In the modern age, it seems as if nearly everybody is working from home. That isn’t too far off the mark, as the possibilities presented by the internet have opened the door for more and more employees both employed and self-employed to work remotely rather than in a city office. Of course, it’s also opened the door for self-employed workers to start businesses of their own more easily than was ever possible before.
You could build an empire in your pyjamas if you have entrepreneurial drive and you’re not just working from home because you’re lazy. Perhaps you’re still skeptical about the possibility of a stable or fulfilling career as a freelancer who’s trying to make it big from a home-based office, but successful startups are swarming the market. Here are some pieces of advice which might help you build a huge brand from home if you have innovative ideas and dreams that you’d love to turn into a successful business empire.
Photo source: Startup Stock
Create a plan.
You need to view this venture as a real business opportunity, and every real business starts with a strong plan. The plan may change over time, of course, but you need foundations on which you can build your empire; especially if you’re starting this venture alone or with the help of only a few friends. You need a clear objective so that you remember what the business is trying to achieve, and this will drive you through every step of the business-building process. If you’re struggling to begin then you need to focus on your talents and figure out how your skill set might lend itself well to a business model or any existing idea you may have.
You might feel as if you don’t have any creative talents or that you don’t have any inventions up your sleeve which could revolutionize your industry of interest, but customers don’t always want new and exciting inventions. They want the best products and the best services an industry can offer, so finding the gap in the market needs to be your goal. If you’re a friendly person then this is your talent, as you can use your social skills to attract customers. Perhaps offering services which go above and beyond your competitors or a loyalty program which rewards regular customers could be your angle. Showing that your brand is different doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel.
Craft an enticing image.
The way in which your brand presents itself to customers is everything when you’re a freelancer looking to prove yourself in the competitive business world. You’ve made your plan, and you have strong objectives, but now you need to portray those strong aspirations to your customers. You need a marketing campaign which shows that your home business is just as good as the other big brands in the industry; in fact, you could say that you’ll do more to help your customers because you’re just an average person like them.
You could look into sites which might help you build a logo for your brand, because something as simple as captivating imagery can be the difference between a potential customer breezing past your company or stopping to see what you’re all about. Presentation is everything in business, as the right imagery and the right wording could portray your home company as something just as professional as the other big brands in the business.
Figure out the financial side of things.
Most freelancers worry about money and stability because the early days of running your personal business from home will be the most unpredictable. You need to build a client-base for yourself, but you also need to ensure that you’ll be making more money than you put into the business. You don’t want to become broke before you’ve even made it. If you’re selling a product online then you need to ensure that you’re making more than you spent on materials. If you’re offering an online service then you need to think about whether you’re making enough money for the time you’re putting in. It’s as simple as that.
Photo: Freestocks
Master digital marketing.
The internet will be your best friend whilst you built your home business into a huge brand. It’s the gateway to your market of potential customers, and you need to be using the platforms available to you sufficiently. Rather than pushing your business in people’s faces and putting them off your brand, you need to let potential customers find you if you want to increase sales. Using optimization techniques to rank highly on Google will attract people to your business on a local or global scale when they search for terms related to your company. You’ll also want to use social media to promote offers, deals and schemes which will benefit the customer in order to prove that your business truly cares.
Create a professional workspace.
We’ve talked a lot about building your brand online and impressing customers with your image, but your freelance work might expand to include interactions with customers in real-life or even hiring friends and employees to help run the business as it grows. Depending on the size of your business will depend on the requirements in terms of a workplace, but before you rent out an office in your local town or city, you might want to create a professional working area closer to home ready for the possibility of real-life interactions with people.
The point is that your brand needs to be impressive in the physical world as well as the virtual one. Whether your office is based in a small study or your shed in the garden, professionalism is about the effort you put into your work. If you put in the time to design the interior of your home office with sleek, stylish curtains, pictures or paintings on the walls and a contemporary sense of minimalism through white walls and a neat layout then you’re going to present the desired professional image to any potential customers or future employees who might step into your home empire.