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December 2, 2008
Home-based Business: Working Where You Live
The rise in technology creates new opportunities for making money from home. While home-based businesses can offer most any product or service, information technology plays an important role in this growing business sector.
Many entrepreneurs enter the home-based business industry by accident. They see a way to make money and start small, expecting to expand when the business takes off. But when their business does become profitable, they may decide to stay small, at least in part because they like the advantages of basing their business at home.
For some, starting a home-based business is the fulfillment of a dream, an opportunity to gain income from a personal skill or interest. Others enter into a home-based business by necessity, having lost a job or incurred a disability that keeps them out of a conventional work setting.
When you live where you work you have to deal with certain unique business concerns. On the down side, family conflicts can arise when you set up your office in the living room. You want quiet when others want music. The pens disappear and someone MUST get online now! Like in any solo business the startup costs are all yours, there is no initial financial stability, and no one shares the risks. You have no fringe benefits, no time off, no health insurance. Most of all, working at home requires a great deal of self-discipline working when family fun and household chores call to you.
There are many legitimate online business opportunities, but there are also scams. Investigate thoroughly before you sign anything. Look at all ads and marketing materials. What are the earnings claims and how are they backed up? Find out the number and percentage of previous purchasers who achieved the earnings goals. Get names of at least ten purchasers; interview them to find out their experience with the business. Contact the government agencies that license or oversee the business, as well as business and consumer organizations. Find out if the business has any record of illegal activity or unresolved complaints.
Get a copy of the company’s fully audited financial statement. What are the startup and maintenance costs? What responsibilities will you and the seller have to each other after you’ve invested? Compare the financials with other business opportunities and don’t fall for pressure: today’s offer will still be there tomorrow.
As with any business startup, you need a business plan that addresses financial, marketing, and legal aspects of the business. Are any licenses or certifications needed to start your business? What are the market opportunities for your product or service? If you intend to ask a bank for financing, you’ll need to have all this information on paper.
When you’re flying solo don’t hesitate to get help from business people who have other skills you need to succeed, like lawyers, accountants, and marketing experts. Whether you buy into an established business opportunity or develop your own concept, remember that the secret to building a successful home-based business is to center it on your own skills.
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