As the benefits of remote working appear to be outweighing those of the standard office scenario, the influx of people choosing to work from the comfort of their own home doesn’t just mean a benefit for them personally, but for that of the business. But, it seems that we are unable to get the balance right. A lot of people view working from home as a little vacation, when in actual fact, it should aid your productivity, rather than hinder it. So this means you’ll need to consider exactly what the ideal home office needs. And if you are running a business that demands the necessity of home working, and you are someone who is spending more time at home than in the office, what do you need?

Ease Of Access

Many businesses spend years thinking about maximizing productivity by laying out the fundamental components in close proximity to each other. Take this method of thinking to heart when setting up your space. If you have a lot of multifarious tasks, you need instant access to every aspect. If you work with a lot of paper files, you need a filing cabinet nearby, or if you are constantly on the phone or dipping in and out of Skype meetings, you need a method of productivity that lends itself well to your home environment. Consider your layout in relation to the amount of space you have and this includes the amount of equipment to have in your home. For example, do you need a photocopier in your home office? Or is it unnecessary expenditure?

The Ability To Focus

Working from home can provide so many distractions, that you may find yourself pining for the sterile nature of an office. Having the ability to focus is important, and whether this includes the right lighting, as well as sufficient privacy, you need to ensure that you have these demands met. You need to think about your own ability to focus, for example, do you need to block out sound? If so, do you need to soundproof the walls in your working space? Or will earplugs suffice?

It’s A Safe Space

Health and safety is viewed as a bugbear of many modern offices, but it’s still worth thinking about even though you are at home, this includes ergonomics, especially in relation to your desk and chair, but also, are you working in a part of the home that is going to aid your productivity? For example, if you’re using your basement as the working space, will it actually be a safe space to store electronics? Waterproofing the basement is something that can be costly from time to time, but you can choose Helitech or various other building specialists to waterproof your basement, so you can have an abundance of electronics down there.

While setting up your home office space could be a dream come true, there are some things that need to be implemented to ensure that you are working productively. The ideal home office is, unfortunately, a replication of the working environment in essence. Remember, it’s not about sitting on the couch with your computer on your lap.

Operating a business from home is a cost-effective and convenient way to run a company, however there’s still a stigma than home businesses aren’t as credible and successful as those that have offices and teams of staff. Fortunately, it’s possible to make people think that you’re a huge corporation with a few tricks. Here are just a few ways that you can hide the fact that you’re a home business and make people believe that you’re bigger than you are.

Don’t meet clients at your home

Arranging meetings with clients at your home is the number one giveaway that you’re a home business. Not only could inviting clients to your person address have security risks, it could also damage your professionality if you’re having to deal with family and household matters at the same time as talking to your client. Your best options when meeting clients is to go out for coffee somewhere and talk or use a video conferencing tool such as Skype. Just make sure when video conferencing that there are now giveaways in the background that you’re working from home.

Outsource your mailing address

If clients have to send you physical mail, a home address could give away that you’re not based in an office. Fortunately, there are sites like https://physicaladdress.com that allow you to have your mail sent to a virtual address where it is then redirected to your address or stored as a digital copy. These virtual addresses are often based in central city locations to make people believe that you’re based somewhere more professional.

Use a virtual phone answering service

You could also consider outsourcing a company to answer all incoming business calls for you. This company can filter out any sales calls and general inquiries and relay only the most important information to you. This has lots of advantages – you won’t have the constant interruption of phone calls allowing you to focus on core tasks, your phone will always get answered regardless of where you are and it will make your company more professional by making people believe that you have a secretary to answer the phone and that you’re not just a solo one-man-project (when in fact you may well be). You can find these services at sites like https://moneypenny.com.

Dominate the internet

By developing a large internet presence, you can also make people think that your business is bigger than it is. This is no easy task and may include hiring a digital marketing company. Certain ways that you can look big on the internet include building up a large social media following, collecting lots of reviews on lots of different review sites, getting your company features on other people’s blogs and designing a professional looking website. Get other company owners you know to help endorse you on the web by creating social media posts about your company or linking to you on their site – all this will help you to dominate the internet and look like a huge company.