From freelancers and entrepreneurs to contract workers, remote workers and more, many types of professionals in a wide range of industries and niches now work from home. As technology has advanced over the years, working from home has grown from being a hot trend to a veritable constant in the business world, and you may be thrilled to enjoy this opportunity yourself.
When you work from home, you can save time and money on your commute, work in a quieter and more productive environment, and enjoy a host of other benefits. However, as comfortable as your home office may be, it also needs to be properly set up and managed to promote exceptional productivity. By exploring a few helpful tips, you can more easily set up and manage your home office.
1. Having the Right Tools
Some old-school tools can help you to be productive in your home office, such as notepads or whiteboards, and you may need to invest in these as a first step. However, there are also numerous apps that are designed specifically to help remote workers be as productive as possible. For example, you can find apps that are ideal for improving communication in remote work environments, financial record keeping, home maintenance chores, remote team management and more.
While you definitely want to take advantage of at least a few of the high-tech apps that are designed specifically for remote workers, you should limit their use for the sake of efficiency. Take time to learn about some of the top tools available. Choose a few of the tools or apps that you think offer the most benefit to you, and spend time becoming proficient in their use. By doing so, you can improve productivity in your home office space while still keeping a focus on your daily activities and responsibilities.
Another thing to keep in mind is secure communication. Hackers are on the prowl, more now than ever, thanks to the pandemic forcing people to work from home. If you work in an industry where data security is important, you may want to consider something like ECC Sky for end-to-end encrypted messaging.
2. Design a Great Landing Page
If you run a business out of your home office, you need to invest time and energy into creating a well-designed page. This landing page should be and clearly identify what your business does and what your goals are. More than that, it should be search engine optimized so that your target audience can easily find your business online. Choose relevant tags and keywords, and use them strategically so that search engines notice your page more easily.
While you need to use SEO on your landing page, keep in mind that your landing page also needs to be straightforward and easy to understand. It should be detailed and informative while also being concise. Many entrepreneurs will develop their own landing page using a wide range of software programs now available, whereas you may also consider hiring a contractor to develop an effective landing page for your home-based business.
3. Manage Your Home Office Like a Corporate One
A home office may not need to be quite as robust as a corporate office, but it should be designed to promote efficiency and productivity in your workplace. The space should be separated from the living areas in the home for privacy and to promote productivity. Ideally, your home office will be comfortable yet professional, and it will have all of the features that you need for maximum productivity. This includes a desk and chair, power sources, great lighting, a few personal features for decorative purposes, a full range of office supplies and more.
You should also focus on keeping your home office space neat and tidy. Spend a few minutes cleaning up the space at the end of each work day, or hire a cleaning crew to focus on your space once a week if funds are available for this type of service. Inspect your wires and cables regularly to identify potential safety issues, and keep them out of sight regularly for safety and aesthetics.
4. Use Social Media to Strengthen Your Brand
Finding a cost-effective way to build and develop your brand is critical, and social media is an excellent tool to use for this purpose. Choose a few platforms that are popular with your target audience and that have the best features for your needs, such as Twitter, Facebook and others. Spend time using these platforms regularly for professional purposes, such as by commenting on other people’s posts through your business persona and creating a few of your own posts or comments periodically.
Use social media to connect with influencers in your industry, and encourage them to share thoughts on your page. When you convince an influencer to follow and promote your product or brand, you can enjoy exceptional word-of-mouth advertising from this individual. Consider carefully identifying the individuals who you want to develop relationships with, and spend time targeting them without being overtly annoying.
5. Build Brand Loyalty by Giving Away Freebies
If your goal is to build your home-based business in a cost-effective way, consider how the use of giveaways can benefit you. Many people love receiving freebies, and they may use your promotional merchandise repeatedly in the months and years to come. This means that these promotional items may be a reminder about your brand to numerous people for a lengthy period of time. For example, you may give away a mouse pad, pens or other items with your company’s contact information and logo on it.
In addition to giving away free branded merchandise, consider offering free insider tips in your subscription-based newsletter or giving valued customers access to a free e-book for a limited time period. This is an excellent way to create brand loyalty with your customers while also focusing on profitability for your home-based business.
Running a home-based office may seem intuitive, but you can see that many of the steps that you can take to promote success require forethought, planning and effort. If you are preparing to start a home-based business or if you have other remote working plans, consider how beneficial each of these helpful tips may be as you get on the right path to achieve your goals.
About the Author
Jen McKenzie is a self-employed author hailing from New York, NY. She writes extensively on business, education and human resource topics. When Jennifer is not at her desk working, you can usually find her hiking or taking a road trip with her two dogs. You can reach Jennifer @jenmcknzie.
