How to operate your business successfully from home

Over the last few years, the WFH mantra has grown bigger than ever - and it's here to stay.

While the headlines may have focused on workers who no longer have to attend their company offices five days per week, let's not forget that many self-employed people have also decided to run their businesses from the comfort of their own homes.

Of course, the term "comfort" can be somewhat dangerous. While there are countless benefits to working from home, there are also well-publicised pitfalls.

This is what today's article will focus on as we decipher some of the best ways to run your business in the best possible manner from your own four walls.

Define your working hours

The most important factor to consider when working from home is to be disciplined with your time. Just because you can roll out of bed at 10am does not mean you should.

Get up at a reasonable time, have a shower, get dressed and be in work mode before you start your working day.

It's also important to finish work at a reasonable time. Yes, you may be tempted to work into the night, but this can often lead to burnout.

Discipline is key when working from home - if you do not have set working hours, it will be very difficult to get anything done.

Set up a dedicated workspace

It’s also important to have a dedicated workspace. This could be a spare room that you have turned into an office, or it could simply be a corner of your living room.

The important thing is to have a space where you can work without any distractions. This means no TV, no children and no pets.

If you do not have a dedicated workspace, productivity will be difficult to conquer.

Understand your taxable expenses

When you rent an office or a store, the taxable expenses are fairly obvious, making it easy to identify them. When it comes to working from your home, things can get tricky.

Fortunately, there are plenty of things that you are allowed to claim back on. For example, you can claim a proportion of your mortgage or rent and utility bills.

You can also claim the cost of your office equipment, such as your computer, printer and office furniture.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg and is in addition to all of the classics such as insurance premiums, marketing costs and travel expenses.

Stay connected

Just because you're working from home doesn’t mean you should isolate yourself from the outside world.

There are plenty of networking events and conferences that you can attend, and it's important to make the most of them. In fact, now that you're out and about doing the regular commute, it's even more important. If nothing else, it will keep you in the habit of "talking" about your business, which is crucial as you continue to grow.