Starting
Your Business at Home - 5 Reasons Why It Is So Attractive
by Jeff Williams, "your business startup coach"
It is estimated that more than 35 million Americans work full-time
or part-time from a home office.
A good proportion of these people, maybe as high as 40%, are
self-employed running their own businesses.
Why is the thought of establishing your business in a home office
so attractive?
Let's take a look at five significant advantages to locating
your business at home.
1. You can save thousands of dollars in expenses paid for
an outside space.
In many metropolitan areas, rents for decent office space run
$12 per square foot and up. Rent for a retail store in a typical
strip mall often starts at $18 per square foot ($1500 per month),
and this figure doesn't include common annual increases for the
strip malls maintenance and property taxes.
When you rent outside space, you are also usually required to
set up your own account with the gas and electric companies, and
you may have to pay several hundred dollars to hook up a couple
of phone lines.
2. You can coordinate your work and personal schedules more
effectively.
When your office is only feet away from your living room or basement,
you may find it much easier to accomodate the scheduling needs
of your family with a flexible work schedule.
Many homebased businesses are started with the expressed intention
of being able to earn money while the business owner spends more
time with her children.
Even though new business owners typically work long hours each
week growing their businesses, working from home can offer you
a much more flexible work schedule.
3. You can enjoy "creature comforts".
A typical business office includes just a door, a set of walls
and maybe a private bathroom. You can add such comfort items as
a sofa, a mini-fridge and a television, but it is often not the
same level of comfort you are used to from your recliner chair
or spa bathtub.
You must be careful not to allow too many distractions when you
work at home, but it certainly is nice to be able to take a relaxing
break by sitting on your patio watching the birds and squirrels
in your yard. Or by taking a brisk half-hour walk around your
neighborhood (one of my favorite pastimes).
4. You have access to storage and assembly space.
A good number of homebased businesses either inventory and sell
a line of products (such as Shaklee) or assemble components into
a finished product (such as gift baskets), which they then sell.
For these types of businesses it is important to their productivity
that they have enough open space to properly organize their inventory
and/or raw materials. A large table may be necessary for assembling
a craft product and it is often helpful to have a long table to
pack products you are preparing to ship via UPS or the U.S. Postal
Service.
It can often be quite a challenge for find an assembly-type space
outside of your house that is both large enough and affordable.
5. You have a short "commute to work".
I can remember many cold winter days when I had to stand out
on the commuter train platform in freezing weather waiting for
an already overfilled train to pull up.
When you locate your office at home you save many hours of commuting
time, which you can then invest in more productive activities,
such as calling sales prospects or preparing a proposal to be
sent out.
And working at home permits you greater flexibility about when
you work. Some business owners with small children take a break
from work from 4 pm until the kids go to bid and then they work
until midnight on their companies.
And many homebased entrepreneurs fit needed business projects
into unexpected chunks of time that unexpectedly appear, such
as when a planned family event is cancelled.
About the Author
Jeff Williams worked for big business for years, until he decided
to take his career in his own hands by establishing his practice
as a business coach. Now Jeff offers you the information he had
to learn the hard way -- and he'll share it with your for free
- just by visiting www.bizstarters.com
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