By Priyanka Awasthy
The statement “ I work from home” is received differently if you are a woman. If it is followed by “I have my own business” then more often than not, the world assumes you are actually pursuing a hobby or at most working a few hours a couple of times a week (excluding festival times, kids vacation /exam time, relatives visit, husbands year-ending, socialising etc.). In some cases there may be a bit of truth in this perception. You may be making profits, you may command good margins but is the absolute figure or total income so small that it would make little difference to the family wealth if you were to take a year off ?!
I believe that no effort should be so small (and no woman-hours so cheap) that we limit its scope, importance and potential growth. If we do, then we are putting fetters on our own potential. The only way to scale up our business and allow it to grow to its natural market-determined levels is- to go professional. After all, if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
Home-based businesses do have benefits –low cost, low risk- especially for start-ups. But the question is- have you been able to establish an exclusive workspace and office environment? Do you have a set timetable? Are you able to put in 6 hours of uninterrupted work each day (say 9am to 3pm at least)? Do you have a partner (Unless you are an expert, a partner is needed to halve risk and double profit. Professional set-ups are seldom one- man shows.)? Can you accommodate staff? (In order to expand, we need to delegate routine jobs so as to free time to create and market.) Do you operate all year round rather than only in peak season? Are you able to meet production or project deadlines? Are you making enough money in absolute terms? Has your business shown an increasing rate of growth since its inception? Do you know your per unit production cost, your break-even price per unit, your Return on Investment? Are you working from home due to convenience or because your income is not enough to cover costs of office space?
If you answered in the affirmative to the above questions, then you already run a professional outfit at home. If you answered most in the negative then it is time to either move into an office or to acquire skills, technology and staff to convert your tiny enterprise into a professional set up. This is the only way forward if you want your business to grow past the start-up phase.
FEATURES OF A PROFESSIONALLY RUN BUSINESS
•A professional business is always based on numbers. All activities, be it production, material purchase, marketing; must be conducted with numbers in mind. If you have a problem understanding the maths of your business- get help. Better still, get someone to teach you or join a course. If you hope to take a working neurontin capital or term loan in the future- you need to understand your financial position today. Indeed, professional Managers study their numbers daily and have monthly sales targets.
• It has a professional image – you should be perceived to be professional even if you work from home. It is necessary to invest in professional branding and marketing. Your branding should accurately convey the function and uniqueness of your product. Your logo / website / stationery/ marketing brochure etc should smack of professionalism. It should not be apparent that you run a home office – avoid mentioning it as well.
•Customer is king – The professional business knows all there is to know about its target audience. It understands that repeat business forms the chunk of sales. To ensure client retention – 1. Keep in touch and be available 2. Provide good quality after sales service and do it with a smile plus establish infrastructure for it. Remember sales depend on service.
•A professional office is run by a well trained /qualified person who can be trusted. Make sure you meet deadlines and honour your commitments.
•It is a business entity – get it registered. All you have to do is fill a few forms.
•A professional set up is one in which you are always contactable and the clients calls are answered professionally. Do you return calls – are you available at all times in business hours? If you are not available, you need to hire someone to take calls and answer queries while you are away. The client will not wait till you return from vacation.
•An office uses Technology to run smoothly. If you need to manage databases – buy software to help you or get someone to help you design an effective updation / tracking system. If you hire staff –use software to manage their salary, leave, loans etc. Learn how to use Microsoft Outlook- it is a complete client management system. If you are good at expressing yourself- use social media to market your product-its free! And remember, social media is effective only if you are regular – set aside half an hour for it daily.
•All offices keep accounts of expenses and earnings. Learn how to keep Accounts. Even if you hire a CA- he will not answer each and every small query you have. To start with preserve all bills and enter in an excel sheet. Or try to learn by keeping household accounts on your PC.
•Professional managers keep in touch with market trends. They subscribe to relevant Market research and use it to plan their production, sales and marketing strategies. They know exactly who their competition is and try to keep track of its activities.
•Professionals plan ahead. At year end, they study their performance last year, what they did right, what went wrong etc. and use it to plan for the new year.
In the long run, a systematic and well-thought out approach will make your business successful and resilient.
