John

Running your own business from home has a real charm to it. You’re your own boss. Your working hours are flexible.

Costs are low since you don’t have to pay rent on a brick-and-mortar office. And there’s no need to ask permission from anyone to, say, walk your dog when the spirit moves you.

That said, not everyone is hardwired for running a successful home-based business. Making a serious go of it requires careful planning and hard work.

Getting ready to take the plunge? Here are 10 tips you’ll want to consider.

1. Pay attention to the permits

If you’re running a small business out of your home, you may need tax registrations, business and occupational licenses, and permits from state and local governments in order to operate legally.

Check to see that your homeowner’s association is OK with the idea. It might have restrictions.

For help with questions like these, tap the experts at SCORE, a nonprofit that offers free business advice.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is another source of help in getting you up to speed on permits and more. AARP’s small business center also includes articles and advice.

2. Update your insurance

It’s a good idea to add an insurance rider to your homeowner’s or renter’s policy in case a delivery person or client tumbles on your steps. Home-business owners typically get little or no coverage from their standard homeowner’s policy.

The cost of a rider might be around $100 a year per $2,500 of additional coverage. The added cost would vary by the type of work you do, the amount of insurance you want and the volume of inventory stored at home that you’ll want to protect from theft or damage.

If you need further coverage, you can opt for a business owners policy — an insurance package that covers your business property and provides liability coverage for clients coming to your home.

These policies generally cost from $500 to $3,500 per year.Each state has its own rules about insurance that can be offered to home-based outfits.

Look up your particulars at the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group and information clearinghouse.

3. Don’t ignore the IRS

You will need to pay estimated federal taxes on business income each quarter, instead of once a year on April 15.

Depending on the location of your business, you may be required to pay state and local income and business taxes, too.

Go to the IRS Self-Employed Individual Tax Center to learn how to pay the federal taxes. You may also want to consult with your accountant.

4. Set aside a precise place for work

You should be able to take a tax deduction for 100 percent of costs directly related to your home office, such as the purchase of a work computer or printer toner.

The other kind of tax-deductible home office expenses are “indirect” ones that are prorated, based on the size of your home and office.

These are things like your mortgage or rent, insurance and utility bills. Many people with home offices skip the tax break because they’re concerned the write-offs will trigger a tax audit. That’s unlikely.

In general, to get the deduction, the area must be used for work exclusively and on a regular basis, either as your main place of business or a location to meet with clients or to do paperwork, such as billing and ordering supplies.

That means your kids can’t play games on your work computer when you’re away, and your spouse can’t set up the new elliptical machine in the home office space.

To get the deduction, you must file Form 8829, “Expenses for Business Use of Your Home.” For full details, go to IRS Publication 587.

Generally speaking, if the square footage of your home office equals 10 percent of your home’s total, you can claim 10 percent of its expenses.

The IRS also has a “simplified option” rule, which allows you to deduct $5 per square foot of your home office on your return, with a maximum write-off of $1,500 (based on a maximum of 300 square feet).

It’s a good idea to take a picture of the space so that you have a record, in case the IRS does scrutinize your return.

5. Establish a work schedule

It’s easy to get drawn into work filling every waking hour. You must be disciplined, manage your time well and be a self-starter.

Set daily work hours and do your best to adhere to them. That’s easier said than done, but burnout will do nothing to boost your business.

6. Find a mentor

Working solo can be isolating. Sometimes you’ll need a professional to tap for some advice. Look for a mentor among your industry connections. This relationship can take time to build, but it’s worth it.

Another option is to find a virtual colleague.PivotPlanet, an online mentoring service, lets you connect with its expert advisers via one-on-one video and phone conferences.

It’s designed to help shape a relationship that can evolve over a series of sessions at regular intervals or on an as-needed basis. These meetings are billed hourly at rates of $40 to $125.

7. Don’t overlook the human touch

Working at home can prevent you from developing workplace relationships and doing face-to-face networking for new clients.

Push yourself to get out of the house regularly for lunch or meet with prospective clients or colleagues for coffee.

And go to industry conferences. At the very least, make it a point from time to time to make a phone call instead of zapping off an email or text.

8. Network electronically

Get active in LinkedIn groups that relate to your industry and clients. Make posts and comment on posts by others.

This will display your expertise and give you a feeling of being connected to a community. Check out this post on ways to improve your LinkedIn profile.

9. Spread the word

Learning how to promote yourself is a lynchpin for success. In addition to having a LinkedIn page, consider having Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter pages for your business.

