How to Run a Business From Home
Are you looking at starting a side gig? Do you want to quit your full-time job to make a new business venture a reality? Whether it’s necessity or want, learning how to run a business from home is a lot more involved than you might have thought. There’s no shortage of stay-at-home business ideas out there—from freelance blogging to becoming an eBay seller—but without proper preparation, you may find out that running your own business from home is harder than it sounds.
What’s the best way to get started? Before you even sit down to think about going into business for yourself or adopting a side hustle, use these tips to get a leg up.
Seek out a tax or business professional.
Taxes are different when you’re a business owner or self-employed. Between complicated write-offs and different rules for how you pay income and self-employment taxes, you’ll want to partner with a tax pro you can trust to help cut down on questions (and save money later on down the road). A good accountant can help walk you through all the forms you’ll need to file to get started.
In addition to seeking out a tax professional, consider buddying up with a mentor in your space. Nothing beats having expert advice to help you get up and running quickly, and someone who already knows the ins and outs of your chosen industry can make that process even simpler.
Create a space for your business in your home.
A big part of business ownership is logistics. If you’re serious about business ownership in your home, create a space in your apartment or house to handle the day-to-day (or night-by-night) operations. For one thing, a dedicated space can help put you in the focused mindset to do work. As an added bonus, you may be able to write off the office space (if your job involves office work) on your taxes.
Speaking of taxes, one way to make sure your business and personal expenses are separate is to open up a business checking and savings account or apply for a credit card that you use exclusively to make purchases related to your new job. Many banks offer accounts with perks for small business owners, and you don’t want to miss out on them.
Make smart expansion decisions—such as finding affordable storage.
When the time comes for your business to grow, you have a decision to make. Your family might not appreciate claiming more space for your home business, especially if it requires moving into a garage. Instead of taking up more space with documents or equipment, you should look at a small self storage unit.
Let National Storage help you find the right amount of space.
Not sure where to begin with self storage? We can help. With locations throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, National Storage has the space you need to make your business thrive.
As an added bonus, you’ll never be locked into a long-term agreement. That means you can move into and out of storage (or upgrade to a larger unit) as your needs permit. Visit your nearest location today to find your self storage unit.