How to Safely and Efficiently Set Up a Small Home Business in 2023
Home businesses are very appealing to entrepreneurs – they are convenient, potentially lucrative, and offer flexibility and creativity on your own terms. But it’s not always clear how to set up your small home business with maximum efficiency and minimal risk.
How to set up a small home business
Before you start your business, you need to think about a few key things. Brush up on successful small business tips and compliance to make your new business run as smoothly as possible. These are some of the key things you’ll need to consider.
1. Idea
Chances are you already have your core idea and business model. From here, you’ll need to conduct research into the market you’re entering, including:
- Profitability
- Competitors
- Customer base/audience size
- Any potential copyright infringements or issues
Even small home businesses can grow in unique ways. By getting feedback from the people interacting with your small business, you may find new and exciting ways to develop.
Many Whitepages customers use people search, phone search, and reverse address search to aid the daily tasks of their small business. This includes realtors, real estate agents, insurance agents, contractors, and other folks that need to reach out to potential customers.
2. Space
Space for your business is so vital and yet so often overlooked. You may be correct in assuming that your small home business only requires some desk space and a laptop. However, if your business involves e-commerce, a physical filing system, or your home lacks spare space, you’ll need to carefully consider how you use the space that you have.
For example, if you start an e-commerce business, you need to think about space for production, storage and packaging, as well as running your business with an admin setup.
Even if you do have the space, you may not be in a position to use it. Some rental agreements prohibit using a rented address for business purposes, and others may dictate the types of home businesses that are allowed. If you rent a home or workspace, be sure to check what activities for work are allowed and make sure you have the proper permissions.
3. Legalities
Starting your own business comes with many legal considerations. Some examples include:
- Tax implications for income generated through sales or services. (You can also look into ways to automate sales tax compliance, such as availing a sales platform)
- Establishing your business as a legal entity
- Employing others or engaging third party services
- Copyright
- Account and password security
- Royalties and shared profit
Failing to account for the legalities of starting a home business can make life difficult at best, and result in serious legal complications at worst. You should conduct serious research using official sources when deciding to set up a small home business.
You may also need to obtain proper permits to conduct business, particularly if you are not just trading as an individual.
4. Communications
To ensure your small business is efficient regardless of your systems and workforce, you need to establish proper communication channels. They need to work for you and for your customers. This may include:
- A business email account
- Branded social media accounts
- A dedicated business phone number
You’ll need to research different providers for each communications service that you need. For example, there is plenty of online information on the best VoIP for small businesses. Whitepages offers multiple small business resources that can help you keep your contacts up to date. Learn how to use Speed Search, our newest feature.
5. Route to market
Once you’ve got your business idea and your setup, you need to identify routes to market. Start by asking yourself:
- Who are my customers?
- Where do they exist online and in person?
- What separates me from other similar small businesses?
- How do I take this from concept to a product or service?
This is perhaps the most crucial step and involves a lot of research into your audience, potential suppliers or distributors, and the existing market.
Final thoughts
There’s a lot to think about when launching a small home business, but with the right planning, you can make a success of your venture and bring your idea to market.
