Start a Home-Based Business in a Few Simple Steps

Sam Makad / 3 Mins Read

Updated: November 19, 2020

In today’s connected world where technology allows us more workability in how and where we work, home-based businesses come in a wide variety of forms. With the rise of home businesses, more and more people are turning up different ways to use remote work to chase entrepreneurship at their home.

Did you know that almost 50% of millennials work as freelancers? Or that 50% of all US businesses are operated from home?

Home-based businesses may not have been taken seriously in the past. But today, people dig the idea of working independently from the comfort of their own homes. In fact, home-based businesses are growing at a super-fast rate, owing to the modest infrastructure and budget required in most cases.

Below, we share some simple tips to help you establish a robust home-based business of your own.

1. Come up with a Business Idea

Starting with the most obvious, before you set up your home business, you must come up with a well-planned business idea. Whether it is offering classes from home or starting a food-delivery business, it all boils down to exploring your unique skills and providing an original product or service that your target audience would be interested to buy.

To do this, you must first:

Assess your skills. For example, are you good at writing?
Evaluate your interests. You have great writing skills as we as a passion for the topic you are writing about.
Brainstorm your ideas. Should you start a content writing business? Or, would you rather be a fitness trainer? Or, how about being a fitness blogger and social media influencer?
Test your idea. As they say, you must test the waters before you dive in. Once you have listed your top three ideas, do some research to narrow down your target market, see what your competitors are doing, and pick the product or service that is likely to have the maximum demand with your audience.

Plan your Budget

Starting a home-based business may not require much capital, but you need to invest in some necessary equipment, such as a laptop or desktop, work desk, and chairs, high-speed internet, etc.

According to the Small Business Administration, micro-businesses like home-based sole proprietorships can be started with as little as $1,000- $3,000 of capital. In case you are planning on being your own boss in the near future, consider beefing up your savings to have the capital ready by the time you quit your present job.

Build an Online Presence

Once you have found a gap in the market that you can fill up with your product or service, it is time to build a customer-friendly website to announce your presence to the world.

Did you know that as many as 64% of small businesses have a website? The remaining, who don’t have a website, often point out cost as a major inhibitor to having a website. However, there are many free services that make it exceptionally easy to build DIY websites at pocket-friendly rates. Learn how to build a website and give your home-based business the launchpad it deserves.

In addition to having a website, it is also essential to create a brand for your business that customers identify with. In fact, once you have finalized your business idea, it is your logo that deserves the utmost attention - as it is going to define your entire brand! Of course, you may not have deep enough pockets to hire a graphic designer, but you always have online services that can help you make your own logo by merely answering a few questions about your brand.

There are many ways to advertise your products or services, but nothing is cheaper, faster, and more effective than the power of social media. It is reported that there are over 3 billion social media users in the world. Out of this, at least one-third of internet users turn to social networks when looking for more information about a brand or product.

For home-based businesses, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram offer a cost-effective mode of marketing their products. Several home-based artists and clothing brands have created large communities on both these platforms, cultivating a niche market for their products effectively.

However, while small businesses are quick to use social media, a “whopping 80% of small businesses don’t use content marketing.” If you are running a home-based business, grab this opportunity and use quality content to increase your chances of ranking highly on Google and build brand loyalty.

The Bottom Line

There are many advantages to setting up a home-based business; flexible hours, complete autonomy, an opportunity to build your professional skills, tax rebates, and more.

However, building a successful business needs more than a stellar idea. You need to be committed, hardworking, and above all, patient enough to see your business grow from its nascent stages to being more established.

It is also worth checking whether you need any permits to start a home-based business in your location. We suggest you consult your local authorities, as well as a legal expert to set up the right structure for your business.