I’m sure you’ve heard how great it is to work from home – the freedom to choose what you want to do, when you want to do it and without any of the hassles of long commutes, or a horrible boss breathing down your neck.
It’s true that work from home opportunities have grown by more than 100% since 2005. More people are quitting their 9-5 job and wanting to be an entrepreneur or just want to earn some income online.
And there’s no shortage of work-from-home jobs available, you don’t even need a degree or experience to get started.
I love working from home, but don’t get me wrong, it can be challenging. You need the motivation to put yourself out there and the focus to manage your workload.
You also can’t start a home-based business on your smartphone, without the right tools, it’ll be hard getting started and even scaling your business in the future.
To help you out, here are six tools I use to run an online business.
- Smartphone or Laptop
Obviously, You need access to the internet to work from home. Sure, you can use your old laptop from 2002 or an old version of Windows XP to run your business, but you’ll soon discover that just won’t cut it.
I personally have a used my HP laptop and my Samsung S9 smartphone that’s fully upgraded.
If you have small children, consider purchasing a used smartphone or laptop or get a hand-me-down since children have roaming hands.
- A Task Management System
With any work you decide to do – whether it’s freelance writing, or opening up your own Travel Agency, you need a system to keep track of your tasks and bookkeeping.
I use Trello and Google Sheets.
Trello
Trello is an organizational tool for your projects. You can make several boards and within each of those boards you can assign tasks throughout the week.
I have several boards for work and home. The one I use the most is Weekly Writing Tasks. On Sunday, I assign all my tasks and move them to the corresponding days.
I don’t like to use pen and paper. So Trello helps me organise my week.
Google Drive
I don’t have to hit save after everything i edit. Since my business has been growing lately, I needed a project management system that could give me a snapshot of what needs to be done.
On my google sheet I have :
Clients
Applications
Quotes
Type of task
Due date
Submission date
Pay amount
It keeps me in order since I have over a dozen clients that I’m supporting.
I also have other sheets to track my performance.
If you haven’t discovered Google Drive, log in to your account and test it !
- A Niche/Service
You’ve decided you want to stay home and work. I wanted to stay home and take care of myself. But, I had to find a way to earn an income.
And I did this by first figuring out what I should do and then what kinds of services I should offer.
Since I enjoy travelling, becoming an independent travel agent was a natural fit. There are many different types of businesses you can startonline – copywriting, blog writing, site content, reviews, selling weight management products, the list goes on.
I chose to become an Independent Travel Agent when I first started.
Once you figure out what you want to do, sit down and think about the services you want to provide.
I would recommend to start off with only a handful of services and over time you can narrow down or improve what you are offering.
- A Website
You know the one thing that improved my income ? Having a website dedicated to my services.
When I first started, I had a profile on Guru and didn’t land any jobs. But, as soon as I created my own website and put myself out there I started landing work !
My site has had many changes since I first started my online business and whenever I get bored, I change it’s look. I also clean up my copy and sometimes niche-down.
But, if you’re new, you don’t need to worry too much about optimizing your site. If you have an established blog, go ahead and put up a Contact Me page. Over time you can plan to have a separate site dedicated to your services.
- A Scheduling Tool
To help you save time, invest in a scheduling tool like Tailwind. By far, the best tool I’ve used to grow my online business, is to use Tailwind. You schedule your most popular posts and Tailwind sends those posts out throughout the day.
It’s amazing and it’s a cheap way to grow your business !
- A Place to Work
You work from home, but this doesn’t mean you can work anywhere in your home. Sure, you can get away with sitting on the sofa whist you fill an order or edit a blog on your smartphone or laptop.
But, over time, trying to work in different spots around the house will slow you down and you’ll notice a drop in productivity.
That’s why its best to have a desk in your bedroom. Prop up that laptop on a stand and connect a wireless keyboard and mouse if possible.
And if you have small children, It’s more beneficial to have one central location for your notes.
If you have a small place you may find that you have to set up shop in your kitchen or in your bed.
So, do what ever works best and stick to it ! Treat your home business like a job you would go to ! It’s easy to get started working from home !
Working from home is meant to be great. You get to stay home, take care of the kids and yourself and still be able to earn an income.
There aren’t many things you need to get started. A smartphone or/and laptop, task management system, a service, a website and a place to work.
Have you considered working from home ? If so, what tools do you need to get started ?
Pellegrini Travel 
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