Image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay

By Henry Brown

If you have decided to start a business from home, and rather than online services, you are selling products, you will need to find the best way to store everything. One of the last things that might come to mind is a storage warehouse because until you have seen sales, you won’t really be sure how much you can spend on outside storage costs.

Let’s take a look at how you can start a product business from home.

Start right 

You’ll need to pick a place and ensure it is cleared out and ready to have your storage put into it. Organization from the start is a must because once you start having your products arrive from the manufacturer or supplier, they will need to be carefully put in the right place.

Organization at this point will ensure that when it comes time to pack, it will be incredibly easy. As for what to put things on, think pallet racking, as it is wide and designed for durability. Always keep your products off the floor to prevent damage or pests.

You’ll also need to decide if it should be organized by the type of product of the SKU codes – this will be more or less complicated based on how many products you have.

Accessibility 

It is not a good idea to have multiple things pushed back on the shelves because every time it is ordered, you’ll need to heave everything else off to get to them. This will make your process slower, and eventually, you’ll get annoyed with the setup. Anything high or hard to reach should be vetoed straight away.

Shipping 

Plan the layout of the room, no matter how big or small, with the idea that you will take a product from the shelf, then move to pack it and then place it somewhere else ready for shipping.

You’ll need things like your printer or franking machine, wrapping materials, and another promo you will put in each box. Don’t forget the small stuff like tape, a range of boxes and so on.

Temperature 

The temperature of the place only matters for certain products. For example, food items and cosmetics might be better kept at a lower temperature. Consider things like heaters, fans, or refrigerators if you have products that could spoil if kept at the wrong temperature.

If you don’t have to worry about temperatures, then products can often be stored in garages and outhouses – so long as they don’t get damp in the rain.

Prepare 

Even though you are just starting, one of the most important things to do is to plan for growth. So, start looking at local warehouses and costing them up. Product businesses that do well often run out of space more quickly than they had imagined.

Once you have everything in place – and many people want to get a jump start ahead of products arriving, here are marketing tips you can’t succeed without : How to market effectively as a small startup business.

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.