Working from home or starting your own venture from home, have both become immensely popular over the last couple of years. There are many people who started their own businesses from the comfort of their homes along with their jobs to earn more to live a better lifestyle. The best business ideas that are in trend come from passion, skills, planning and timing. The reason behind the increase of people working from home and starting their own home-based businesses in India is due to the influence of the Internet on all sectors.
WHAT IS A HOME-BASED BUSINESS
A home-based business is a venture, be it full time or part-time, that you can start and operate using your own home as the base of operations.
Whenever you think of starting a new business, the thought of varied other expenses, like rents, property for manufacturing goods, etc, comes to mind. But with a home-based business, you can sit back, relax, strategise and earn money. All you need is a good idea, little investment, a spare room, a laptop or desktop or smartphone and the Internet.
Another good thing is that practically anyone can start a home-based business in India. There are no eligibility criteria or educational qualifications or experience required to start a home-based business.
Anyone willing to earn extra income or wish to do something of their own or to work with their passion can opt for this idea. They just need to search for what they are good at or interested in before choosing any business plan.
9 TIPS TO START A HOME-BASED BUSINESS IN INDIA
- Make a Business Plan:
The first thing you should do is chalk out a solid business plan. Write down the purpose of your company, what business you wish to do and based on this set your targets & goals. A good business plan will lead to a successful business from home.
- Make a Financial Plan:
Creating a budget is extremely crucial for your business plan. Start-up costs, daily expenditures, taxes & maintenance costs should be taken into consideration. That is why it is important to build a good financial plan. In case of a shortage of cash supply, you can opt for funding in terms of loans from banks or cooperative societies.
- Plan about the Workspace:
As it is a home-based business, you will be operating from your home. But you need to make sure to fix a particular area or room to work from so that you are not disturbed during your work hours.
- Adequate Research Work:
The market for home-based businesses is huge. There are varied strategies and business plans that you can opt for for the success of your business. But in order to choose the best one that syncs with your passion, plan and business, you need to do proper research work.
- Play around with your Brand:
Branding is important. After finalising your niche, choose a good brand name that will be trendy, attractive and catchy. Set a theme and based on that choose the colours, fonts, doodle art and a tagline that describes your brand in one line. Before finalising a name and buying a domain and printing business cards, it’s crucial to do extensive research on this.
- Create a Working Ambience:
Contrary to popular belief that home-based businesses are easy to run, it is important to set a fixed working ambience at your home from where you work, in order to work smoothly. Set a particular area in your home for your business. Fix a time so that your other household chores don’t get intermingled with your work. In case you have one or two staff, make sure you have enough space and equipment for them to work smoothly.
- Maintain a Work Schedule:
When you are operating a home-based business, you need to be very strict with your work schedules. In order to succeed, you need to keep a professional approach. You should chalk down a particular work schedule so that it can be followed strictly. This will prevent your personal affairs from intruding in your business life. Creating a time schedule based on when you can work uninterruptedly is an absolute must to work smoothly and efficiently.
- Obtain required Licences:
Based on your business, you need to register and obtain the required licences from Government offices. To work legally from home, you should obtain a home occupation permit. This permit certifies that the environment in your community would not be compromised by your business. Check out local zoning ordinances that relate to home-based businesses in your area. Seek out what regulations apply to you. Along with these, you might also opt for general licences like trade licence, business operating licence, nuisance tax permit and more.
- Make Business Contacts:
You can join business groups where meetings and conferences are scheduled. You can attend some and gather knowledge about the ongoing market trends. You can also increase your business contacts and benefit from that. Home-based business owners often lag due to less exposure. Utilise these conferences and occasional meetups to know more companies who either are your rivals or supply your raw materials or just have great knowledge to strategize good business plans.
When you plan for a home-based business in India, opt for the one which is cost-effective, has less investment, fits your skills and incurs profits. The above-mentioned tips will guide you to be a successful entrepreneur.