLC, so check with your local government for filing instructions. There's no need to pay a lawyer to complete this task for you, as you can file the paperwork yourself or contract with an online legal company offering an LLC package.

Find the Right Space

It’s important to have enough space in your home to run your business successfully. You may get by with a desk and computer set up in a closet or a corner of a room in the start-up phase. But as your business expands, your space needs will probably grow along with it. You will need a dedicated home office with room for storage. Perhaps a workshop to create your products or a designated area to meet with your customers if you are in the service industry.

Purchasing a New Home

If your business has outgrown your current home, contact a real estate professional at Charlotte County Realty at 941-613-9001 to find the perfect property to meet your needs. He or she will help you analyze how much you have available to spend and show you the steps to get pre-qualified for a mortgage. The expertise of a professional Realtor saves you the time of searching on your own for homes within your budget and saves you money by negotiating the price on the property you decide to buy. An agent is beneficial when you consider purchasing an “as-is” home. He or she will order a home inspection to give you a realistic perspective of any problems you would be taking on with such a property, like a possible pest infestation, leaks, water damage, or any structural damage that needs to be fixed.

Consider a Custom-Built Home

The needs of your home-based business may require more room than the typical residential home has to offer. In that case, consider having a custom home built that will meet the needs of your growing company. A real estate agent will help you find the ideal property. He or she knows the areas with the right zoning requirements for your business, the ones with access to city utilities, and any other local regulations and restrictions on the available land. Your agent can also refer you to the best home builders in your area.

Article written by Tina Martin, Ideaspired.com, tina@ideaspired.com, Phone 713-833-7578

Permission for use granted by Tina Martin on October 13, 2020.