If you are planning to work from home as a consultant then you have an exciting adventure ahead of you, but you’ll also have plenty of decisions to make. From how you plan to find clients to the tools you’ll need to be a success, you’ll have a lot on your plate. But with a smart strategy, you can make it work. Here at Barnhill Desks, we sell the desks that help remote employees thrive, so we have some tips on the best ideas and products to make your at-home job a winner.
Proper Office Setup
Before you start asking clients to come over for meetings or digital gatherings, you will need to have a proper office setup. In addition to a comfortable chair and adequate lighting, you will also need a desk that offers enough space to hold your computer and all of your components and notes without cramping your style. Luckily, Barnhill offers a great selection of home office desks, including our L-shaped and hutch desks, which will allow you to work with ease.
In addition to your physical items, it is a good idea to invest in a video conferencing software package that will allow you to meet with consulting clients digitally over the internet. Many people are still worried about the negative impact of COVID-19 and they may not yet be ready to meet in person. By talking to them over video, you can get the same great experience that you would have in person.
Finding Clients
When it comes to locating your first clients, there are many tactics that you can try, starting with referrals. Word of mouth is often the best way to spread your message so try to find a friend or a new entrepreneur and offer your services for free. The lack of pay may be hard to swallow at first, but if you put all of your effort into helping this first client succeed, then you can use their story to lure in other customers that you would then charge for your services.
As your company grows, you should make it a point to create a website that describes your services and the best ways that people can contact you. In addition, you should also have a page dedicated to customer reviews so potential clients can see what you are all about and make a well-informed decision about why they should work with you.
Once you have a larger budget, you should then work on some marketing materials that you can pass around when you are out and about. As a start, consider making business cards that provide your contact info and a small list of your services. You can make your own cards easily by using a DIY business card maker like that offered by Adobe. The process is very simple as you can design your own card or use a pre-made template and modify it as necessary. Then you can make a quick order and have your new cards quickly so you can start handing them out.
Tools
As your business starts gaining some traction, you can begin to add essential tools that will make running your operations easier than ever. For instance, you should use a cloud program like Google Docs to complete all of your written work and spreadsheet functions. The programs are easy to use, they save automatically, and you can access the documents from anywhere, even if you aren’t in the office.
You should also have a business management tool like Asana or Evernote because you can keep track of every project you do from start to finish and always know where you stand. Plus, the software is accessible on any device.
As you can see, there is some work that goes into creating a home-based business, but with the right tools and a bit of planning, you can make it a reality. If you would like to know more about the great products offered by Barnhill Desks, then call us at 833-221-5680.