Particularly when running a business from home, there is still a slight stigma attached to using your home as the primary place of business, so you want to give your customers the same level of comfort they’d have shopping at any other high street business.
Item One: A Business Phone Number
You’d be surprised how many people forget this important item. At a minimum you want to have a dedicated business phone number, answered in your business name.
These days, you’re no longer restricted to getting a second line put in. You could use one of the many VoIP providers to get a dedicated number, just using some PC software and your broadband internet account. Alternatively, you could use a “virtual office” provider to set up a phone number which would either be answered by an operator or forwarded to your mobile or home phone, or both.
The options with virtual offices these days are quite sophisticated, and you often get phone and fax numbers and IVR menus built into a standard package, along with operator call...