When you have young children to look after, going out to work can be very difficult. If you still need the money, you want to keep up your skills or you’re simply happier when you’re working, a home-based business can be a great solution. It will give you more control of your life, and you never know, it might turn out to be a big success. So what do you need to know to make a start?

Types of business

The first thing you’ll need to think about is what type of business you can run. If you are providing a service such as hairdressing or accounting, can you work from your home as it is or will you need to set aside a designated area, and how practical is that? If you plan to sell a product, will you be making it yourself, and if so, how will you manage your workspace? Will you need a lot of storage space for materials and finished items? If you will be receiving deliveries, can you be confident that drivers will always be able to reach and find your home?

Think about the specific skills that you’re able to bring to your business and make sure there’s a demand for what you plan to do, with not too much competition. You should also choose something that you enjoy and that you think you will be able to keep on enjoying, even if you’re doing it every day for years. To help you what business to start, you can refer to this list of business ideas in the Philippines.

Can you afford it?

Some types of business are more expensive to set up than others. It’s a good idea to look first at what useful items you already have, what you can get cheaply and what friends or relatives might be willing to donate to you. Not every business survives, so putting a lot of money in at the start is a risk – but then again, if you don’t invest you’ll find it much harder to start generating a decent level of income. Find out if you can save money by doing things such as buying secondhand equipment or using open source (free) software. Look around to see if you can find business or corporate loans or even grants available to help you. Beware of high interest moneylenders – it’s all too easy to get into trouble that way.

As well as thinking carefully about your finances, think about the cost of your business in terms of the time it will take up and the way you will fit it around childcare and other responsibilities. Can you afford this? Are there other people who might be able to ease the burden on you?

Success stories

Small businesses do have the potential to achieve big success. Limor Fried from Michigan in the US was a student who invested her tuition money to start Adafruit Industries, selling electronics kits and making the software free online. She now sells thousands of dollars’ worth of kit each day. Nigerian Ibukun Awosika set up a small business by bringing together local carpenters and tailors to make high-quality furniture, and she now owns the highly successful Sokoa Chair Centre.

Promoting your business

What do people like Limor and Ibukun have in common? The answer is threefold: they’re good at spotting opportunities, they’re good at managing money, and they’re good at marketing. People often treat marketing as an afterthought, but it’s really an essential or you’ll struggle to expand your customer base beyond people you personally know. Using social media is the number one way to work these days, but as you make yourself visible on the major platforms, don’t forget the importance of local forums, especially if you’re selling a service. Direct local marketing is also useful and can be combined with marketing aimed at getting happy customers to come back for more, so draw up some templates, find a good brochure maker and print up some posters. Even small flyers can be very useful if you have people willing to help distribute them.

What to expect

Getting a new business off the ground is hard work. You can expect to be putting in long hours and you may not make much money during the first couple of years, but if you’re getting the marketing right, more and more people will become aware of you, and if you’re providing a good quality product or service, positive word of mouth will spread. With patience, diligence and commitment, you can make it work. It could be the start of something big.

To help you what business to start, you can refer to this list of business ideas in the Philippines.