The internet has greatly taken over the business industry in recent years. With high street stores closing down due to huge amounts of online shopping taking place the internet is eradicating the need to have a business premise that is accessible to customers and clients. If your business is fairly small you may not even need to rent an office space. A great option is to run your business from home. All you need is some space, the internet and a phone and you're pretty much good to go!
Working In The Home
If you do choose to work from home something you definitely will need is a room which you use only to work in. Your working life needs to be separated from your home life, you should only use and enter this room for working, otherwise it should be out of bounds.
If you have a disused loft space this can be a great place to set up your business as lofts are usually spacious and cut off from the rest of your home. It doesn't cost the world to have a loft conversion either, it will certainly save you money on renting an office in the long term.
Set A Working Routine
You should set yourself working rules just like the ones that would be set in place in any office. Even though you are your own boss you should still work typical working hours such as 9 to 5. It's easy to let things get pretty casual when you are working from home, but you should dress as you would if you worked in an office. Setting these rules will help you keep your business professional and in turn you will find your business works better under set working hours and rules.
Don't Mix Home Life And Working Life
It is important that your family understands when you are at work they are not to disturb you. You should treat your usual working day like any other, you wouldn't spend your day in and out of the house if you worked in an office, so don't do it at home either. Work shouldn't mix with your personal life either. After you have finished your working hours try your best not to do little 'odd jobs' when you are supposed to be spending time with your family or having time to yourself.
Poppie Macintosh is writing on behalf of MPK loft conversions and would reccomend them for converting your loft into an office space.