Many people run home-based businesses. The start of the COVID-19 pandemic has also seen more people working from home, plus plenty of people have decided to quit their jobs and work for themselves by starting home-based businesses.
As you can appreciate, running a business from home has plenty of advantages, such as low overheads and flexible working. However, one of the downsides is some people might not take home-based enterprises seriously.
When you work for yourself and run your business from home, it can often be more challenging to compete in the market with established companies that operate from commercial or industrial premises.
Do you worry that your home-based business isn’t competing with others in your industry on an even footing? If the answer’s yes, here are some actionable steps you can take to give your home business the professional edge:
Create a Company
You might think that creating a company is overkill for a small home-based business like yours. However, there can be several advantages of doing so. For example, if things don’t work out, you limit your liability in the business.
Another advantage is how other companies will be more likely to do business with you than if you were simply a sole proprietor. That’s because some companies want to check a supplier’s credit rating and trading history with other customers.
If you decide to create a company, you will need to hire an accountant if you don’t already have one. That’s because the tax affairs of a limited company are often more complicated than those of a sole proprietor.
Use an Answering Service
One of the telltale signs that a business is a home-based business is down to how there’s only a mobile number as a contact for the proprietor. While that might suffice for specific business types, such as mobile mechanics, that doesn’t work well for others.
If you’re trying to attract large corporate clients, it makes sense to use someone like the Ruby Receptionist small business answering service. Doing so is a good idea if you seldom answer your phone or simply say “hello?” when you do respond.
You could also set up a virtual geographic phone number that diverts to an answering service. That way, it gives businesses the impression that you’ve got an office base complete with a receptionist.
Get a Virtual Office Address
One final tip to help you compete on an even keel with others in your industry is to get a virtual office address. In a nutshell, a virtual office address is a service provider that lets you use a professional and often prestigious commercial address for any or all correspondence.
Virtual office providers like Regus can typically receive your mail for you and either redirect them to your home address, keep them safe for you to collect in person, or scan and email them to you in PDF format.
It’s worth bearing in mind that small business answering services often provide virtual office services, so you could potentially get both services from the same provider.