Are You a Professional Home Business Owner?

Professionalism is something that’s consistently emphasized in the corporate world. My job in advertising for a newspaper publication, for example, required a great deal of communication with various internal departments, management, partnering agencies and customers. As representatives of the publication, professionalism was paramount and anything less was just not tolerated.

Naturally I’ve maintained certain habits formed during my corporate cubicle years.  When it comes to business my communication style still sometimes reeks of old school formality (e.g. “uptight”). Sometimes it works for me, but when I network or correspond with clients online, I’ve noticed that people are more personable and relaxed, so I’m working on it.

Although being an entrepreneur allows you to do more things your own way, professionalism is still important. The way you treat your customers and contacts is very revealing. I once hired someone to handle a couple of design projects for me. She was not very good at maintaining communication. I’m no micro-manager. When I hire someone’s services I like for us to work together to outline project details and come up with deadlines we can both live with. Once that’s done I leave them to do what they do best. But if I send an email asking a question, I expect a timely response; even if it’s just to let me know you’re busy and will get back to me in the morning. Dropping the ball on something as important as communication is just not acceptable. Other areas of business where professionalism is crucial:

• Customer relations
• Returning calls/emails
• Honoring guarantees
• Protecting customer privacy
• Maintain deadlines
• Keeping your word

Whether your business style is formal or friendly and relaxed, these aspects of business cannot be compromised, home business or not. Can you think of any other areas of business where professionalism should always be the rule?

Muslimahs Working at Home was created to provide women with an alternative to earning an income outside of the home. Our objective is to share resources and tools necessary to operate a successful, profitable, home-based business.