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5 Tips for Successfully Running Your Business from Home

Whether you’re running a home-based business by choice or the COVID-19 pandemic has made working from home mandatory, you may find it’s more challenging than you anticipated. To optimize productivity and operate professionally, you have to establish good work habits and treat your at-home office as seriously as one at a commercial location.

A 5-Point Checklist for Home-based Office Success

✔ Establish a dedicated working space.

Consider transforming a spare room into a space solely used for business purposes. If that’s not possible, a portion of a quiet room that doesn’t get heavy family foot traffic can work well. Either way, equip your home workspace with all of the office equipment and supplies you’ll need to manage your business activities.

✔ Set boundaries for family and friends.

Some people in your family and social circles may not understand (or respect) that you need dedicated time and space to concentrate on your business. You may find that relatives and friends think that because you’re home, you can run errands, meet up for coffee, or chat on the phone whenever they want your undivided attention.

 

Set expectations with your loved ones about:

 

  • Your work hours (i.e., when you will not be available for social activities)
  • The estimated timeline for when you’ll respond to non-emergent requests
  • How to reach you in the event of an emergency or urgent need
  • What qualifies as an emergency or urgent need

If you have small children or other family members who need your care, you may have to go easier on your boundaries. However, having some house rules—even if they’re somewhat lax— will help you maintain focus.

✔ Manage your time.

Generally, working from home offers greater freedom to set your own schedule than working in a traditional office environment. That freedom, however, can create a lapse in productivity if you don’t manage your time well. Consider scheduling dedicated blocks of time on your calendar for specific business tasks. Doing so will help you stay on track with deadlines and help you navigate setting the boundaries we discussed in the point above.

✔ Get proper licensing and insurance for your home business.

States, counties, and local municipalities may have license or permit requirements for operating a business from home. It’s critical to check with the government agencies that preside over your jurisdiction to learn if you must obtain any to run your company legally.  Also, especially if customers will come to your home to pick up products or attend meetings, consider talking with an insurance agent about policies to protect you in the event of accidents or property damage. Many homeowners insurance policies have exclusions for business property and activities. Ask about your options, for example, adding business coverage to your homeowners insurance policy, general liability insurance, or a business owner’s policy. The business activities you perform, your industry, and your location will affect your licensing obligations and the insurance type that will best protect you.

✔ Keep excellent accounting records.

Numbers aren’t every entrepreneur’s cup of tea, but it’s essential to keep careful bookkeeping records. Maintain separation between your business and personal accounts and financial transactions so that it’s clear how much money your business is making and spending. This will help ensure that tax preparation activities go smoothly and that you don’t miss out on using any qualifying home office expenses as business tax deductions.

Start and Grow Your In-Home Business With SCORE’s Help

No matter what challenges you face in starting and running your home-based business, SCORE is here to assist you. Our mentoring services are free—ALWAYS—and will give you expert guidance based on years of experience advising small business owners. Also, explore the many other ways we help entrepreneurs start, grow, and succeed. Contact us today to talk with a mentor!

image of woman pointing at sign about national volunteer month and business mentoring

The Good Karma of Being a Business Mentor

April is National Volunteer Month, a time to recognize the people who give their time and talents to benefit others. At SCORE, our volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization as they enable us to fulfill our mission of helping entrepreneurs start and grow their small businesses.

 

SCORE Maine’s volunteer business mentors have provided guidance and resources to more than 3,768  entrepreneurs in 2019. In 2019, SCORE Maine volunteers helped create 356 businesses and 923 jobs. Our clients aren’t the only people who reap the rewards from mentoring, though. Our volunteers also gain some valuable advantages through doing their good work.

 

If you have thought about volunteering as a business mentor but haven’t quite decided whether you want to get involved, consider the following ways mentoring enriches volunteers personally and professionally.

 

Instills a sense of personal accomplishment.

Being a mentor brings a sense of achievement as you help aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small business owners overcome uncertainty and obstacles. Whether you’re assisting someone to navigate the uncharted territory of launching a startup or offering guidance to help an established company market itself more effectively, you gain the satisfaction of knowing you’re making a positive difference in the lives of people within your community who are, in turn, improving the local economy.

Provides camaraderie.

As a SCORE mentor, you are part of a dedicated and accomplished team of more than 130 Maine volunteers who share your passion for seeing small businesses succeed. Mentors draw from each others’ strengths and proficiencies as they help entrepreneurs tackle their challenges. SCORE has 300+ chapters across the United States where mentors meet face to face or virtually, to collaborate, learn from each other and build lasting friendships.

Strengthens communications skills.

Mentoring can help you fine-tune your ability to communicate clearly with others. Through in-person mentoring sessions with clients, leading workshops, conducting roundtable groups or getting involved in other initiatives, you can become stronger and more confident when speaking and writing.

