Small Business Entrepreneur Blog

Ben has some interesting points about running a business from home in his “10 Commandments of Surefire Home Business Success!“. I found them (and actually his entire blog) as an interesting resource for running a home business, so now I need to comment on his points:

• Be Professional. People usually find it difficult to maintain the same level of professionalism at home as they do at a 9-5. But believe me, professionalism is key to your success as a home business owner.

Correct! The thing that usually happens is that because you are small, you tend to do some things on a lower level, some sort of “well, it’s going to work this way as well” in which “this way” is not very good. Of course, in some cases, you simply can’t perform better, but if you let this add up, you will get a messy business. You will have not so good contracts, not so good offers, not so good customer care, not so good supplies and then, you’re not so good either.

• Separate Business from Pleasure. You have to be able to separate your business hours from your personal time. Take it from me, getting the two of these mixed up is both very easy and very costly.

Balance in life is probably my biggest issue right now. So yes, you should separate business for pleasure, even if you work with your family. Ok, you are colleagues at work, but as soon as the work is over, don’t forget they are your family. Or other way put, don’t bring your business into your family, but you can bring your family into your business.

• Location, Location, Location. If you do not have an office in your home, I suggest that you at least get a computer desk and arrange all of your business valuables around that. This is important because it helps to keep you focused on your tasks. You can be a lot more professional if you are not constantly reminded that you are at home.

Agreed. If you are working from your couch, your commitment, way you solve things and everything else goes down. Also, usually, home, means your private place where you can feel safe away from any outside dangers. And this is going to modify your perception about the outside world. Not sure if you become lazy or something, but for sure you develop some sort of autistic behavior.

• Demand Respect. Don’t sell yourself short. The minute you pay your incorporation or DBA fees, you are officially a legitimate business in your industry. You must demand the respect of your competitors as well as your customers.

Moreover, in some parts of the World you can’t do business without incorporating. Also, you need a name to put on your business cards.

• Spend Less, Make More. Be frugal with your spending in the beginning. I guarantee you that hard times are coming and you will want to sell that $300 chair and $4,000 laptop when they arrive.

I have approached this subject on several occasions. There is a saying: “if you buy a BMW from your first year, it’s a sure sign you will get down sooner or later”. Don’t make any investments that don’t have a direct result in the production. Better invest in something to grow your business.

• Build Relationships. Trust me, people are usually more loyal to people than they are to companies.You should be able to identify with the customer a lot better than the corporation that has 50,000 employees.

Well, yes. Word of mouth is a very important sales tool when you are small. It doesn’t matter what you do, but it always matter who you know.

• Separate Accounting. Be sure to keep your personal funds and your business funds separate. It is very tempting to get your companies money mixed up with yours(especially when they are kept in the same account).

I said that as well, in an article over www.boostrapme.com – Bootstrappers should keep finances separate

• Monkey See, Money Do. Success is duplicatible, so make sure that you don’t let your competitors leave you behind. Everyone copies everyone, so if you see a technique or practice that could work for you, copy it. Add it to what you are doing because I guarantee you that they will duplicate your next big breakthrough.

I don’t have anything against getting inspiration resources from your competition. In fact, the business that do well are business that do the same like all the others, just a little better!

• Business is Business. Oftentimes friends and family, who are all well-intentioned, will hinder your business from being successful. It is OK to allow your friends and family to benefit from your labor.

Fully commented on this over here.

• Visit “Ben Means Business”

Ok, a little nice self promotion You can read more stuff on Ben’s blog about interesting subjects: Choosing the Perfect Business Name, The Seasons of Your Business and many more