6 Tips For Running Your Business From Home During COVID-19

If you’ve been forced to run your business from home due to COVID-19, thankfully, this modern tech-driven era offers us many tools and strategies we can utilise to successfully run our operations remotely with minimal disruption. With the right systems in place, you can ensure that your staff are productive, that your customers are happy, and that your business continues to thrive.

There’s no doubt that the last 12 months have been extremely challenging for business owners in just about every industry. Many businesses around the world have had to rethink their entire business model to cope with the ever-changing business landscape.

Government restrictions have also forced countless businesses, both large and small to shift their operations from fully purpose-built offices and warehouses, to private homes.

Expectedly, this has been a difficult transition and one that is fraught with numerous (and often costly) challenges. However, if there’s one thing that has emerged from the chaos, it’s that running a business from home can be done well – but you need to set yourself up for success from the outset.

Let’s take a look at six useful tips to help you run your business from home during the COVID pandemic.

#1 – Create A Dedicated Workspace

Working from home is made even more challenging when you consider all of the daily hustle and bustle that goes on within the typical home. If you are involved in meetings or 1:1 appointments with potential clients, then carving out enough quiet space for you to work is essential.

Be sure to set up a dedicated work area where you can work without being interrupted. However, if you must work at the kitchen table, use noise-cancelling headphones to keep distractions at bay- and let your family or housemates know to keep quiet when you are working so your day is free of unnecessary interruptions.

#2 – Use The Right Equipment

To ensure that your company operates as seamlessly as possible, you’ll need to make sure that everyone has access to the right equipment to work remotely. Laptops, phones and tablets will be more crucial than before in ensuring that your team can complete their tasks and communicate efficiently.

And if you handle your own logistics, then you’ll also need a constant slew of packaging equipment such as tape, paper, a vacuum sealer and a label maker available to workers to keep that fulfilment process moving.

#3 – Implement Business Software

These days, the admin side of running your business from home has been made a little easier thanks to the huge range of specialist accounting and inventory software that’s available. This software is designed to help you with just about every aspect of running your business from powerful accounting software packages to cloud-based project management applications and staff scheduling tools, there is no shortage of programs for the small business owner to choose from.

#4 – Set Clear Expectations

If you are managing a remote team, you really need to set out clear expectations from the outset, and get them to agree to meeting those requirements. Let them know what you need to see in terms of communication, responsiveness, output and productivity.

The fact is, when you’re not working physically alongside your team, it can be difficult to monitor their output and progress. However, setting clear accountabilities will make the process easier for you – and them.

#5 – Build A Strong Online Presence

COVID-19 has changed how businesses need to interact with their customers, and as a result, digital marketing has become more crucial than ever. If you don’t already have a business website, now is the time to get one online.

Make sure to focus on SEO to give your digital presence a boost and be active on the social media channels that are most relevant to your business too.

While time-consuming and often slow-growing, social media lets you can communicate with your customers directly while marketing your products and services to very targeted audiences. In short, there’s no doubt that having a strong online presence is crucial in the COVID era, so be sure to invest in your digital footprint.

#6 – Prepare Your Business For A Success Post-COVID!

Finding ways to successfully run your business from home during COVID is a huge step in readying your company to move forward when the world returns to normal. Staying connected with your customers, improving your business processes and bolstering your online presence will all pay dividends in the post-COVID world.

So, while the past year certainly hasn’t been easy, when looked at positively, it may just have taught us a few very valuable lessons. Good luck!