You don’t need a storefront or a big budget to start a note business, but you do need an office that runs smoothly and sounds professional. These practical tips cover the bank account, supplies, equipment, phone setup and mailing address for a new home-based note business.
Wait to open a business bank account
Don’t open a business bank account until you’re ready to deposit your first commission check. Business accounts often have high minimum balances, and falling below the minimum brings steep service fees.
Use personal funds to cover your start-up costs, and account for them as a short-term loan to your business.
Supplies and a filing system for every note
What you need depends on whether you run a paper or a paperless office. In a paper office, the lowly manila folder will be your friend. Other useful supplies:
- Quad-ruled pads, for organizing information into columns while you take details from a note seller over the phone
- Pens, pencils and yellow highlighters
- A good magnifying glass for the fine print on contracts and classified ads
- Sorters for keeping your accounts and leads organized
- A stapler, staple remover and plenty of business envelopes
- A contact file and good-quality white printer paper
Create a call log to attach to each folder, so you can track every inbound and outbound call. Number your accounts by creation date, or another system of unique identification you’re comfortable with. Apply the numbers to accounts, not prospects: one prospect can have more than one note, and you’ll want to deal with each note separately.
Office equipment
Set up voicemail on your phone and a reliable way to send and receive documents. I personally dislike call waiting. It’s an insult to the person you’re already talking to, so let the new call go to voicemail.
Buy a good-quality printer. An all-in-one machine that prints, scans and copies, controlled from your computer, works well.
You can print your contracts and correspondence yourself, but don’t print your own business cards. Perforated print-at-home cards look awful. Use one as a model for a print shop that makes real business cards. If you can afford it, get two-sided cards, with the back showing “Referral Information,” “Name” and “Phone” on three separate lines.
As soon as you can, get a separate phone line for the business with caller ID. Protect your computer with a surge protector, keep regular backups, since a hard drive crash can cripple your business, and keep your anti-virus software up to date.
Make a home office sound like a business
A home office is fine as long as it sounds like a business office to anyone who calls. If a caller hears a toilet flushing, children screaming or a TV show in the background, you’ve lost credibility as a professional.
Record a professional voicemail greeting with no background sound whatsoever. If callers can’t understand your recorded message, they won’t bother to leave one. For example:
“This is John Broker. Thank you for calling JB Investments. I am either in a meeting or on another line. Please leave your name, your phone number including area code, the best time to return your call, and a brief message. I’ll get back to you. Thank you.”
Market with brochures, not display ads
Don’t even think about buying display ads and directory listings at the start. You’re better off with direct marketing: place your own professional-looking brochures in places of business. Real estate offices come to mind, but consider anywhere people visit routinely, such as dry cleaners, law firms of all kinds, doctors’ and dentists’ offices and supermarkets. Always get permission from the owner or manager before you leave brochures and business cards.
An advanced tip: put a “department number” on your brochures and business cards that varies by where each one is placed. When a prospect calls, casually ask for the department number and record it with the other details. You’ll see which locations bring in the most calls.
Use a separate mailing address
Get a private mailbox, such as a UPS Store box or an equivalent service, as your official mailing address, and use it on your letterhead and business cards.
Walk-in business at a home office can be a problem. Potential clients should always call first to schedule an appointment. After you’ve pre-qualified the prospect, you can tactfully explain that you run the business from a home office and give specific directions. Or, depending on the deal, go to them. That’s often better, because you can ask for additional documents if you need them.
