working from home 4

 

I’ve spoken before about why I love working from home and shared my tips for starting your own small business. But what about when your hobby, started from your spare room, turns into something bigger?

 

The most fulfilling careers come from doing something you love, which is often why those hobbies turn into something beyond your dreams. Whether you’re creating beautiful pieces of jewellery or cool printed t-shirts, there will come a time when you need an extra pair of hands to help manage your ever-increasing number of orders, or you will need to find somewhere secure to store your stock.

 

So today I’m going to share with you how to take your business to the next step and get the help you need.

 

Speak to an accountant

 

If you’re a creative person, the chances are the numbers side of your business is not your strong point. And why should it be, your business is growing because you’re good at the creative stuff. Maintaining your accounts and books is likely to be something that falls to the bottom of your ‘to-do’ list on a regular basis (or dropping off completely on really bad days), so it should be one of the first things you turn to a professional for advice with. A really good accountant will do more than manage your books, offering invaluable advice and support when it comes to running your business efficiently and in the most cost-effective way.

 

Get advice before hiring an extra pair of hands

 

Is your end goal for your business to continue growing? If so, there will come a point when you can’t do it all by yourself. When the time comes around to hire somebody to join you’re team, speaking to the professionals will ensure everything is done by the books. Seek the advice of a professional HR person, you could even speak to a legal professional to help create a contract that protects both your business and your new employee.

 

Find a logistics professional to handle online orders

 

Online retail has changed the way we shop and start-up ecommerce businesses are thriving as a result. Online retail is showing no signs of slowing down, recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that around £870.8 million was spent online weekly in February, an 12.3% increase on February 2015. Seek the help of a reliable third party logistics supplier when you start feeling like your orders are growing beyond control. They will be able to take care of everything, from pick and pack services right through to the delivery and returns.