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Starting a small or side business has never been easier. You have access to AI automation, cloud-based tools, and more support services than you can even count. With all this support, you can easily start selling your crafts as a side hustle, or even work with a manufacturing company to create your own unique product.
You can sell services, products, or art. You can do it all, and often times, you don’t need an office at all – at least when you get started.
Even with the fact that you can run a whole business from the comfort of your own home, however, it’s important to realize that there’s still a lot of work to do if you want to succeed.
To make your efforts worthwhile, use this guide so you know exactly how to set up a thriving digital-first business from home:
Workshop Your Business Idea
Every business needs to have a unique selling point. If you are an artist, then this is your unique artistic style. If you are starting up a consultancy, for example, then your experience and niche are going to be how you sell your product.
The problem with starting a business is that it’s, in many ways, like constantly job hunting. You need to sell your business idea to customers or clients before you sell your product or service. Know how to pitch your idea, and narrow down the language and visual assets you’ll use to help you land the sale.
Improve Your Prestige
You can work from home, but that doesn’t mean it should ever feel or even look like you are operating your business from home (unless you are what’s considered a micro business, or you are merely doing this as a side hustle).
If you are serious about growing your business, you need to play the game. This means looking bigger than you are. A great way to do this right off the bat is to rent a virtual office from Your City Office. You can set up your business address in hot neighbourhoods like Mayfair, for example, and use that to improve the optics of your business. As a bonus, you can also often rent out space in that office on a day or hourly basis, so you can book meetings in London and have somewhere impressive to bring them.
Set Up Your Home Office
Every home office will need to have a computer that can handle all the programs you need to run without crashing, a strong internet connection, and, ideally, a door between you and the rest of your household.
Depending on your business type, you might also need storage space, studio space, a label printer, and more.
What you might miss when setting up your office is the software. In general, you’ll want:
- An accounting and finance tool that keeps track of your expenses, profits, and taxes.
- A project management tool that helps you stay organized (bonus if you have an AI-powered assistant)
- Marketing and sales tools like HubSpot or Canva to help you quickly create great looking marketing materials and get them out there.
- Cloud-based storage that keeps all your data organized and located in a single (protected) space. This will make it easier to operate, is essential if you get audited, and can help set you up for automation.
All these tips will help you work better at home, sell better from home, and build those key connections that can help you grow, so get started today.