Starting a business at home could be a full-time venture or a side hustle while you hold on to your day job and build your customer base.
There are loads of perks to having a home-based business: deciding your own hours, no commuting expenses and all of your familiar comforts. However, because you’re at home, you must factor in a loss of privacy and a blurring of boundaries between work and home. Think about how it will affect your relationship with your neighbours, especially if you run classes or a guest house.
You need to make a lot of the same considerations with any business you start:
In all scenarios, make sure you have an agreement drafted up to share with your client so there’s no miscommunication between you.
Check if you need to pay business rates. If you use a small part of your home (say a room as your home office) or sell goods by post then you won’t have to. You may have to pay business rates if you:
- Employ someone at your home
- Sell things to people who visit your home
- Made changes to your home so that you can run your business, such as converting a room or the garage
- Property is split into domestic and business parts, e.g. your flat is above your shop
Here are ten home-based business ideas to get you started. Grab a cuppa and read on.