Top tips for running a business that’s based in your home:

1. Have a separate workspace, preferably one that can be closed off while you are  ‘at work’.   
2. Have a routine, and stick to it.   This is still work, and your customers will have expectations about when you will be around.    
3. Keep a clear distinction between ‘work’ and ‘home’ life.    Appealing as it is to work in your pyjamas it is good to get dressed for work - it puts you in the right frame of mind.   Equally it’s good to have a rule for when your working day and week ends - even if you break that rule occasionally to get a job done, or to deal with a domestic emergency.  
4. If you can’t be at your phone during ‘normal’ office hours make sure you get a good telephone answering service set up.   It will make all the difference to your professional image and most importantly to your sales - 97% of callers hang up if they get a recorded message, and 84% will wait until they’ve listened to the whole of your message first!
5. Following on from that, once you have got your business established, outsource business ‘housekeeping’ jobs like bookkeeping  and admin as soon as you can.   There are plenty of other small businesses out there who can do these jobs better than you can, and they won’t eat into your fee-earning time.  Think about doing the same for your home housekeeping jobs too.   For a free download that will help you work out whether you are ready for this, click here.
6. Book in some ‘me time’.   One of the things you lose when you stop commuting is the time by yourself, when you can just let things ‘brew’ in the back of your mind.   Give yourself some space and time to do this.   
7. Make sure you plan in some physical exercise.   Another thing you lose when you stop commuting is the forced exercise (walking to the station, or even just from the car park) and it’s very easy to let this slip altogether, so why not combine exercise and ‘me time’ with a brisk walk around your local park, a swim, or a trip to the gym before you start your working day?     You’ll feel the benefit in both work and home life.