I’ve been wondering what do people think about when they hear the words home business. I am a 34 year old male and I grew up watching infomercials and reading business opportunity advertisements in the paper, this was during the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s.
Back then, I thought of a home based business as something like network marketing but I’m not so sure how society mentally represents a home business. In some ways that classification is only reserved for the type of direct sales type of businesses.
Technically, I have a home based business but I never describe it as so. I simply tell people that I work from home. I’m not some employee who tele-commutes or receives a paycheck. I run my own internet marketing company. I don’t even see it as a home based business because my businesses home is actually the internet where I do business with people all across the globe.
I bet that many people should update their idea of what a home based business it, it doesn’t have to be network marketing are anything like that.
I know several stay at home mothers who earn money doing freelance writing from home. Some of them earn an amount that can rival a full-time job. So are they running a home based business? I’m not sure. I guess that I am just a bit uneasy about that term because of the snake oil image it has to many people. I suppose that word doesn’t bring out the same imagery to all people but it does to people who are from my generation and older. We’ve seen all the no down payment infomercials over the years and the place one simple ad in the paper scams.
Now is a great time to work from home. I certainly love it. Unlike most people think, I do not have a ton of free time to do what I want. I typically start work at around 10 am and don’t finish until around 11 pm or 12 am. I work all day and don’t really have time for much else. Working for yourself is harder than having a job, with a job you can slack out and you only hurt the person who pays your check. If I slack off, I hurt myself. I make less money and I feel horrible. I have never worked harder in my life. It’s very much worthwhile because I make a high income but it is far from easy and my days are not like people think they are.
As you can see, it is hard defining what a home business is. Is a home business simply working from home, running a business from home or something else. I tend to think it is a mixture of all of those things. One thing it isn’t is easy. If you ever expect to work from do not expect it to be a cake walk you will find yourself working 11 and 12 hour days.
What Is Involved in Starting a Home Business?
Many people today are finding a home business to be a viable solution to a complicated life and busy schedule. It can even offer tax benefits if you meet the proper criteria, although the Internal Revenue Service has some pretty strict guidelines that must be met so as to prevent just anyone from claiming a home business.
If you are a person who finds it difficult to juggle a career outside the home and a growing family or other obligations, a home business might be just the thing for you. Starting is no easy task; however, and it’s not for the lazy or faint of heart. It requires a lot of work to get and keep a home business going — and growing.
There are so many possibilities when it comes to businesses one can run from home ranging from clerical or medical billing or transcription (which usually requires some degree of specialized traing) to Internet marketing or selling online. Some people get licensed to run a day care from their home. Others turn a skill or craft they love into a profitable business.
Some crafts that lend themselves well to a home business would be such things as making soap and other bath products (bath salts and bombs, lotions and scrubs), tailoring or clothing alterations, designing and sewing pillows, repurposing furniture or creating one-of-a-kind painted furniture, writing articles online, or buying and selling items on eBay.com, etsy.com, craigslist.com or any of the other numerous sites designed for selling one’s wares.
Speaking of buying and selling, there are a number of booksellers online that cater to home businesses. All you need is a storage area in which to keep your used books and an adequate set-up for packaging them as they are sold. They can be posted to bookselling sites such as amazon.com, abesbooks.com or Barnes & Noble.
If you do decide to try a home business, a proper attitude is vital. It requires discipline to prevent becoming easily distracted. In fact, it would be wise to delineate your business hours from your “home time.” Otherwise your attention can be too easily drawn away from the business at hand – and that is no way to run any business, home or otherwise. So set definite hours for tending to your home business.
There is also a lot of paperwork involved in running a home business, from billing to bookkeeping, correspondence and keeping track of tax issues. If it is an internet based business, uploading photographs and writing text can be very time-consuming. It would also be wise to invest in the best equipment your budget will allow, including a good computer and printer, and possibly a scanner and fax machine. Also be sure you have a well-lit and comfortable work area. A land-line telephone might also be a useful tool.
If you are thinking about starting a home business, first count the cost. Also, it’s best not to start out with a lot of debt. A home business can be a far less stressful way to earn a living and it can bring you a lot of joy and satisfaction as well.