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Page 2
They also may feel being professional is only possible when you work in a store front or formal office and dress a certain way. Many people don't have the ability to separate in their mind the personal aspect of living in a home with the business aspect of working from a home. Here are some specific ideas on how to run a home business and be taken seriously. • Make it a point to tell people you have a home business and share the pride you feel. • Run your home business professionally, like any business. • Have specific hours you are available to answer your business phone. There are many people who won't leave messages on voice mail. • Don't try to do business on the phone with kids screaming or playing noises in the background. • Don't use a tape answering machine, they scream amateur. Get connected to professional voice mail or invest in the new answering machines that sound like voice mail. • Have a separate phone for business, always answer professionally and never let kids answer it. Return calls promptly. • Network by joining your chamber of commerce and also by joining any professional trade associations for your industry. See if you can form a sub-group for home-based businesses. (You'll be surprised at how many there are.) • Be sure your business cards, letterheads, brochures and other printed matter look professional. Many potential clients will judge you not by where you work from but by the image you project. • Dress professionally when you meet people. Casual around the house is fine but never when you are doing business in person. • Have a specific work space or room where you do business from. • Invest in a computer if you don't own one. It doesn't have to be the newest, just current and one you can operate. • Invest in good accounting software and keep your financial records up to date so you can easily apply for loans, credit or set up merchant accounts for taking bank cards. There are several excellent programs available; Quickbooks by Intuit is by far the most popular with small businesses. • Invest in a fax machine. In day to day business they are invaluable. Finally, if you are going to be taken seriously by others, take yourself seriously. • Invest in the basic tools any home office should have in order to be productive, a computer, laser printer, fax machine, separate business line and professional telephone answering. I know you can start up a small business without these, but you immediately place yourself under a handicap. All of your competitors will have them and all the advantages that they bring.
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