WS Chronicle

By Algenon Cash

The role of an entrepreneur is significant to the long-term health of any community because he or she creates innovative ways to employ people, while delivering important goods and services that provide immense value to the public.  

Choosing to be an entrepreneur permits you the freedom to develop whatever business that ultimately fits your passion, ambition and vision – not to mention your overall lifestyle.

I deeply appreciate the unstructured lifestyle that being an entrepreneur enables me to live.  Working as many hours as I want, getting out the bed when I choose, going to the gym on my own schedule, stopping by my daughter’s school without seeking approval and being able to sit on the porch of my favorite coffee shop while banging out emails.

Technology has disrupted long-established business processes and methods, causing the world to become much flatter – a wide variety of innovative tools are driving accustomed work schedules and office environments to become obsolete.  

Digital marketing places your company in front of any potential customer in the world, tools such as video conferencing now allows collaboration with partners more easily and the explosion in the number of freelance workers is providing high-quality talent for entrepreneurs to leverage.

Entrepreneurs seeking to transition from a conventional job to launching their own company may benefit from setting up a home-based business simply because it reduces start-up costs such as acquiring or leasing physical space and purchasing large office equipment – while lowering monthly overhead.  But if you only have experience working in a traditional office, then it may be a daunting task.

Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when setting up a home-based business:

*Secure a dedicated phone line for the business only.  Consider using a virtual assistant program that will provide a live voice to answer the phone and screen and forward calls.  A live person will help to boost your professional image.

*Rent a post office box or use a virtual office that will give you a professional address for your online presence and collateral. Doing this will make it less obvious that you are working from home.

*When scheduling appointments with prospects and clients, consider meeting at their location or rent a conference room at a local business center to maintain a professional image.

*Hard work and relationships are only two-thirds of what it requires to be successful.  Disciplining yourself is just as critical to achieving successful outcomes.  Working from home demands you to be a self-starter and follow a routine, just as if you were reporting for a customary job.

*Keep excellent accounting records and pay yourself first.  Every business is cyclical and will enter a downturn, so put some of your earnings into a savings account to maintain liquidity during bad times.

Thousands of people are discovering that entrepreneurship unleashes powerful ways to earn an income with the flexibility to have an unstructured work life that provides more time to see friends, take care of family and have a superior quality of life.

If you’re starting a new business or wanting to grow an existing one, then I’d love to hear from you.

Algenon Cash is the managing director of Wharton Gladden & Company, an investment banking firm, he is also a national spokesperson for the oil and natural gas industry.  Reach him at acash@whartongladden.com.