You may already be equipped to work from home. Just for good measure, though, you should go through the checklist to ensure that you are prepared and ready to go.
Determine if you need to be licensed for the work you will be doing. If so, complete and submit the necessary paperwork.
Find out if your work-from-home business falls under any zoning requirements. Adhere to them.
Determine local meeting areas where you can meet clients, if applicable.
Join associations related to your business. Networking will be a critical part of your business success.
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Open a separate checking account for your business to track expenses and income. You’ll need this at tax time.
Rent a post office box for your business. Use this address on business communications.
Establish a private office area where you can work without distractions or interruptions. You will need the following for your private office:
Computer.
Printer/fax/copier/scanner.
Phone for your private office area.
Phone service with unlimited long distance and high-speed Internet.
Answering machine dedicated to receiving business calls or cell phone with message dedicated to your business, in case you miss business calls.
Planner or cell phone with planner capabilities.
Paper shredder.
Office supplies.
Choosing Your Product or Service
This is going to be easier if you already know what you’ll be doing as a business. If not, there is some brain storming and research you can do to determine the product or service you will provide. If you are ambivalent or don’t know what you should go into, you need to ask yourself two questions.
What do you like to do?
What are you good at?
Make a complete list of each. Create a new document in Word, or write it out on a piece of paper. Insert a table with five columns. The first column heading will be Like to Do/Good At. Itemize each activity you like to do and each activity you are good at. Make sure only one activity occupies each line. The other column headings will be Upstart Costs, How Long to Start, Potential Income and Possible Companies, if applicable. If you will be offering a product, you’ll need to know how much the product will cost and how much it now sells for.
Weed out all activities that are too expensive, will take too long to get up and running – unless you can afford to wait – and any that will not benefit you financially. Narrow your selection down to the best pick.
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Choosing a Company or Service Provider
If you’ll be selling or promoting a product, you’ll need to decide on a company to purchase the product from or a company to promote. Search the Internet for possible companies, and then research the companies for their reputations.
Answer the following questions.
What is the company’s:
Financial profile?
Customer service history – do they get a lot of complaints, and are they good at resolving complaints?
Success with working with its current representatives?
Current compensation plan?
Marketing system – is it producing results?
You might find in your research that a company is running a scam. Don’t be surprised. There are many online companies that are scams. Due to the difficulty the government has in policing online companies, you’ll find an abundance of them. That is why you need to research prospective ones carefully. Do your due diligence in this area, then pick one that’s right for you.
