Nowadays, it seems that more people than ever have side-gigs working from home, freelancing, or running e-commerce shops to help supplement their lifestyle.

It’s great that people everywhere are starting to take their financial independence into their own hands, but working from home isn’t always all that it’s cracked up to be.

While the freedom to work from your couch can be fantastic, it’s not necessarily conducive to productivity. Plus, there are many more distractions when working from home, making putting in a hard day’s work more challenging than it should be.

With that said, let’s review a few tips for running a home business and staying focused and productive each day of the week.

1. Create a home office

I know it might be tempting to turn on Netflix, thinking that you’ll have it on in the background while getting your work done, but the truth is that watching something while you work, or multi-tasking, puts a severe damper on your focus and productivity.

That’s why it’s highly recommended that you create a home office where you can work while keeping other distractions, like dishes and laundry, at bay.

Not only will a home office allow you to focus more on your work, but you’ll also start taking yourself more seriously when you have a dedicated workspace!

2. Set actual business hours

Got a busy day with the kids? No problem! Just get your work done at night. Too tired to work at night? Get up early and start before the sun rises.

Working for yourself from home is great because you can pretty much work whenever you want.

However, not having a set schedule can make it too easy to procrastinate and put things off until it’s too late. That’s why it’s best to create a set schedule where you identify the best times for you to work.

Whether that’s 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, or 4pm to 12am every second day, the important thing is to have a set schedule and stick to it.

3. Build your brand

Even if you’re a smaller, home-based company, you must brand your business so you can stand out from the competition.

Creating a logo and branding guide is essential for maintaining brand consistency and making your brand memorable in the eyes of consumers.

But branding doesn’t only make your company more memorable. Once again, having logos and brand style guides will also help you take yourself seriously.

After all, you are serious about growing your home business, right?

4. Don’t stop hustling

Even for home-based business owners, one of the best pieces of advice is never to stop hustling.

Working from home comes hand-in-hand with plenty of distractions, however, as a business owner, you need to be dead-set on your success.

Sure, there are going to be days where you’re too tired and don’t feel like working, but you’ve still got to show up and give it your all.

Only with this type of dedicated mindset will you properly maintain your brand and eventually grow and scale your business.

How to run a business from home

There are many perks and advantages to running a business from home. For instance, you get to save money on commuting, lunches, and you might not even need to pay for daycare.

But there are also several downsides to running a home-based business. That’s why you must take yourself seriously, no matter how big or small your business is, create a home office, set actual business hours, build your brand, and above all else, never stop hustling!

 

This article was originally published on A Girl In Progress.