Utilising Office Space
Although as a sole trader the natural inclination is likely to work from home, renting office space can prove an excellent investment for your business in the short term. Despite being a one man operation, your potential customers will still be looking for a professional outlook and approach from someone they are going to do business with. In fact, if you are a sole trader with a professional thinking approach to your business, you will probably stand out from others working within your particular niche or industry.
One of the key factors with office space is that you provide yourself a neutral setting from which you can go about your business. This can be particularly useful if you are a recruiter, for example, or offering a similar professional service, and will potentially be meeting regularly with potential clients. Much better than meeting them at Starbucks, or even worse, your own home!
Why It Beats Working at Home
It is tempting when working from home to do just enough to get by. Although the relaxed nature of working from home is one of the main motivating benefits, it can also be a key factor in small businesses or lone traders stagnating and becoming unproductive.
Although there will obviously be a cost attached to hiring an office, the productivity gains you will get from actually feeling as if you “at work” will ultimately produce revenue streams that more than make you profitable.
Of course, it is not just in the office that you can make your business seem like a big fish.
Smart Websites
It never ceases to amaze me how many websites for sole traders actually say “small, one man and van who can deliver x.” While I would never advocate misleading people, having such an inferiority complex is unlikely to find you any new business in a hurry. Whether you use your name or trade under the name of a company, you can present yourself as a professional business without portraying yourself misleadingly as a global conglomerate.
Phone Options
Take out a business account for your mobile telephone. Many providers now provide at least one professional business number free of charge, which can then be redirected to your mobile. Even if you do not have this service, it is not expensive to simply buy a phone number which you can then use to accept incoming business calls. Consumers often feel uneasy about calling a mobile, where as an 0800 or even an 0845 number in the UK will leave them feeling more secure and confident in your business, even before making initial contact.
Harworth Estates is one of the largest landowners in the UK with thousands of acres. The company utilises this land for office space, development projects, and for business and residential dwellings.