Enhances leadership skills.

As a business mentor, you have many opportunities for honing your ability to lead others. Not only can you develop your leadership skills by providing guidance and feedback to clients, but you can also participate in other roles (such as heading a committee) that allow you to engage and motivate other volunteers.

Expands connections within your community.

Mentoring opens the door to meeting a wide variety of individuals and organizations. From community leaders to chambers of commerce to economic development groups, you’ll diversify and expand your personal and professional network, which could lead to new opportunities.

Offers continued learning opportunities to enhance your own business acumen.

As you guide business owners, you also expand your own expertise. Every SCORE client brings unique questions and situations to the table. While mentoring, you will learn and continually stretch the boundaries of your entrepreneurial know-how through your work with clients and the educational resources available through SCORE, SBA and other organizations. SCORE’s webinars, local workshops and online business resources are marvelous professional development tools.

Provides a point of distinction on your professional resume.

If you aspire to advance in your career, serving as a SCORE business mentor will give you a credible and highly regarded community service talking point for your resume. Mentoring demonstrates an ability to lead, solve problems and collaborate productively with others—all traits employers value in prospective job candidates.

 

As you can see, mentoring generates some good karma. Not only is it a win for the entrepreneurs SCORE serves, but also for the volunteers who enhance their own knowledge, skills and connections through the experience.

Thinking about volunteering?

National Volunteer Month is a perfect time to find the best volunteer position for you. SCORE invites you to join our community of dedicated business mentors so you can enjoy the benefits that come from volunteering while helping small businesses succeed. Become a SCORE volunteer today.

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Marketing Tips for the COVID-19 Crisis

COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for small businesses everywhere. As business owners are concerned about the health of their families at home and employees at work, many also face impending financial struggles. Sales are taking a hit as brick-and-mortar companies are forced to cease or limit operations and customers become more judicious about spending money. Fortunately, there are some relief efforts underway (which you can learn about through SCORE’s Coronavirus Small Business Resource Hub to help struggling entrepreneurs. Also, there are some marketing strategies you can use to help keep your business on customers’ radar during the coronavirus pandemic.

7 Marketing Tips to Help Small Businesses Weather the COVID-19 Storm

1. Show Compassion and Humanity

Resist the urge to go full-on into “sales” mode. The coronavirus crisis is affecting people everywhere in a very personal way. If you ignore the situation at hand, your brand will appear tone-deaf and unconcerned. Rather than pushing your products and services, consider expressing your heartfelt concern and camaraderie. Then, tactfully sharing how you can still serve your customers’ needs during this time (or after any restrictions on your business have passed).

2. Don’t Let Your Business’s Social Media Presence Slip

While at home, waiting to go back to work after “stay at home” orders are lifted, people will be spending more time than ever on social media. Seize the opportunity this gives you to stay connected and raise awareness of your brand. As we mentioned above, show compassion and humanity in your status updates. Project how you relate to what your followers are going through, share positivity, and focus on how you can serve them to make their lives easier during these difficult times. If you have employees working from home, consider involving them in your posts. That will help to demonstrate the human element of your business and reinforce that your team is doing their part to flatten the curve through social distancing.

3. Freshen Up Your Website

As you experience some downtime, consider cleaning up and updating your website content. Especially pay attention to details that have changed as a result of the coronavirus.

  • Location closures
  • Hours of operation
  • Contact numbers
  • Ordering information
  • Response times

4. Proactively Communicate with Your Customers

Whether it’s by email, phone, social media messaging, or otherwise, reach out to customers to keep them informed about how COVID-19 is affecting your operations. Of course, also make sure you express your hope that they are staying safe and healthy. In all that you do during this time, showing your care and compassion will be critical.

5. Offer Your Services Virtually

If it’s a good fit for your type of business, consider going digital in how you deliver services to your customers. For example, personal trainers, physical therapists, and others are holding client sessions through apps like Zoom, Skype, Facetime, and Google Hangouts. First, make sure there are no legal restrictions that would prevent you from doing so legitimately.

6. Look for Ways to Do More for Less

Some social media and marketing platforms are offering programs to help business owners that are feeling the financial crunch of COVID-19. For example, Facebook has launched its Facebook Small Business Grants Program, which provides cash grants and ad credits to eligible small businesses. Check with the platforms you use to see if they will offer discounts or deals that can help you keep your marketing efforts going at a lower cost.

7. Reach Out to a SCORE Mentor for Ideas

Realize you don’t have to go it alone during this challenging time! A SCORE mentor can help you through it by offering fresh ideas, providing valuable feedback, and aligning you with resources. Contact us today to talk with a mentor about what you can do to survive and succeed!