Running a Business from Home

Running a business from home is the dream of many people. The desire to be your own boss and have control on your time is a massive incentive. There are a vast number of businesses that can be run in this way and it is only your imagination that stops you.

When deciding to run a business from home some key areas to discuss:

• Full time or part-time
• Main income or second income

If you plan to run a full-time business from home then consideration for your working environment is essential. Depending upon what sort of business you are looking at you will need to consider where and how you will carry out your business activities. If you need to hold stock or have equipment, then you will need to make the necessary space available.

Taking on another job or starting your own business may impact your family life. Let's assume that before starting you had time available to spend with your family. Starting a new business will eat into this time and discussing this is highly imperative.

It's recommended that you speak to a tax experts before or soon after starting as there are usually tax implications both for and against running a business from home. Once again there are insurance considerations and you should speak to a relevant expert in this area.

With any business you should start as your mean to go on - .i.e. keeping good financial records and though it's not necessary to buy an accounting application straight away, making sure that you keep your receipts and income records in an orderly manner will reap rewards later on. Get into the habit at the beginning of your business life.

Let's talk about some of the benefits of running a business from home.

• You don't need to travel to an office everyday, as a result your costs can be substantially lower
• You can work the hours you wants to - rising early or late - whichever is your preference
• You don't have to be nice to the boss, when you really don't want to be!
• You will have more time with the family being able to juggle your diary to suit you

What about the disadvantages!

• You are the boss - which means you can't avoid the difficult jobs
• Being on your own is lonely
• It is sometimes difficult to switch off and 'get away from the office'
• Generally you won't have anybody to delegate to - it wont be another department!

What about different types of businesses?

There are an endless list of business opportunities that you could consider, so to name a few: network marketing, business consultant, web designer, ironing services, affiliate marketing and home based teaching. Any of these businesses can be run from home and require very little money to get them started. It is also true to say that you could start any as part-time ventures and develop them into full-time occupations.

A successful company is built with a few simple principles in mind, foremost customer service and professionalism. Whatever business you are running these two element generally determine your success. Look after your customers in the best way you can and they will keep coming back for more - customers are looking for suppliers to give them a first class service and as a result will reward you with their loyalty. Being a professional is about delivering at minimum, what your customers anticipate and at best, over and above what is expected.