Quick Navigation
- Prepare Your Workspace?
- Getting Your Garden Office Log Cabin Business Online
- Get Your Accounts in Order
- Your Successful Business in a Garden Office Log Cabin
A garden office log cabin is a great place to launch a new business, especially during difficult times like a lockdown. Amazing businesses have been built from small beginnings Alan Sugar and Richard Branson started with market stalls, Apple Computers and Amazon both began in a garage, while Coca Cola started with a large kettle in a back yard. It doesn’t matter where you start, and a garden office log cabin is an ideal location.
Once you’ve got the idea for starting a business, you’ll want to get working right away. Here are some of the steps you’ll need to take to launch a successful business.
Prepare Your Workspace
For any business launching this year, there’s a strong chance you’ll need to use the internet. Meeting and mixing with other people will be limited at best, so whether you’re selling through e-commerce, advertising on social media, or just answering emails, you’ll need a wi-fi connection and a computer or laptop.
The area around your computer will need to be clean and tidy. It’s not for aesthetic reasons (although a clean working environment can look fantastic) but more for peace of mind. An untidy environment can be difficult to work in as you’ll more easily lose items, pieces of paper, pens, and anything else you need – but more importantly, it can interrupt your train of thought.
If you’re typing away on your keyboard and happen to look next to the screen, you might notice a bill you haven’t dealt with. Maybe there’s a gadget or toy (remember fidget spinners?) within reach, and before you know it, you’re distracted and the work is taking 5 times longer than it needs to.
This doesn’t mean the area needs to be spotless and clinical. Potted plants, family photos, inspirational posters, and other decorations will work well. Just don’t get wrapped up in things that don’t matter at that moment!
Similarly, if your business requires work that isn’t computer-related, ensure the workspace for these tasks is tidy for the same reasons. If you’re building something, making something, repairing something, you want to know where your tools and parts are. Staying focused is important, and you’ll produce a higher quality of work with better focus.
However, remember to take breaks. Get up once every 45 minutes to an hour and stretch your legs – if your garden office log cabin has some exercise equipment in it, give it a quick go, as just a couple of minutes will be enough. But make sure you don’t get distracted by the treadmill when you’re working!
Getting Your Garden Office Log Cabin Business Online
Letting people know that your business exists is of great importance, as without customers, you won’t make any sales. Even if you’re “not in it for the money” a business without customers is just a hobby. You need to get marketing yourself online.
Traditionally, the first thing to do is to create some business cards and flyers or leaflets. Many find there is more benefit in setting up a website, even without lockdown restrictions in place – during a lockdown, paper-based advertising may have limited impact.
You can pay someone to set a website up for you, or you can give it a go yourself. Sites like SquareSpace and Wix provide professional-quality sites that you can build yourself with a drag-and-drop interface, and you can even buy and link a domain name to your site. If you’re a little more technically inclined, you can give WordPress a shot, although it’s not for the faint-hearted.
Social media is almost a requirement these days, but your choice of platform may vary. Twitter is great for quick communication and answering questions, as well as keeping up with the latest news. However, if you’re business makes something visually attractive, Instagram is a good choice – the best photos can attract millions of views.
Despite this, the majority of social media users will be on Facebook. Creating a Facebook page for your business will allow users to connect with you, and you can start by sharing the page info from your own timeline – get your friends on board early and they might turn into your most prolific sharers!
Facebook and Instagram use the same platform to provide paid-for advertising, so if you want to expand your reach, boosting your posts can help. You can also use Google Ads to promote your website, which can be quite complex but can also bring a lot of visitors to your site.
Get Your Accounts in Order
Even if you don’t imagine your garden office log cabin business will make you millions, it’s better to be prepared from the start. Keep a diary or journal of what you do to get started, and keep any receipts. It doesn’t matter if the receipts are for tools, supplies, equipment, or anything else – if they are remotely related to your business, keep hold of them.
If you turn this into a real business running from your garden office log cabin, you will need to file a tax return. Guessing what you spent and what you made is no use – the tax office will want to know the exact numbers.
By keeping your receipts and good records, you’ll make this much easier to deal with. If you only make enough money to buy yourself a takeaway now and then, you can probably handle it all yourself – however, it is worth using a professional accountant if you are in any doubt at all. When you have to pay tax on your profit, accountants understand the nuances of the rules and regulations, and you may find that you owe less tax than you imagined.
Your Successful Business in a Garden Office Log Cabin
We’ve only just scratched the surface of what it takes to launch a successful business, but the key things to remember are:
- Be inspired – come up with your idea first
- Prepare a space – create a work environment that is helpful to you
- Get online – build a website and get on social media
- Keep track of the money – a successful business keeps track of everything.
How do you measure success? For some, it will be the level of income, for others, it will be the number of items sold or the impact that is made on different lives. Without keeping records, you’ll never know what you’ve achieved – one day, that business you started in a garden office log cabin could be the biggest in the world!
Avoid the Hassle of Project Management check out our Building A Log Cabin – Done for You Log Cabin Construction blog post.