Secret tips on starting a home-based business for women in 2021

These past two years have been some of the most trying times for a lot of us. While our country battles the coronavirus, we’re also simultaneously battling other battles.

Owing to the pandemic, it’s been estimated that approximately 7 million people have lost their jobs and therefore their main source of income. 

Those of us who have savings and have managed to keep funds aside for a rainy day maybe better off than those who didn’t but without the means of a livelihood and regular monthly salaries, this situation is only going to worsen which is why many people have taken on the role of entrepreneurship and are actively working towards improving this situation. 

The number of women entrepreneurs has significantly increased in the last few years and a number of these businesses have started from home.

What are the various advantages of starting a home based business- 

If you have an idea of starting your own home based business then you have to be aware of the fact that it is not everybody’s cup of tea.

As entrepreneurs, unlimited capital generation is less which means that business owners have to get creative.

Given the current pandemic, many of us have no other option but to work from home but that’s not the only reason why, many business owners start their business from home and listed below are some of it’s advantages – 

1. Saves money on rent – With real estate rates being sky high, owning property in India is expensive and so is the rent for many of the commercial places. When you start your business from home, this is the one major thing business owners can save money on.
2. Flexibility – Working from home allows for greater flexibility as opposed to working during those fixed hours. You may like working during the night and if you’re working from an office in a commercial space, it may or not be unsafe to travel late in the night and this problem can easily be avoided if you work from home.
3. Tax saving – Business owners can claim tax relief on any domestic bills incurred for the areas of your house that are used for your business. Moreover, if your business is BAT registered, you may also be able to claim VAT on expenses incurred for business use.
4. Allows you to test your market – All of us hope that our businesses will be successful but realities are often different than just wishful thinking. When you start a business from home, you save up money which means that you can test your market before investing in renting/buying a property which is a huge bonus for entrepreneurs.

These are just some of the major advantages of starting your own business from home. In this article, we’ll be talking about some lesser known tips and tricks which will help women entrepreneurs and business women that’ll definitely help you in the long run.

Secret business tips for women who want to start their business from home –

Listed below are a few tips that will help women entrepreneurs boost their business from home – 

1. Confidence is key – You may have heard this a million times before but having faith and confidence in yourself is key to achieving all of your dreams and growing your business. Don’t be afraid to send out those emails, making those phone calls or marketing your brand through social media. 
2. Don’t be afraid of taking risks – Without risk there are little rewards. While there are certain risks that could potentially do more harm than good it’s important to evaluate the risks worth taking. 
3. Your business is as viable as your male counterparts – As much as we like to believe that women and men are all the same, as women, we know that the ground reality is different.
4. Women have to fight harder than men even though they’re equally competent. Fight the battles where you feel like your pitch was better and yet somebody else one based on their gender.
5. Know your industry – Before starting any business no matter how big or small, you must do a thorough research on the customers you want for your business. With the right target audience you can reach your aims and goals faster. 
6. Loans – There are many loans that women can opt for such as the Annapurna scheme, Synd Mahila Shakti loan from Canara bank that women can apply for that have lower interest rates which can help you save money whilst helping you secure a loan from a bank to start your business.
7. Seek help from family members – One great thing about working from home is that you can seek help from your family members to finish your orders.
8. They’re going to be there to help you and motivate you when needed. Another added benefit is that they’ll help you for free so you can save more money.
9. The power of social media – Ever since the pandemic, many businesses have gone online as going to a physical store wasn’t possible.
10. You too can use social media to promote your business. You can start by doing this organically if it doesn’t fit into your budget plan and then as your business grows, you can invest that money into paid promotions.
11. Choose your battles and learn to say no – As businesswomen, saying no to a huge order seems impossible but could also be the right decision.
12. We may be inclined to take up multiple orders at the same time but ask yourselves this, is this the best thing for my business? Would you be able to uphold the same standards across all the orders? Maintaining standards is as important as acquiring new customers so say no to a customer before you get overworked and overwhelmed.

In Conclusion –

We have all the power within us that we need to grow and even though you’re starting your business from home, it’s still a start.

Read also: Small business ideas in India that you can start from home

Given the pandemic, your business may take more time to grow than it would without the pandemic but that shouldn’t stop you from achieving your goals.

There may come days when it gets difficult to stay motivated but one must remember to not lose focus on important things and stay motivated.