Starting a home-based business is an exciting prospect. It allows you to become an entrepreneur with flexibility in your work arrangements and endless potential opportunities—all from the comfort of your own home.
However, this doesn’t make the process easy, and there’s a lot you need to consider, especially when it comes to the logistics of running a whole business from home.
If you’re considering this, here are some of the most important factors to keep in mind during the planning process.
Choose Reliable Delivery Partners
Typically, with a home-based business, your customers won’t be able to make purchases in person, which means you’ll need to rely on a trustworthy courier company like Chicago Couriers to deliver your products to their buyers.
To build trust in your brand, you’ll need to provide reliable shipping. When you’re looking for the right company to partner with, consider factors like shipping costs, delivery times, range of services, and tracking capabilities. You might want to offer shipping deals to your customers, such as free shipping when they reach a certain spending threshold on your website.
Optimize Inventory Management
Inventory management can be tough when you’re working from your home. You won’t have a warehouse to store all your stock, which means you’ll be limited in how much inventory you can keep on hand at a time.
Using inventory management software can help you monitor your stock levels and remind you when to place orders. Delays in this area can wreak havoc on your order process! It’s also crucial that you keep your stock well-organized and secure in a designated area away from household “hazards” like children and pets.
Packaging Matters
Packaging can be pricey, but getting it right is essential for more than just protecting your products – it also plays a role in building your brand image and generating trust in your customers. Sustainable packaging that does its job well (and looks good doing it) will make a great first impression.
Making as much of your packaging process DIY as possible will help you reduce costs. Splurge on quality materials, work with a theme in mind (that aligns with your business and brand), and personalize it whichever way you can. For example, adding a hand-written thank-you note is a sweet touch that makes small businesses stand out to their customers.
Streamline Order Fulfillment
In the age of instant gratification, customers expect speedy turnaround times and usually don’t want to wait days (or weeks) for an order to be delivered. To keep pace, you need to make sure your order fulfillment process is up to scratch. Ensure that you always have stock on hand and that you handle new orders quickly and efficiently. Whether this will entail perfecting your process, investing in software, or hiring staff to focus solely on this system is up to you and depends on the nature of your business. Make sure that you alert customers of expected delivery dates and inform them of any delays in their orders.
Also Read: Three Tips for Small Business Owners
