Starting a Business from Home

Starting a Business from Home

Working from home is a great idea for many people - but biting the bullet and building a business from home is extremely hard. So why do so many people want to do it, and why would they want to try such a crazy thing? Here are some common reasons, and some things to consider.

You Can Build Your Great Idea.

It suddenly hits you right between the eyes: you've just had a brainwave about a great business to start. This is probably the number one reason why people start a business from home: they've come up with something fantastic that they really believe in, but can't afford to rent some business premises. It does depend on what the idea is about, but working from home is often a tailor-made solution.

Keep in mind that even the best ideas take much work to bring to fruition. The kind of ideas that are ideal for a home-based business are the ones that can start bringing in an income very quickly - there's no point sitting at home for 12 months doing something that's not making you any money.

You Can Turn Your Hobby into a Job.

People usually have something that they're really passionate about, and would spend the rest of their life doing if they could, just because they love it. Making money for doing what you love is obviously appealing - even if you only earn a living wage, it'd be your idea of heaven.

However, ensure that you'd be able to take it if you decided to make a living from your passion. It's the things we're closest to that hurt us the most - think of how you might feel if no-one wants to buy what you've made, or if they return it with the comment what rubbish, I demand my money back! Can you cope with your hobby becoming commercial?

You Want to Fire Your Boss.

It seems like most people hate their boss. They try to pretend like they're your pal, but they're not fooling anyone, are they? You're forced to meet pointless deadlines and targets. Whenever you find a better way of doing a task you're told that it's not practical, or that the idea's great but the stupid way of doing things is already 'established' and 'policy'.

What you might not realise is that 'being your own boss' requires quite a lot of willpower. If there was no-one to ensure that you get up in the morning and do some work, would you bother? After all, your home is supposed to be a place of rest, relaxation and entertainment - and when it's full of everything that tempts you to do anything but work, it can be hard.

You Want to Spend More Time with Your Family.

You feel like all you do is go to work, come home, and then sit around, too exhausted to have any fun with your family. If you have kids, they seem to be growing up so fast, and you're missing out on it all - all because you have to go out to work.

Of course, the downside here is that you might just end up spending too much time with your family, whilst you should be working. When the family know that you'll be in the house all day, they could ask you to do all sorts of unimportant things, simply because you're available. It's hard to decline, and before you know it, you're doing the job of a full-time 'housewife' instead of what you should be doing.

You Hate Wasting Time and Money Commuting.

After all, once you get to the office, what's there anyway? Offices are dreary places, and terrible to work in - travelling for hours there and back and spending a significant proportion of your hard-earned money to do it seems completely pointless (especially if you live in the middle of nowhere). If you could work from home, think of the time you'd save…and time is money, isn't it?

Don't be surprised, however, if you start to feel trapped in your home, since you never leave it. Can you find good ways to get away from it all?

But Don't Be Put Off.

While the list of warnings for working at home might look long, a list of warnings about working in an office would surely be longer. As long as you are aware of the pitfalls, you can get all the benefits of working from home without falling into any of the traps.

Keith Allen has run a successful business from home, both terrestrial and online, for over ten years. Visit this link for a free report on avoiding home business scams: Starting a Business from Home - avoiding home business scams
 
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