How you present your brand shows how you do business. Professionalize your home-based business and transform it into a real enterprise.  

If you’re running a business from your living room or your garage, it’s important to make a good impression with your customers and clients. Part of that is making sure that your brand is representing you and your business well.    

For customers, how you present yourself reflects upon how well you do business. It’s those small details that will make customers choose you over your competition.   

If you want to make your home-based business stand out and ready for future growth, take the necessary steps to turn it into a real enterprise.  

Establish Lines of Communication

Home-based businesses need to establish official methods of communication because that’s your customers’ point of contact with you. Create an official email address using your business name that’s separate from your personal account. This also keeps all your official correspondence in order.  

Set up multiple mobile numbers to serve a variety of carriers, and if you can, get a landline number for cheaper calls to other landlines. Some clients like to video call through video call channels like Skype, so creating an official account there will be helpful, too. Then put all of these details on a well-designed business card.

Plan Your Content

The mistake small businesses make on social media is treating their brand page the same way they manage their personal profile. As a brand, every post you publish must be relevant to the business and must have a purpose. 

Examine how your favorite brands do social media. Beyond the beautifully-curated flatlay photos on their feed, each post is still related to the brand in some way. Inspired by your products or services, events, and trends, try making a weekly content plan using a spreadsheet program and prepare captions and images beforehand. This ensures brand consistency and publishing efficiency. 

Look Good

Showcase your products properly by taking professional photos. Since your customers won’t be able to physically touch and examine your items, good product photos will allow you to display them in their best light. 

You don’t need to hire a professional photographer—although if you have the budget, go ahead. A high-end smartphone or a DSLR camera will do the job. Make sure you have proper lighting; natural light is best. Consider using props to create a “scene” but still focus on the product, and take lots of shots for possible options.  

Consider Alternative Payments

A major issue many home-based businesses face is how to properly invoice their customers, and how to manage payments. While cash on delivery is an option, it’s not the most user-friendly option especially for people on the go. Many mobile consumers now choose to pay by credit card, debit card, or use e-wallets for their convenience and security—that’s a market your business may be overlooking. 

But now, services like Email Invoicing by Maya allow home-based businesses to send invoices to customers, without the need to set up a website. Your Instagram-based business, for example, can now accept credit and debit card payments, as well as other mobile payments and e-wallets, all within a secure platform.  

Email Invoicing by Maya Business allows you to send or schedule invoices to your customers after they finalize their order. Once they receive your email, they simply need to click a link in the invoice that will lead them to a secure checkout portal, where they can pay by credit card.  

Through email invoicing, you can manage and track payments anytime, and customer transactions are settled fast and securely into your account. Whether you manage your own website, sell through social media, or serve a variety of clients as a freelancer or supplier, consider alternative payments like email invoicing to not only make payment transactions easier, but to also take your business to the next level. 

Find out more about how Email Invoicing by Maya can help your business by getting in touch here.