Now that you have picked your area to focus on and build a business around, let’s continue with the practicalities of owning and operating your home-based business.Business Insurance
Depending on the type of business you decided to start, there may be different type of insurance you will need. Find out exactly what that is, shop around for good prices and a reputable insurance company and make sure you are covered.Business Computer
It’s best to get a separate computer for your business, especially if you have a family. This way you will be able to deduct 100% of your computer costs without having to keep track of the time it is used for business vs. personal use. Also, as smart as you kids may be, you still don’t want them anywhere near your business accounting records.Hire a Babysitter
If you have children and plan to start a home-based business in order to stay at home with them, think again. Also, if your wife is working and you are trying to save money on daycare by having the Dad work from home and watch the kids at the same time, I warn you in advance.First of all, this is not in the best interest of your children. Work is and should be very consuming and someone whose attention is (hopefully) fully focused on the job at hand is simply not in a position to give adequate attention to kids and supervise them properly.Conversely, someone who is busy with the children will not be doing a good job with a customer on the phone, or performing any other business-related task. Your mind has to be a 100% on the business, otherwise you might as well call it a hobby.One of the things home-based businesses have to pay particular attention to is a professional image. There is nothing more damaging to that then hearing a child crying in the background as a customer, a vendor or any of your professional contacts is trying to have a business conversation with you.Set up Boundaries
Another challenge some home-based business owners face are constant interruptions from family members. If you don’t find a way to eliminate this, you may have to rent an office. The only way to successfully work from your home-based office is if you really manage to make it an “office” and not your living room, kitchen or a den.You will need large blocks of time where no personal interruptions should come into play at all. Just think of yourself as a boss of an employee who is constantly on his or her cell phone having personal conversations. It is the same thing. The time you spend working on your business needs to be dedicated to business and not watered down by constant intrusions of your personal life.The same goes for your private time. Guard it just as you do your working time. This is the other side of the home-based business equation – some people never stop working and their families forget what they look like. Decide how much you need or want to work and then be done. Rejoin the human race, have fun with your kids, take them to a movie, go for a walk, have a nice life. You don’t have to answer every call that comes in after 7 PM. Imagine you are simply not there. Pretend you’ve closed the office for the night…Keeping these two spheres of your life separate and yet both properly attended to will go a long way in ensuring that your home-based business will be a success.