Even a solopreneur needs a little help making their business a success. No one is ever as independent as they think they are. Your home office in the basement or den is courtesy of good terms from the mortgage company. The fact that you are not crawling with insects is courtesy of the exterminator you bring in to spray once a month.
The point is that all businesses rely on professional services, even small businesses run out of your basement. Professional services are just the cost of doing business. Working from home means saving a ton of money on line items such as your commute, office space, parking, and lunch, just to name a few. With these savings, you should be able to reinvest in services that would be more difficult to acquire someplace else. Here are a few of the services that can take your business to the next level:
Tax Services
You can always opt to do your business taxes yourself. And there are many tax saving strategies for small and home-based businesses you can try. That said, business taxes are a lot more complicated than the EZ tax form you file for personal taxes.
Local tax preparers can provide perks like an advance on your expected refund. When you prepare your own taxes, you are on the hook for any mistakes you make. But you usually get some type of guarantee when you have a professional do the work. Bad taxes can shut down the most successful business. Don’t take any chances. Get it done by a pro.
SEO Consultant
SEO stands for search engine optimization. If you are unsure of what that means or why it is important, you should be looking for someone to help you with it right now. There is an old saying that goes, if you build it, they will come. It is demonstrably untrue. Once you build it, you need to let people know that you built it. After that, you need to give them a better reason to come than the fact that it is there.
As a decorator, is your business one of the first to show up when someone searches for home decor in your area? Are you still counting on Yellow Pages to provide the bulk of your referrals? This is not a winning strategy. If you want your business to take off, consult with someone who can help you with SEO. It is how modern business is done.
Virtual Office Services
The best virtual office for small businesses is a moving target. The services and prices vary. But the utility of a virtual office is always high. A virtual office offers services ranging from a physical mailing address that is not your home, to a business phone number with receptionist to take your calls, to concierge services like printing and faxing.
You can also get package delivery and pickup, conference rooms, and private office space for occasional use. If you have to travel to meet clients, you can use a professional office space in that area, not just your main location. Prices are usually affordable for the basic service. And there are usually options to add on more services as needed. Even if you work from home, there is no reason for your clients to know that.
Shredding Services
We are far from the mythical paperless society. In some ways, paper handling is more important than ever. Depending on your line of work, the paper you discard is just as important as the paper you keep. You can’t just wad up a stack of sensitive documents and toss them in the garbage. Those documents have to be shredded to within an inch of their lives, and beyond. Your standard off the shelf shredder will not do the job. You need a shredding service that can handle the regulatory requirements of document handling.
Working from home does not mean you don’t need normal business services. To succeed, you still need tax services, SEO consultation, a virtual office with a real business address, and document handling services. Working from home is a great way to save some money. But it should never be regarded as an alternative to doing business the right way.
