Is it your dream to run a home business? Many people like the idea of working from home because it gives them more freedom and time to spend with their family. However, while working from home has a lot of benefits, but it has drawbacks too. Discover the pros and cons of running a home business to determine whether transitioning from employee to small business owner is the right option for you.
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Startup Costs
One of the biggest benefits to starting a home-based business is the ability to start a business without a lot of seed money. Starting, building, and maintaining a business isn’t free. However, it’s typically a lot cheaper to start and run a home-based business than it is a traditional brick-and-mortar business. With a home-based business, you don’t need to worry about leasing a space or paying additional utility bills, but chances are, you do need a few things to get started such as:
- Desktop computer or laptop
- Tablet or smartphone
- Printer and scanner
- Office supplies
- Office furniture
Also, you need to think about the costs of designing, creating, and hosting your website and subscription fees for any cloud-based software or applications you need. Many types of software and apps have free trial versions to get you started, but you might want to splurge on accounting software, a virtual address from https://ipostal1.com/virtual-business-address.php, and any software or apps necessary for the day-to-day operation of your business.
Lastly, include the cost of outsourcing menial tasks, such as social media management or administrative tasks, and the costs of advertising. While you might not need any professional services, in the beginning, you should also consider the cost of hiring any professionals needed — accountants, lawyers, graphic designers, copywriters, and digital marketing specialists are a few types of professionals business owners typically consider hiring.
Overall, most people consider the low startup costs associated with starting, building, and running a business from their home a big plus, but if you expected to start a business without investing a dime, you might consider the startup costs a big “con”
Work/Life Balance
[pullquote]The pros and cons of running a home-based business become really apparent when you think about work/life balance.[/pullquote] A lot of people want to start a business from home to have more freedom. They want to spend more time with their families, be home with their kids, and tackle the household chores during work breaks. While running a home-based business does give you the freedom of creating your own schedule, it’s common for people to confuse having more freedom with working less. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
Starting and building a business takes a lot of time. So don’t be surprised if you find yourself working longer hours than you did as a full-time employee. The nice thing is, it’s possible to schedule your work hours around your family’s schedule, so those added work hours often get completed after the kids go to bed or before everyone wakes up in the morning.
When considering your options, don’t put a lot of focus on the number of hours you have to spend working in the beginning. When your business is brand new, there’s a lot more work to be done. But once you put workflow processes into place and have a solid schedule, it isn’t too hard to create a work/life balance that works for your family.
Home Business Productivity Problems
Distractions. Until you start working out of your house, you won’t realize just how many distractions your home holds. Maintaining high levels of productivity is one of the biggest struggles home business owners face because it’s so easy to get distracted when you work from home. Sure, it might only take a few minutes to start a load of laundry or make lunch for the kids, but when you constantly stop and start work throughout the day, you aren’t as productive as you think.
Fortunately, small things, such as getting organized, rearranging your home office, adding longer blocks of work time to your daily schedule, and using apps designed to keep you focused, help minimize the distractions and increase your productivity.
When it comes to owning a home-based business, every pro has a con. Fortunately, the great things about owning a home business easily overshadow most of the negative aspects.
For more home business-related stories and information from us here at Bit Rebels, click here.
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