Your Business

Home-based businesses are drawing more attention than Ryk Neethling at the pool! The reason? Home-based businesses are the fastest growing segment of the business community today. Ideas, products, jobs and wealth are being created in spare bedrooms, basements, lofts and even at the kitchen table.

For a growing number of people home is not just where the heart is, it is a place to start a business and earn a living. Your home is the ideal nest in which a business can be hatched. Working at home gets you out of the rat race of commuting and makes you your own boss. You set your own working hours, and nobody can downsize you out of a living. And all you need to get started is a great idea, right? Not quite! You need a great idea, but you also need a lot of information about things like financing, franchises, zoning, marketing, advertising and taxes...

Many years ago working from home was not considered professional and were not considered as serious businesses, but times have changed. Now home-based business people have left the rat race behind and sit on the beach and in coffee shops with their laptops and answer to no-one.

You can start your own business, work with an existing business firm, run online auctions, freelance for any company, do data entry, get paid for online surveys and so on.

There are many professionals like doctors, lawyers, accountants, architects as well as child carers, music tutors, interior designers and freelance writers that work from home. They cover all fields, including computers, marketing, public relations, and network marketing - just to name a few. There is no reason why you can’t join the ranks. Women currently outnumber men as home-based business owners.

Home isn’t only where the heart is, it also where the money is. Statistics show that home-based businesses are surprisingly successful. According to Entrepreneur magazine, the average annual income of a home business is more than if they were earning a salary. Statistics also reveal that 2 million home-based businesses earn six figures or more. Should you not get in on the wealth? Of course you should!

The growth of the home business is made possible by technology. The computer, photocopier, fax, ADSL line and Blackberries of the world make it all possible to be an entrepreneur from home.  The Internet has opened up numerous opportunities for those wishing to run a business from home.

Starting your own home based business is a thrilling and exciting time  but requires a lot of effort that needs passion and dedication to succeed. Your chances of success increase when you decide to focus your business around what you are passionate about. Make a list of your key strengths and mould your ideas around those points. Now research each of your ideas thoroughly, taking things like competition, location, costs and market demand into account. Ensure that your ideas are suited to a home based business.  Working from home has many challenges but with dedication and hard work it can be very rewarding.

Many successful entrepreneurs had humble beginnings from a spare room or a garage. Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak began Apple Computers from Job’s parents’ garage. Michael Dell started his computer company from his college dorm room and of course our very own Mark Shuttleworth started his business from his garage.  

The lesson: Even if you don’t intend to remain there forever, and whatever room you put your desk in, home is still a good place to start . . . as long as you do something, anything . . . just start!!!

But before you fire your boss, let us explore the pros and cons of working from home. Working from home can be very isolated from society, boring and time consuming. You also need to find away to deal with distractions. You might feel an urge to wash that pile of laundry or just quickly wash last night’s dishes. If you have children, they too can cause many distractions during your working hours. It is important to set the boundaries with your family and let them understand that even though you are at home, you are working.  

Another drawback is that you might not receive a regular monthly income iitially. You need to manage your finances very carefully and have a lot of disciple to ensure your success.

On the other hand, working form home eliminates the daily commuting to and from the office. This not only saves you time, but also money. You save on expenses like petrol and car maintenance and you have more time to spend with your family which is usually not possible with a regular 10 hour office job.

Flexibility is one of the core benefits of working from home.  You can figure out how many hours a day you need to complete certain tasks and manage these tasks without having to adhere to normal “office hours” Another advantage is that you are not restricted by a dress code – saving you time and money on corporate wear.

Good luck with your new venture!