Check out competitors to see which networks they use professionally. Photographers, for example, often showcase their work on Instagram, while Pinterest is popular with people selling consumer goods such as jewelry and glassware.

10. Ramp up your tech skills

When you work for yourself, there’s no tech support person to call when things go haywire. Consider taking a computer class at a community college or, if you’re a Mac user, at an Apple store in your neighborhood.

If you need to give presentations, you should become conversant with web-based meeting programs such as GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx, Join.Me, TeamViewer, Zoom or Google+ Hangouts.

All of these tips will help you create a home-based business that has legs. But the biggest ingredient to your success will be your own drive and determination.

The dreamy idea of working from home can be a nightmare if you don’t pay attention to the details.

Imagine spending as little as 6 hours a week in order to increase your business’s recognition, traffic, and sales with little to no cost.

That’s right! About 90% of marketers claimed that social media generated immense exposure for their company, and that’s only one of its many advantages.

Social networks are now a substantial part of every marketing strategy, and the benefits of using social media are so great that anyone not implementing this cost-effective resource is missing out on a phenomenal marketing opportunity.

It’s easy to see that social media marketing is a key element for success in marketing and many marketers realize the potential for business growth using the platform.

However, some of these professionals are unsure of which tactics to apply and if they are effective.

According to Social Media Examiner, about 96% of marketers are currently participating in social media marketing, but 85% of participants aren’t sure which tools are the best to use.

With our help, we will diminish the confusion by thoroughly explaining the advantages of using social media to market your business.

1. Increased Brand Awareness

Social media is one of the most cost-efficient digital marketing methods used to syndicate content and increase your business’ visibility.

Implementing a social media strategy will greatly increase your brand recognition since you will be engaging with a broad audience of consumers.

To get started, create social media profiles for your business and begin interacting with others. Get employees, business partners, and sponsors to “like” and “share” your page.

Simply having people interact with your content will increase brand awareness and begin building your reputation as a business.

Each post that is shared will be introduced to a new network of individuals, which can lead them to becoming potential customers, and the more people who know about your business, the better.

By investing only a few hours per week, over 91% of marketers claimed that their social marketing efforts greatly increased their exposure.

There is no doubt that by simply having a social media page your brand will benefit, and with regular use it can generate a wide audience for your business.

2. More Inbound Traffic

Without marketing your business on social media, your inbound traffic is limited to your usual customers.

The people familiar with your brand are likely searching for the same keywords you already rank for.

Without utilizing social media as part of your marketing strategy, you’ll have much more difficulty reaching anyone outside of your loyal customer circle.

Every social media profile you add to your marketing mix is a gateway to your website, and every piece of content you post is another opportunity to acquire a new customer.

Social media is a melting pot of different types of people with varying backgrounds and behaviors. With different people come different needs and different ways of thinking.

Syndicating your content on as many platforms as possible allows these individuals to organically reach your business.

For instance, perhaps someone in an older demographic of consumers will search for your website using a particular keyword on Facebook, but a millennial could begin their search by using a different social media platform entirely, because they search for products totally differently.

By marketing on social media you can effectively open your business to a wider variety of versatile consumers all over the world.

3. Improved Search Engine Rankings

Although posting on social media might get your business some site traffic, more effort than that is required to see significant success.

Search engine optimization is very important for achieving higher page rankings and obtaining traffic to your business website.

While social media doesn’t directly increase search engine rankings, Social Media Examiner states that more than 58% of marketers who have been using social media for one year or longer still see improved search engine rankings.

Being able to rank in the top positions for your keywords will revolutionize your traffic and continue to generate positive results for your business.

Let’s face it, everyone uses Google to find information, and they likely won’t navigate past page 1 because their answer normally is on the first page of results.

If your business website isn’t ranked towards the top of search engine results, you should probably adjust your search engine optimization strategy.

To give yourself the best chance of ranking better through social media, create high quality content that integrates your targeted keywords.

Content such as blogs, infographics, case studies, business information, and employee photos will make your business’s social media profile intriguing and credible.

Once you begin posting quality content, you’ll begin to build a social media community where followers will “like” and “share” your content.

Most importantly, it gives you more opportunities to get in front of industry influencers who will write about your business and provide links back – which will help to directly increase search engine rankings.

4. Higher Conversion Rates

With increased visibility, your business gains more opportunities for conversion. Every blog post, image, video, or comment may lead viewers to your company’s website and increase traffic.

Social media marketing allows your business to give a positive impression through a humanization factor. When brands are interactive by sharing content, commenting, and posting statuses on social media, it personifies a brand.

People prefer to do business with other people, rather than companies. Over 51% of marketers claimed that taking the time to develop relationships with consumers showed positive results in sales.

