This is a guest post by Stan Horst on starting a home based business. You can check out the guidelines for guest posting on our write for us page.
Starting a home-based business can be an exciting and profitable option for earning a living. As a person with a thriving home business, I am always interested in why people decide to strike out on their own.
Here’s what a small sampling of home-based business people told me about what motivated them.
Flexible Schedule
For several people I spoke to, a home-based business provides the flexible work schedule they need and want. Think about it. If you are a single parent raising school-aged children you need to be able to visit their schools and take them to lessons, sports practice, and doctors’ appointments. A sick child means you can’t go to work if you work outside the home.
A few people told me they wanted flexibility because they are in school. Working at home allows them to take classes whenever they are offered, not just at night or on weekends.
If you have a passion—maybe you want to ride horses, race cars, or become an opera star—a home-based business lets you follow your dream and support yourself along the way.
Other Responsibilities
In today’s multi-generational households, home-based businesses allow family members to stay home and take care of their young children or their aging parents. They can fit their work around their other important responsibilities.
Work Anywhere
If your spouse or partner is in the military, works for an international company, or moves frequently for any other reason, you don’t have to stay behind for your 9-5 job. With a computer-based business, you can take your work with you just about anywhere in the world.
Many workers cannot afford to say no to a job transfer right now. If that’s your spouse being transferred, you don’t have to worry about finding a new job in a new location, because your business is portable.
Best Option
Home-based businesses are among the better options for earning a living in times of high unemployment. A number of people told me they make more money with their own businesses than at the low-wage jobs available to them.
Disability
A person with a temporary or permanent disability that prevents him or her from leaving the house regularly can make a living and participate in the community through a home-based business. A teacher who lost her hearing now has an online tutoring business, for example. You can start back at work way more quickly after an illness if you work from your house.
Economics
Think of what you can save—what you don’t have to spend money on—when you work at home. No commuting costs, no work clothes, no lunches out. No pitching in for parties, birthdays, and coworkers’ kids’ fundraisers. Believe me, it can add up!
Freedom
Tired of having someone looking over shoulder? When you are your own boss you can decide how and how much to work. You are not under anyone’s thumb. For some, freedom means you can take a break whenever you want and go sit outside on your favorite teak furniture by Kingsley Bates.
Creativity
If you have an idea you want to pursue, you can do it on your own. You don’t have to be constrained by a corporate vision and company values that you do not share. The sky’s the limit when you make your own decisions.
What’s Your Reason?
Before you decide to start a home-based business, think about your reasons. Keeping in mind why you started your new venture will help get you through the tough times.
About the Author
Stan Horst runs a cabin rental business in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. His home-based business gives him time to enjoy the great outdoors with his wife and two children. Stan used to be a furniture maker; now he likes to share his knowledge through a website to help people find the perfect storage benches made for outside (www.betterbenches.com).