Like
it or not, there is still a segment of the population who
will erroneously conclude that you and your business are
less than professional and competent just because you run
your business out of your home.
Dumb?
Obviously! Narrow-minded? Yes! Wrong?
Absolutely! Unfair? No question! Want their business?
Well ... yes. OK, then you're going to have to play the
game and beat them at it. Here's how to do it. It's
a little
sneaky, but hey, all's fair and they did start it.
INCORPORATE
First
off, incorporate. Nothing screams "CORPORATE!"
to our friend the dumb, narrow-minded, wrong, unfair
Potential Client as an LLC, Pty Ltd or PLC (depending
on where you conduct business) on your letterhead and
business card.
Not
only does this appease Potential Client, there are
some very good tax and other advantages to incorporation
which are well worth the modest cost. Talk to your
attorney or accountant about this.
OFFICE
ADDRESS
The
next problem you have with Potential Client is that
you don't want your home address to give you away.
What do you think looks more professional in Potential
Client's eyes: 123 Cherryblossom Way, Apt. 103, Suburbia
or 123 Major Blvd, Level 37, Big City?
The
answer is a serviced office. These don't have to
cost a lot of money if you use them pretty much as a post
office but they CAN give your business all the big-city
prestige your Potential Client is looking for.
An
additional advantage is that you can use your serviced
office to meet with Potential Client. After all, the last
thing
you want is to have him coming to your REAL office! Heaven
forbid! Most serviced offices will make meeting rooms available
for a flat fee.
TELEPHONES
This
is probably the trickiest part of all. How do you know
it's safe to answer the phone in your home office even though
the sounds of your young children playing just outside your
office door will be heard by the caller? You simply don't.
There
is a simple way of dealing with this. Only give your
home office number to existing clients. They already know
you are professional and competent and should therefore
have no issue with the fact that you work from home.
For
anyone else, give out the number of an answering service
that will answer the call in your company name and can tell
callers that you're in a meeting with another client and take
a message. Your serviced office will offer this service as
well.
You can then return the call at a time when you know
tell-tale background noise won't give you away.
In
fact, a trick some people who work from home use when
returning calls is to run a tape of office background noise.
This both gives the impression you are working in a large
office AND it masks any slight tell-tale household noises that
may, despite your best efforts, give you away.
Once
Potential Client becomes an actual client and you've
proved to his satisfaction that you are professional and
competent, you can tell him that you've decided to start
working out of your home to reduce unnecessary overheads
and give him your direct phone number.
No
matter how enlightened your client-base is as a general
rule, it is imperative that the telephone be answered in
a businesslike manner. I don't care how sympathetic,
supportive and admiring your clients are of your decision to
balance your work and family commitments by running a
successful business from home, there is nothing cute
about a five year old answering your business line. It's
unprofessional, not to mention downright annoying.
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Elena Fawkner is editor of the award-winning weekly ezine,
A Home-Based Business Online, a down-to-earth publication
containing practical home-based and online business ideas,
telecommuting job listings, original articles, free e-books and
much more. She also runs the A Home-Based Business Online
website at at http://www.fawkner.com.
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