The better impression you make on a visitor, the more likely they are to think of your business when the need for your product or services arises.

Studies have also shown that social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing. When a brand is interactive online, consumers who follow your brand’s accounts often begin to more completely trust the credibility of your business. People use social media platforms to stay connected to their friends, family, and communities.

Since people are already talking, why not throw your brand into the mix? More likely than not, they’ll mention your brand to a friend when your products or services are needed, overall providing your business with social proof of its quality.

As reported by Social Media Examiner, about 66% of marketers saw lead generation benefits by using social media platforms at least 6 hours per week.

Putting your brand in an atmosphere where people are sharing, liking, and talking, can only improve the conversion rates on your existing traffic.

5. Better Customer Satisfaction

Social media is a networking and communication platform. Creating a voice for your company through these platforms is important in humanizing your company.

Customers appreciate knowing that when they post comments on your pages, they will receive a personalized response rather than an automated message.

Being able to acknowledge each comment shows that you are attentive of your visitors’ needs and aim to provide the best experience.

Every customer interaction on your business’s social media accounts is an opportunity to publicly demonstrate your compassion for your customers.

Whether an individual has a question or a complaint, social media allows you to address the matter using interpersonal dialogue.

A brand devoted to customer satisfaction that takes the time to compose personal messages will inherently be viewed in a positive light, even if responding to a customer complaint.

6. Improved Brand Loyalty

One of the main goals of almost all businesses is developing a loyal customer base.

Considering that customer satisfaction and brand loyalty typically go hand in hand, it is important to regularly engage with consumers and begin developing a bond with them.

Social media is not just limited to introducing your brand’s products and promotional campaigns. Customers see these platforms as a service channel where they can communicate directly with the business.

The millennial generation is known for being the most brand loyal customers of all.

Born between the early 1980’s and the early 2000’s, millennials are the largest generation in US history — and will soon completely consume the market.

Studies show that this segment of customers is 62% more loyal to brands that directly engage with them on social media.

Since these technology natives require communication with their brands, businesses must implement social media marketing to get the attention of their most influential consumers.

7. More Brand Authority

Customer satisfaction and brand loyalty both play a part in making your business more authoritative, but it all comes down to communication.

When consumers see your company posting on social media, especially replying to customers and posting original content, it makes you appear more credible.

Regularly interacting with customers demonstrates that your business cares about customer satisfaction, and is available to answer any questions that they might have.

Satisfied customers are eager to spread the word about a great product or service and they usually turn to social media to express their opinion.

Having customers mention your business on social media will advertise your business, and show new visitors your value and brand authority.

Once you obtain a few satisfied customers who are vocal about their positive purchase experience, you can let the advertising be done for you by actual customers who enjoyed your product or service.

8. Cost-Effective

Social media marketing is possibly the most cost-efficient part of an advertising strategy.

Signing up and creating a profile is free for almost all social networking platforms, and any paid promotions you decide to invest in are a relatively low cost compared to other marketing tactics.

Being cost-effective is such an advantage because you can see a greater return on investment and retain a bigger budget for other marketing and business expenses.

If you decide to use paid advertising on social media, always start small to see what you should expect. As you become more comfortable, fine tune your strategy and try increasing your budget.

Just by spending a small amount of time and money you can significantly increase your conversion rates and eventually get return on investment on the money you initially invested.

9. Gain Marketplace Insights

One of the most valuable advantages of social media is marketplace insight.

What better way to know the thoughts and needs of your consumers than by directly talking to them? By monitoring the activity on your profiles,, you can see customer’ interests and opinions that you might not otherwise be aware of if your business didn’t have a social media presence.

Using social media as a complementary research tool can help gain information that will aid you in understanding your industry.

Once you gain a large following, you can use additional tools to analyze the demographics of your consumers.

Another insightful aspect of social media marketing is the ability to segment your content syndication lists based on topic, and identify which types of content generate the most impressions.

These tools give you the ability to measure conversions based on posts on various social media platforms to find the perfect combination for generating revenue.

10. Thought Leadership

Posting insightful and well-written content on your social media is a great way to become an expert and leader in your field.

There is no one way to become a thought leader – it requires work that can be supported by online networking tools.

To establish yourself as an expert, be sure to utilize social media platforms and build your presence.

Be communicative, connect with your audience, share content, and promote your authority. When your social media campaign is aligned with other marketing efforts, your skills will be highlighted and followers will look up to you.

Being able to directly connect with your customers creates a relationship that they will value, allowing you to become a notable influencer in your field.