The Pros and Cons of Starting a Home Business

Home based businesses are becoming more popular each day; most of them are well-developed, function on a part-time basis and are usually owned by entrepreneurs that decided to keep their current job at least in the startup phase. So why do you want to work from home?

As far as the activity domains are concerned, these may vary more than you think, starting with cleaning services to personnel placement and finishing up with jewelry or cosmetics manufacturing. Other examples include: catering services, consulting services or even online stores.

The reason why so many people decide to start a home based business may also vary. Whether it’s the dream to turn your hobby into a business or some other reason, the fact is that by doing this you become your own boss and you are able to make your own decisions and to gain an extra stream of revenue.

Opening a home based business can offer a tremendous amount of advantages and satisfactions, but given the fact that you are your own boss, it’s not as simple as it may be. Yes, you are in charge of the decision making process, yet you cannot do as you please. You have to take into account the needs and expectations of your clients, to adapt to supplier requests and to learn how to manage your time, money and employees.

Managing a home business will take up more of your time, energy and resources that a regular day-to-day job. To ensure the success of your company, you will have to make some sacrifices and learn to create a balance between business and family.

So how do you start?

A home business is not all that different from a regular business, so you need to carefully plan your activities. The pros and cons of developing your home based business, especially the aspects pertaining to the impact your business will have over the other members of your family are extremely important elements you need to explore in the decision-making phase, to determine whether you should or shouldn’t start a home based business.

Pros:

The possibility to develop a part-time business. By developing a home based business you are able to keep your current job for a while longer so that you will still have a stable revenue stream until the business will start to bring in revenue of its own.
A more flexible lifestyle with the possibility to spend more time with your loved ones.
The startup and operational costs are smaller than those of a traditional business.
Cost savings given the fact that you can take care of your children without hiring someone to do it for you or that you don’t have to pay rent for an office or a store.
You don’t have to travel by car, bus, etc. to work.
A more flexible schedule. It doesn’t mean that you will work less, because that it’s not true, there we’ll be times when you will work even longer and harder, but you’ll get to decide when and for how long.
The satisfaction of being your own boss and being in charge of the decision making process.
The possibility to hire other members of your family.
Fiscal advantages: if your office resides in your home you can cut back on some expenses such as utilities.

Cons:

You will have less time for the family activities and the house space will significantly lessen once you bring in your equipment or materials necessary for your business.
A longer work schedule. In most instances, you might be tempted to work more to earn more. This translates into less time spent with your family and friends.
The fact that you will miss the work colleagues you used to have when you were working in an office.
You subject yourself to the risk of being asked to spend more time with family and friends now that you’re permanently at home.
Higher stress levels given the lack of ability to find a balance between business and family.
The activities your company undertakes may cause misunderstandings with neighbors.
The lack of a clear discipline: this will make you lose sight of the business objectives and determine you not to invest as much as you should.

To develop and create a successful home based business, the support of your family and friends is essential. That is why you must involve them and take their advice, opinions or feedback into account. Moreover, take into account that a home business is not as different from a regular business as you might think. Therefore, invest time in planning and managing the company to ensure its success.