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Running your business from the proverbial “bedroom” can be a lot of fun. Plus, if you happen to live in a crowded East Asian city where commercial rental prices are high, it’s often your only choice.
There’s just one problem: many people won’t take you seriously. They’ll wonder why you’re sitting on your bed telephoning them in your pajamas instead of going suited and booted to the office every morning.
The good news is that you can get around this issue. It’s really not as hard as you think. In fact, thousands of businesses all over Hong Kong are doing it right now. Here’s what to do:
Be The Person Who’s A Little Different
Before you even think about your business, it’s a good idea to look inward at yourself. Ask yourself, what traits, talents, or characteristics can you bring to the table that will encourage customers to do business with you. Are you the consultant who can make them laugh? Are you the fund manager who is always there to take weekend calls? Are you the courier that they can ring up any time of the day or night?If you’re running a business from your bedroom, you want to do things that make that fact irrelevant. Carve yourself a niche where aesthetics don’t matter. Create real value and the customers will come flooding in.
Set Up A Virtual Address
The next step is to set up a virtual address. The idea here is pretty simple. Instead of renting an office full-time and then using that as your address for your business, you just rent a mailbox in a swanky part of town. This way, customers, banks, and tax authorities can send correspondence to this address, instead of your home. It makes you look much more professional and the best bit? Nobody is any the wiser. Hire Office Space By The Hour
At some point, you may need to entertain clients in something that looks like it vaguely resembles an office (even if you use your laptop in your bedroom). You don’t want to be in a position where you’re having to make excuses because you know you have nowhere to meet up.The solution here is to rent out office space by the hour. There are many firms that offer this. In fact, you can buy packages that entitle you to a certain number of in-office hours per month. Prices tend to be dramatically lower than renting full-time for your exclusive use. It’s more like the price of a gym membership than the monthly mortgage repayments on an expensive penthouse apartment.
Offer Rewards
To really get people hooked on your bedroom business, you’ll also want to offer them rewards. Types of digital rewards you could hand out include competition prizes, money off for customers who keep coming back, and savings on bulk purchases.The more rewards you offer, the more your customers will appreciate what you’re doing. You’ll make yourself stand out in the industry because you’re doing things that nobody else is willing to do.
