Organizing a home office

It may be difficult to stay organized when running a business from home, but small business owners and self-employed individuals can take a number of steps to keep the office orderly.

A disorganized office may collect personal items as well as professional ones, resulting in a cluttered space that makes it hard to stay focused and productive. One measure to stay on top of the situation is regularly clearing out in-boxes or the equivalents. That includes any paper files, mail, e-mail and phone messages and other regular communications. Devoting part of one day each week to such processing can help avoid falling behind.

Similarly, try to avoid leaving files or other items in briefcases, bags or other containers temporarily when it is not necessary. This scatters them around and makes it harder to stick to any system of organizing. Tools and regularly used items can be categorized by how often they are needed and stored more or less conveniently in accordance with those priorities. Similarly, messages can be divided based on a combination of importance and urgency.

That can make it easier to manage time effectively and separate physical objects related to work. While those in the day trading business do not necessarily have or need many physical items to run their businesses, the same principles can apply to information stored on a computer or other aspects of trading.

Offices sometimes get messy as irregular items are brought in for convenience. When setting up, set aside space for phone chargers, external hard drives and other miscellaneous necessities. Use shelves and furnishings to help organize. If there are too many loose electrical and other cords and plugs, consider tying some together into bundles. This can make it easier to run them beneath or behind furniture and avoid tripping.

Requirements for successful self-employment

Running a business from home as a self-employed individual requires a number of qualities for success. Starting a business from the beginning and keeping it operational over time is a challenge. A large percentage of startups fail. For those who are self-employed and do not have employees working for them, there is one less challenge, at least. They do not need to concern themselves with managing other people, recruiting them, paying them and all the various tasks associated with having employees. Human resource laws and regulations alone constitute a significant investment of time as small business owners need to learn about them. There is a trade-off for the self-employed, however. They must be able to run their entire business personally. It may be helpful to supplement personal expertise and abilities by hiring professional assistance with specific tasks, such as accounting. When first starting a business, professional assistance might help with tasks such as registering the business name, deciding what kind of corporation to form and taking the proper steps to create it. Traders might want to form a C-corporation or limited liability corporation, depending on their circumstances. Business tasks for the individual There will likely be many things they must do themselves. Entrepreneurs may need to make decisions about equipment and software, set up their offices, talk to clients and do research on their chosen fields. Those in the day trading business will need to develop a method of choosing investments and tracking their profits and losses, for example. They may find themselves performing a significant amount of research into possible trades and dealing with the tax and accounting aspects of trading.

Meeting the challenges associated with working at home

When running a business at home, it is important to maintain a professional mindset in the office in order to stay productive.

In order to establish a business and run it successfully, it may help to focus a bit on the office itself, at least early on. The size of a home office generally does not matter, according to Entrepreneur, as long as it has the minimum space needed for a computer and any other resources that must be used continuously. For some people, a space with minimal decoration and fewer furnishings might help to limit distractions and differentiate working space from living space. Others might prefer to keep relaxing decorations or items that inspire them.

Ensuring that the office is not used for any other purposes can be a big help with distractions, but also has other advantages. Family members, neighbors and friends may misinterpret working at home to mean that someone is always available, leading to a high number of interruptions. A separate room can help when the time comes to lay down ground rules for when business hours are and when social calls are acceptable.

It also means that, if other activities are taking place elsewhere in the home, there will be no conflict over use of space and noise should be less of an issue. If it becomes necessary to meet or just call clients, that kind of privacy and professional atmosphere may also be important.

Operating a home based business can be tricky for the inexperienced, as they generally have to adapt to a large number of differences. Even if they do not seem significant when examined individually, these changes can affect productivity a great deal.

Handling home businesses post-recession

Those running a home based business may be struggling to meet the challenges they face in recent years, during the economic recession and slow recovery.

Expert Jim Muehlhausen told Home Business Magazine that there are several things small business owners should keep in mind. One is to avoid dramatic changes. While the volatility and difficulties of the economy may encourage many self-employed Americans and small business owners to implement major changes in how they operate, he warned that it is generally a better idea to focus on business fundamentals.

Quickly-changing economic conditions are likely not as important to business success as operating efficiently and constructing a sound business model, the expert suggests. Paying too much attention to the broader economy may actually distract a business owner from more pressing concerns that he or she should be focusing on.

If business is slow or exceptionally difficult, it may also be a good opportunity to plan further ahead. There may be more time to devote to that sort of activity at the moment, and the business may perform better in the long run if it is prepared to act in a more fully recovered economy.

In the day trading business, this advice might mean avoiding any abrupt changes to trading strategies. Suddenly accelerating or slowing the pace of trades might be such an alteration, with potentially damaging consequences.

Balancing family and the home office

Parents who are running a business at home may need to deal with a few additional challenges that other small business owners and self-employed Americans do not face.

Operating individually or running a small business takes up a significant amount of time. This is particularly true in the early years, when procedures and practices are still being developed and established. While individuals may have some ability to set their own hours, they may also find themselves working longer than they expected or otherwise altering their schedule to suit the job.

Those in the day trading business might want to ensure they are aware of breaking financial and economic news at certain times in order to act on time-sensitive opportunities as quickly as possible. If children are at school or otherwise out of the house at convenient times, then there may be no problem. If it is during the summer or children are home, however, then it may be more challenging to balance work and family.

It may be helpful to explain the work being done at times, although the extent must be tailored to their level of interest and age. Talking about the work and the business can be educational and even enjoyable for kids, experts told the Wall Street Journal. At the same time, however, there should be a clear boundary between work-time and family-time.

That can be hard to define when working at home. Having a dedicated office, setting regular hours and other steps that establish a routine can help. This can also reduce stress on the individual, providing a clear period for relaxation.

                                                     Day traders day dream....

Small business owners confront stress, financial challenges

Running a small business is three times more stressful than raising children, according to a new report.

Small business owners frequently give up free time, exercise and other priorities in order to devote more energy and time to their business. The combination of effort and importance businesses typically involve for their owners also makes them more stressful than personal relationships or personal finances, according to Bank of America's first Small Business Owner Report.

"We know how much small business owners give up to make their businesses successful, but despite their sacrifices, they are still optimistic about the future," said one executive. "Therefore, we believe that the financial services industry, the business community and the general public must continue to take steps to support the growth and success of our small business sector."

The country's small business owners typically underutilize some financial tools, despite the fact that they consider financial advice a valuable asset. Those running a home based business may find that financial expertise can be just as helpful as it is for brick-and-mortar operators.

Because of their limited size and expertise, small businesses often lack the internal resources to handle a number of financial matters, such as keeping track of relevant tax provisions and accounting rules. Consulting an expert can significantly enhance a business' ability to run profitably. This is particularly true for the financially-focused day trading business.