Over the past few years there has been a huge surge in online business. This has affected everyone, but it has been wonderful to see how many parents have been able to start making a living from home, and doing something the love.
I have friends who blog like I do, friends that sell makeup, art, oils and even leggings all through the internet! One thing we’ve all found, is that even though our business is predominantly online, we still need physical things to make our business work too! I’m excited to be partnering with Online Labels to share with you some of the essentials for running a successful online business.
Yes, there are the obvious things like laptop or phone with internet access… but let’s skip ahead to some out of the box essentials for making your business stand out!
Business cards – This one is huge. Make these and carry them with you EVERYWHERE. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten to chatting with people in really random places and they’ve wanted to hire me or check out a book or blog I write. Having a business card always in my purse allows me to give them my information quickly and proves I’m really a professional. Don’t make my mistakes though. When creating business cards I got sucked into one of the “cheap” business card sites and ended up ordering like 800 of them because it was cheaper to do it that way. Most of these cards have gone to waste as my email address, site name, phone number and even bio picture have changed and I’ve needed to update my cards. You can order business cards from Online Labels and design and print them at your leisure. This means you print out as many as you need right now and don’t end up wasting money and hundreds of cards when you decide to redesign them!
Creative space – Having a creative space is a MUST for every one who works from home. Working from your bed affects your sleep AND work negatively…don’t do it! If there is no room in your house for an office all to yourself, make sure you designate a certain chair, or part of the couch as your “creative spot”. It really helps you get mentally ready for work, when you go to that spot. If you have enough space… try to have multiple places like that in your home so that you can change your scenery but still be in an area designated for work.
Legit snacks – Okay but for real. The lines between meals get really blurred when you work from home, and occasionally (though not ideal) you might find yourself needing to work through a meal. Having healthy and filling snacks on hand can ensure that your health and energy don’t suffer because you were busy that day.
Stickers – This is a recent addition to my work from home essentials list but I already love them! I received a variety of sticker sheets from OnlineLabels and was able to easily design stickers with my own logos on them. This is great for when I correspond with brands via letter or even send my readers giveaway products. I love being able to add my branded logo to boxes and things that I give away.
If you are sending oils, leggings or anything like that to your customers this is a great way to mark those packages with a reminder of where they ordered from! I even plan to cut off a few stickers and send them along with packages to my customers…Everyone loves stickers and if they put them on their phone or camera, they’ll be doing some free promoting for me everywhere they go!
Having my logos on my own phone, camera and bags is great for brand recognition too! I love the variety of sizes and sticker types available because I can use them for all different things!
Sometimes my kids have their own ideas on how the stickers should be used…but that’s okay too!
When you receive your business cards or stickers they will be blank, since you’ll be doing the printing yourself. But don’t worry! They help you with the design creation and even make sure the formatting is right. I found the process to be SUPER EASY, which I was thrilled about! I hate it when tech issues ruin a perfectly good product, but I couldn’t be happier with the entire process I experienced with online labels!
The last thing on my list of real-life essentials when you are running an online business is DOWN TIME. This is a must and the only thing that will keep you going successfully in business with no regrets when it comes to your family. Put it on your calendar, add “playing with the kids” to your to do list if you have trouble making sure it happens every day, but that down time and screen-free time is a must. People in other professions are able to leave their place of work and go home…when you work from home it’s a lot harder to draw those lines of separation (even if you have a special creative space) because it’s so easy to check your phone or computer “really quick” and lose out on important life moments. Make sure down time is happening so you can continue pursuing your career without guilt or regret!
Do you have any must-haves for working from home and running an online business? Share with me in the comments! And don’t forget to order your own stickers, business cards and more from onlinelabels.com!
Olivia says
Nowadays it is really a valuable tool for any business. If you have your own business, you have definitely encountered the need to print various documents and materials for the company at least once. One of the main carriers of information is still a brochure. Done well, it can bring enormous benefits to your organization. In addition, creating them is now as easy as possible, thanks to the desktop publishing software for mac, here you can learn more about it
lanarey says
That looks fantastic! However, I do have my own take on the subject. For example, you could showcase captivating embellishments or even captivating visuals. Therefore, it would be advantageous to explore dome images – a resource that provides a wide range of pre-designed design elements. These can be used to create a unique and visually appealing design for a home.