Mrs. Karibo Ekeopara
Mrs.
Karibo Ekeopara is the Regional Development Director, WSI-Axon, an
online marketing firm. In this interview with SIMON EJEMBI, she explains
how people can effectively run their businesses at home
Starting a business at home
Starting a business from home can
provide tremendous flexibility and the kind of work-life balance that we
all crave, however, it has its short comings. While some people
advocate for the flexibility that a home-based business gives, others
argue that it starves their imagination as there may be more cases of
isolation than interaction (this may depend on the nature of the
business).
Running a business from home may be a
good idea at the inception of the business, especially when there are
minimal funds available because it minimises operating expenses like
rent, utilities and transportation (at least the cost of getting to the
office from home); it allows for expression of creativity etc. Running a
business from an office is usually ideal for a business because of the
professional environment it creates, however, for those who cannot
afford that luxury. Also, getting help for a home-based business is no
longer as difficult as it once was. For instance, WSI-Axon has created a
platform to support home-based business by providing internet based
business marketing solutions and also by providing its franchise
opportunity to prospective and existing business owners.
Tips to help entrepreneurs make the most out of a home-based business
•Separate the office area from the rest of the house
No matter how little the space maybe, it
is important to clearly mark out a work space from the rest of the
house. It could be an extra space in the living room, a storage room,
the basement or part of the garage, really anywhere that can be
converted to an office space that can accommodate a chair, table,
cabinet and other work tools. This can help to stimulate a professional
working environment to help the business owner concentrate on work and
minimise domestic distractions. If the only available work space is in a
common area of the house like the dining room or kitchen, then personal
objects should be put away to help establish a professional tone for
the day. A work space can always be created despite of the size of the
house. It also helps to keep work related items out of the reach of
other people in the home. Make it clear to well-meaning visitors that
you maintain regular business hours and that the computer and other work
tools are off-limits to the kids.
•Draw up a daily schedule
The saying that ‘one who fails to plan,
plans to fail’ cannot be over emphasised. With the time flexibility
available, it is very easy to get sucked into other activities. However
with a drawn up plan or schedule, a guide is provided. This makes it
easier to achieve ones goals. Time should be allocated to both
short-term actions and long-term goals to help run the business in a
more balanced manner. A daily planner should be drawn up with tasks and
deadlines.
•Minimise distractions
When working in an office there is a
tendency to be more focused on a job because of the prying eyes of a
boss and colleagues but when working from home, as your own boss,
getting distracted becomes easier. For example, without a boss breathing
down one’s neck, it’s easy to take a phone call or two from family and
friends. But when distractions like this become very common it disturbs
business focus. Experts advocate that entrepreneurs working from home
dedicate certain times of the day fully to work quietly and completely
ignore every other thing, including phone calls and email alerts. The
dedicated quiet times should be communicated to others in the house so
that they know that only very urgent requests will be granted.
•Schedule some meetings outside your home office
A home office might not be cozy enough
for every client. For some clients it is better to meet at their own
site but for others, talking over lunch in a good restaurant will
suffice. Whichever the case, clients should be categorised into
different segments and the best and most stimulating meeting environment
should be picked for each segment. Some business owners pay for
external meeting rooms to meet with certain clients to provide the
professional appeal that the client expects.
•Create time for networking
Infusing social interaction helps a
business grow significantly. Studies have shown that most of the
important business deals are concluded over a cup of coffee our outside
the office walls. While making a daily schedule, networking should be
considered as a very important element to a business operated from home.
This way it is easy to hang around key decision makers in prospective
companies that may just reveal information that can help the
entrepreneur frame a winning proposal. Meeting with people running a
similar business is also very helpful as it provides a forum for
learning trends in the industry and business tricks. It also provides a
platform for possible collaboration which can be beneficial to a
business.
•Have a robust Internet presence
When starting a business from home there
are various tools that can increase a company’s visibility (no matter
the size) on the internet so that they are able to reach a wider
audience and maintain an image that is at par with competitors that have
established and professional offices. The use of a website and other
social media tools are sure ways of lending credibility to a company’s
image, even if it is operated from the corner of a dining room.
•Consider acquiring a business address
Having a business address on a website
and promotional materials and having a home address will never look
quite as professional as a real business location. However, there are
companies who offer business addresses to home-based businesses: some
also offer call answering services. This adds credibility and a very
professional outlook to the business. So, instead of having business
letters/parcels delivered to the home address (which may be difficult to
locate), they go straight to the business address and are received by
the virtual assistant.
•Make out time for self-improvement
The good thing about working from home
is the time flexibility. This means that more time can be infused into
critical tasks. However, the most critical task for a business is to
reinvent itself so with time flexibility, more “self-improvement” time
can be infused into a daily schedule. Short-term and long-term plans
should be made for self-improvement. From reading materials daily to
attending annual conferences or trainings, effort should be put into
self-advancement. This in turn provides an good avenue for innovation
and creativity which can improve the output of a home based business and
in turn increase its edge over competitors with a more established and
professional look.
•Create a reward system
Considering the fact that running a
business cause a strain on one’s finances and time because of the
difficulty in distinguishing between personal time and business time,
there is a tendency for a home-based entrepreneur to ineffectively
create a ‘work-life balance’ . This may result to fatigue, stress and
hasty business decisions, and a strain on family life. It is important
that after all the hard work and sacrifices, a reward system should be
put in place for the home-based entrepreneur for self-motivation and to
increase productivity. This principle is usually practiced in
established organisations and any home-based entrepreneur who is serious
about increasing productivity should consider putting such to practice.
Working from home allows for scheduling flexibility, but it can also
propagate workaholic tendencies.
•Continuously be reminded of set goals
For a business to succeed it should have
set goals and objectives. Goals and objective steer the way a business
goes, it defines what it hopes to achieve. Because of the flexibility
that a home-based business provides, it is quite easy for the
entrepreneur to get carried away with other details of running the
business and forget why the business is in existence, especially with
the distractions created by working from home. This can be managed if
the home based entrepreneur, puts measures in place to be continuously
reminded about the business’ goals and objectives. For small businesses,
organizational change is quite easy because of the speed of decision
making; hence when there is a change in any aspect of the business, the
home-based entrepreneur must be sure that the new changes fit with the
set goals and objectives of the business. Write it down and always keep
it in view.
•Maintain self-discipline
All the measures put in place for the
success of a home based business may be in vain if the entrepreneur
lacks self-discipline. The distractions that could come with a
home-based business are innumerable but the business owner must be able
to enforce personal discipline in order to remain focused on running the
business effectively.
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