Working from home isn’t as easy as it sounds. Even if you might have a particularly easy commute - rolling out of bed towards your desk is a lot more enjoyable than sitting on a train for an hour - it can be hard to make sure that you stay focused if you’re working at home. Here are some tips on how to successfully manage your business from the comfort of your very own house.
Utilise Technology
If you work at home, then chances are you’ll be using technology frequently to stay in touch with the people you work with, so you need to make sure that even more than everyone else in your company, you have a great handle on your IOT system and your content management system, if that’s what you’re using - as the boss, you may also have to answer employees’ queries about it, and if you’re working alone then you need to know all the ins and outs without any help from anyone else. No matter where you’re working from, it’s crucial to have a paperless system. Not only is it better for the environment but it will also ensure that your home doesn’t get cluttered up with all your stuff from work. You might be able to line the walls of an office with filing cabinets but your family might object if you do that to your house.
Keep In Contact
It’s crucial to make sure that your clients find it easy to comfort you. You may not have any office or meeting rooms in your house to talk to your clients or employees, but it’s always a good idea to make sure that you’re aware of any quiet coffee shops that you can use in the centre of your nearest city to have any necessary face to face meetings. It might also be a good idea to use a company that will provide you with a super central, official address that means things can be forwarded to your own home - check out more information about that here. Not only does that mean that you can keep your home address secret, but having a prestigious post code will make your company look great. Just make sure that no one shows up to visit you there! You should ensure that you’re easy to contact via phone and email at all times, and that these methods of communication are listed clearly on your site and business cards.
Separate Home From Work
It’s important to make sure that you have a separate work space in your house that is completely different to the rest of your home. Even if it’s just a small alcove that’s screened off in the corner if your living room, you need to make sure that it’s free of your kids’ toys and that it’s a strictly professional zone. It’s great that working at home means that you can be flexible - that means you can organise childcare to make it easy for you and your kids - but it also means that you may need to work late into the night to make up those hours. Being disciplined is key.
