Financial planning for your home career begins long before your first day in business. It starts with a business plan and doesn't end,ever, as long as you continue your home career. Financial planning is ongoing aspect of your home career no matter what the focus ofthat career is.
In your business plan, account for all the money you will need to invest in order to get started. All set-up costs should be listedexplicitly, separating expenses that are a single expenditure and those that will require monthly maintenance or subscription fee. You'llalso need a rough outline of what your monthly expenses will look like for each month in the first year of your business and then yearlyfor the next five years. You will of course be improving your home career and expanding the options available to your clients, whichmeans you, may be purchasing new software, taking a class, or hiring an assistant. Growth is necessary in a home career, so accountfor it and make sure you're prepared to handle the expense.
Once your home career is up and running, you will need a way to keep track of your business expenses separate from your homeexpenses. A business credit card and a business bank account are two necessities. If you turn an unexpected profit and want to investthe funds, you can keep them within the bounds of the business and return the profits into the business coffers. Insurance for everythingyou use for your home career including your computer, cell phone, and home office will need to be insured separate from your homeinsurance.
As your client list or business grows, keeping close track of your business finances with accounting software created for the purposewill make tax time so much easier. See clearly where and how you're spending your money, where you can cut costs, and where yourbiggest profits are coming from: as this changes, you can change your financial planning accordingly.
