When you’re running a business from your home, it seems almost impossible that you will not encounter some difficulties. For one, the lines and limitations will be unclear. What time does your work start? Can you take a break? When the kids are arguing, can you take time off work to tell them off? Can you connect to the office’s system using your internet connection and, at the same time, use that connection to pay your bills and email your kids’ teachers? These delineations have always been clear back when we were still working in the traditional office setting. But now that we’re effectively running businesses at home, these are sometimes too hazy; it has become a gray area.
Is it important to separate your business and personal transactions when you’re operating from your house? Yes. It might be the single most important thing you can do for your home-based business. So, how can you go about doing this when you’re running your business out of your living room?
Rent a PO Box
If you’re using your home address as a business address, then you’ve already made the first major mistake in your business. Never ever use your home address as your business address and vice-versa. Although your business address can be made public, try not to address personal packages and letters to it.
As much as possible, rent a PO box that you can use to receive business letters and other transactions. If your customers have queries or complaints about your products and services, they can send a letter address to that PO box. This way, you can set the limit as to when you will read these letters.
Use Separate Email Addresses and Computers
If you have the budget for it, use a separate computer to access your work emails and other transactions. Using your personal computer might not be the safest option if you have sensitive data to protect in your computer. If you have sensitive customer information in your system, a simple hack will make them vulnerable. Imagine having to tell your customers that they have to change their usernames and passwords and even change their credit card numbers because someone hacked into your system and stole their information. They will not be forgivable of mistakes like this.
Also, don’t use one email address for everything. As a general rule, use a different email address for random sign-ups, utility and credit card bills, personal correspondence, and business transactions. You can link these accounts to your computer, so it’ll be easier to access them whenever you need to. The important thing is to understand how to secure them.
Open Bank Accounts
This is not even about the safety and security of your transactions when managing a business at home. You should always separate your personal and professional bank accounts because not doing so will be a huge blow to your business. This way, you can better monitor the expenses of the business. You will easily know if your business hasn’t been turning a profit for weeks or months. While the income statement will tell you that, what’s in your bank account is one of the most obvious signs that you need to do better.
As for your personal account, remember that you should never mix your personal and business money. Your personal money should have nothing to do with running the business. It should be used as a loan (that will be payable by the business) and never as part of the capital.
Use Virtual Private Network
A virtual private network (VPN) is used not only to access Netflix movies in other regions. You can also use it to protect your personal network at home. Aside from that, using VPNs for your smart home system will also save you from hackers, burglars, and other criminals. They wouldn’t be able to hack easily into your system when they keep on getting rerouted to other networks. That’s the advantage of having a VPN in your system.
A lot of cybercriminals are trying to hack into your system right this very minute. They know that most home-based businesses are less secure because they’re using the home networks. So, make sure that you at least use a VPN to stave them off.
It isn’t easy to run a business from your home, even if it sounds like a dream. Imagine working from home. Isn’t that what people have always dreamed about? Unfortunately, the pandemic also ushered into some concerns about distractions and privacy. If you manage to address these issues, then you’ll be well on your way to a successful enterprise.