WAHM > Stay at Home Mom Work Ideas > Selling a Service > Secretarial Business from Home

Start a Secretarial Service from Home

Many small business owners are looking for help with their businesses.  A good option is to employ a secretary which works out of her home to avoid overheads and employee costs.  This is especially useful for people who need support but sometimes don't have out of the home offices such as builders and painters.

Someone that begins a secretarial service can offer a variety of services to their clients and what you choose to do will depend on your areas of expertise. A few examples of what a secretarial service might offer are: transcription, bookkeeping, preparing spreadsheets, word processing, etc. 

What Skills are Helpful?  

You need a firm grip on basic office skills and understanding of the common administrative computer programs that your clients are likely to be using.

Now that you are working on your own, more than likely in your home, you will not have a boss giving you rules or a deadline to have projects completed by. You will need to “push” yourself to complete projects in a timely fashion. Good organizational skills are important. Once your business begins to grow and you get more and more clients you will need to keep all their information separate and organized. 

What Tools are Needed? 

As with any business, small or large, corporate or home based, you will want to have a phone, computer, internet access and possibly even a fax line. Other tools that will aid in your secretarial business will depend greatly on what areas of expertise you offer. For example if you are offering transcription services you need to have a transcription machine (for transcribing from a tape) or a software program if you will be transcribing MP3 audio files.  

How do You get Started?

A good idea would be to research and find out what type of competition you have. Are there other local secretarial services? What are their rates? What services do they offer? How can you position yourself to compete? Once you have researched these things and are ready to go your next step would be to choose a name, purchase a domain and build a website (or have it built if you don’t feel comfortable doing it on your own).

Marketing yourself will probably require the most time. Have some business cards made up. Send flyers to local businesses that could benefit from your services. Join some online networking groups also. Online networking is a great way to get the word out about your services and also to build some great relationships!

Don’t expect to get rich overnight. Keep in mind that it takes time to build up credibility and establish your business. Once you begin to get clients word of mouth goes a long way. Consider the idea of offering a referral bonus or discount, something to help those current clients spread the word. Beginning your own business is a big venture but if you have the motivation and desire to make it work then success will soon be on your side.

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