5 Things You Need to Know Before Deciding to Work at Home
If you have the desire to work from home, like millions of others do, there are a few things you need to realize before making your final decision on whether you decide to move forward in your entrepreneurial endeavor.
1. Working at home is NOT for everyone. Don’t fall into believing the myth that “anyone” can work at home. Working from home and running a business of your own takes a lot of work, dedication, focus, determination and patience. Not everyone has the personality to be able to run a business out of their home. Make sure you take a good look as to the type of work ethic and level of tenacity you have before making a decision to run a home based business.
2. You need to be in it for the long haul. Work at home success will not happen overnight. To be honest, it most likely won’t even happen in the first 6 — 12 months — depending on the type of business. Most businesses take up to 3 years or more to start seeing a true profit. During this time, you need to be able to continue your focus and keep your eye on the prize, so to speak.
3. Friends and family may not be supportive. When you decide that you want to start a career working at home, those closest to you may not be ready to jump on the bandwagon with you. Without realizing it, they may actually work against you in your success by their actions and words. Expect that you will need to win them over, which will take time. Many times, a spouse will need to see the fiscal success first in order to be your cheerleader.
4. Running a business is hard work. While many people dream of being able to work from home — mainly for the freedom from a “real” job that it offers — they fail to realize that to gain that sort of freedom, they will need to work hard. With most home-based businesses, you will need to wear many hats for your business to operate successfully. You will be the one who is selling, marketing, purchasing, billing, fulfilling orders, etc. Most times, you will put in more hours than you do at your regular job in order to build up to the type of success that offers you that true freedom.
5. Expect to spend money. No matter what business you choose, there will be some sort of costs involved — more than your initial investment, no matter how big or small that amount may be. These costs can include; office supplies, marketing materials, advertising costs, website and technical fees, phone and internet costs — just to name a few. Don’t be blind by jumping in without first finding out what your cost of running your business will be.
The majority of individuals, who are looking to work at home, desire to spend more time with their family, to be their own boss, and to be in charge of their own future. Working at home can be very rewarding and tens of thousands of people are living the life they were hoping for. Unfortunately, there are many more who venture out, rush forward, and don’t have all the facts they need before making a decision to run their own business. If you are on the road to seeking that work at home adventure — do it wisely — take your time, make a game plan, and most importantly, be realistic about what you are about to endeavor upon.
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Cyndi Webb is the Founder and President of Moms Network – an organization dedicated to the promotion and success of Moms in business. Since 1997 she has promoted and worked with thousands of work at home moms in coaching and guiding them in how to help grow their businesses. Over the years Moms Network has evolved to include more than 20 websites offering free resources to moms from all walks of life, the Connecting @ Home print magazine and the annual Celebrating Moms Expo which attracts thousands of moms in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Cyndi makes her home in Minnesota with her husband and two children.
Tags: starting a home business, Work at Home
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February 27th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Great Article!
March 7th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Cyndi, this is a great topic. Choosing to work at home can be a difficult decision, especially if significant others and kids are involved! While there can be costs associated with marketing and setting up your office, one area to save is with software and your operating system. Using our personal webtop, you just need a computer with internet access. Files and common software are all included! Check it out and let us know your thoughts. I look forward to reading more of your work at home tips and thoughts!
March 9th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Hi Cyndi,
Excellent post!
To succeed in a work at home environment you need to have a very strong desire to excel. You also need to believe in yourself and be well organized. Obstacles which are not consistent with an ordinary 9-5 setting will pop up and you will need to have faith in yourself to attack these and move forward.
That being said, the rewards are amazing. You set your own salary and schedule. If that isn’t freedom then I don’t know what is 😉
Thanks for sharing your insight.
Ryan
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Great…
December 21st, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Hi Cyndi,
Fab post. I agree if you go into traditional home businesses you will end up working far more hours than you did in your day job. But it doesn’t have to be like that. I work 2 to 3 hours a day in my homebusiness.
February 24th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
owning a couple of blogs and websites and monetizing them with adsense or adbrite is a good way to Work at home. you can also answer paid surveys but most of them are scam sites.
March 7th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Cyndi, you make some very important points in your article. I feel that a mom must have a burning desire to succeed in a home business if she wants to be successful.
I have great respect for a mom who starts a home business. Like you say, she has to wear many hats. Whether she is working in a regular job or not, she has so many responsibilities in the home. Adding a home business on top of that is a lot to ask from anyone.
In your article, you point out several of things that a mom must be aware of before getting into a home business. She must be aware of these things before she starts.
On the other hand, I know of many women who have taken this plunge and are very successful. Thanks Cyndi for this article.
March 31st, 2010 at 6:47 am
A great article, more and more people are becoming self employed working from home, with the possibilities the Internet has to offer. It is always good to set yourself a plan with goals both long and short term to help you see if you are moving forward at the correct pace.
There are lots of support, advice and in some cases funding available to help people set up their own business. It is good to first start small and build the business up slowly, this way you can keep your overheads low and you will not need to give up your employed job or benefits until the business is successful (some business can quickly take off)
Look at your goal and all the obstacles that may be in your way, once you know where your potential obstacles are, you can look at how you can overcome them. Most successful self employed people start a business in a niche they know and understand well, giving them an edge on their competitors.
June 14th, 2010 at 2:23 am
You make very true comments on the things one needs to know before deciding to work at home. I maintain a site to educate everyone about a related topic … and thought it would also be necessary for persons to know about the obstacles in home business: http://www.homenetpro.com/blog/2010/04/obstacles-to-consider-when-starting-a-home-based-business.html
Thanks.