Do I Need a Location to Run a Business?

If you finally decided to quit your 9-to-5 job and start your own business, you must be prepared for what’s ahead. You should have a clear plan of action so that you can continue living a financially healthy life.

Of course, starting a business and growing it to a size that is big enough to sustain you and your family will take some time. It will also require you to adjust your work schedule, not to mention setting realistic expectations and goals.

Even though it will take hard work, it will most definitely be worth the effort. Here’s how you can start your own business and take it off the grid. 

Professions That Don’t Require a Location

Not all jobs can be done without a physical location. Some professions require a steady base of operations, where you can see your clients face-to-face.

However, some jobs don’t require having a central office at all. Even if it may seem impossible at first, you can take your business off the grid with a few minor adjustments.

Here is a list of professions that don’t necessarily require a physical location:

• Marketing specialists. This includes social media marketing, branding, content production, SEO, and any other type of marketing a business may need.
• Web developers. Web design and development, graphic design, and programming can all be done without a physical location.
• Coaching. Life coaching, fitness, and even business coaching can be done over video calls. As a bonus, there’s no limit to how many people can join your online classes.
• eCommerce. Online stores that sell just about anything don’t require a physical office, especially if they follow a dropshipping business model. 
• eLearning. You can provide courses and lessons on practically any topic as long as you have an eLearning site. 

If you’re a professional in one of these areas, you can run a business location-free.

How to Make Your Business Location-independent?

Here’s how you can adapt your business to be location-independent.

1. Build Connections 

If you’re still working in a corporate environment, use this as an opportunity to build connections. Talk to your colleagues and tell them about your plans for starting a business.

Also, set up various networking accounts like LinkedIn to widen your professional circle and make yourself known within the industry. Start to build your online presence as early as possible, as that will help kickstart your business and website.

2. Start Freelancing

It’s essential to take freelance jobs while still working full-time in your current job. Work after hours, over the weekend, or any other time that will not affect your current position. 

By starting to freelance early on, you will give yourself a head start. Use platforms like Fiverr or Upwork to find clients and begin working on freelance projects that will make up your professional portfolio. 

Keep in mind that you won’t earn much money when you just start freelancing. However, the goal is to enrich your portfolio and gain some insight into the online industry of your future business. 

3. Build a Website For Your Business

The last step to building a location-independent business is to create a website. It will serve as your portfolio and as the best place of contact for your clients.

Depending on the type of website you need, you can look into using a website builder or build one using a CMS. 

If you choose to build a website using a CMS, we recommend using WordPress. It’s a popular open-source platform that comes with thousands of themes and plugins for you to choose from. 

You can customize these themes to design a website that will match your branding and use third-party plugins to add extra features and functions to suit your needs. 

Before you launch your WordPress site, you will also need to find a web hosting service and register a domain name. 

Hostinger offers a free domain name for a year with most of our web hosting plans. Plus, the plans start at RM6.99/month for shared hosting and come with everything a small business portfolio website may need.

If you want to launch a large eCommerce website or expect to get a lot of traffic, look into our cloud website hosting plans instead, starting at
RM34.99/month.

Lastly, if you’re still unsure about what type of hosting would best suit your requirements, read our web hosting guide that will help you decide your next course of action. 

Conclusion

A summarized answer to whether you need a location to run a business is a strong “no”. As long as you adjust your business plan and have a well-designed and functional website, you can run a business from anywhere in the world.

However, it’s crucial to build your brand and portfolio before starting to freelance full-time. Growing your business steadily and patiently before quitting your current job will ensure your financial security.