From side-hustle to entrepreneur: 5 tips for growing your home business

You may have started your home business as a hobby or to make some side income (or because you had extra free time during the Circuit Breaker). Business is picking up and you’re getting great feedback from your customers. Is it time to make this your full-time job?

Owning a business is certainly an exhilarating prospect and you can look forward to new opportunities for personal and professional growth. But with new opportunities come exciting challenges such as promoting your business on a larger scale and adapting to market changes.

Overcoming challenges was how some home businesses grew into the world’s biggest brands: Microsoft, Google and Under Armour – just to name a few.  Armed with these five tips, you could very well be taking your first step in the same direction. 

1. Get in the right frame of mind
   Running a business requires passion, dedication and almost total immersion. While it can be exciting and character-building, it is also a demanding job that you should be mentally and physically prepared to take on.
   
   Ensure that this is a lifestyle you will be able to sustain, while balancing equally important aspects of life like your family and personal well-being.
    
2. Don’t mix business with pleasure
   As a home business owner, it’s likely you kept things simple by collecting payments from customers via PayNow to your personal bank account.
   
   Now that you’re going full-time, one of the first items on your to-do list should be to open a business bank account. Not only will this make accounting and balancing the books easier, you’ll also get access to features and benefits designed to support business owners who are just starting out.
   
   If you apply for business credit card in Singapore with DBS, you will get to enjoy split payment for business purchases with zero interest through Instalment Payment Plan or My Preferred Payment Plan.
    
3. Know when to hire
   Your first employees are quite likely be your own close friends and family. But as business volume increases, you will need to start hiring people with specific skillsets to help out so you can focus on growing the business and not running the day-to-day. Look for team members who not only have the aptitude, but also the right attitude that fits with your business.
    
4. Tap on social platforms to get the word out
   Just like how you’ll tell your friends about your day through Facebook posts, Instagram stories or even Tweets, you can do the same with your business – for free!
   
   Besides using it as a platform to post pictures and updates, social platforms also have in-built features that let you effectively target specific groups of people. When you have built a large base of followers, you can consider investing some money to advertise and run promotions or campaigns on these social platforms to reach a new and wider audience.
    
5. Don’t be married to your first idea
   Finally, it’s important that you remain flexible and open to change. Some of the most successful businesses in the world did just that.
   
   Play-Doh used to manufacture a putty-like substance to be used as wallpaper cleaner. As demand for wallpaper cleaner dropped, the company reimagined this same putty as the colourful, malleable children’s toy we all know today.
   
   If your first idea does not yield the results you anticipated, don’t be afraid to pivot. It may bring you greater success than you initially imagined!
   
   It’s an exciting and rewarding journey ahead as you take your business to market. Keep your eyes on the prize and these five tips in mind!