It is the aspiration of many people to become self employed and run a home business enterprise.
Being able to avoid the rush hour as well as spending more time with the family while eliminating the shackles of a job and boss is very attractive to many individuals around the world. You could even say that running your own home business is a sort of universal dream.
It also seems that people often focus on the positive aspects of a home business while not fully taking into account the potential downsides of it.
I have worked from home for several years now and have got to know both sides of the coin intimately.
Most home business ventures these days involve working on the internet, which can intensify the potential negatives.
The flip side of that coin of working from home includes the relative social isolation of working alone, the stress of keeping the books up to date, dealing with complaints,
being responsible for your own health insurance
and the lack of financial predictability that a steady paycheck can provide.
In addition, the potential to lose your savings, house and ability to pay the bills,
the long hours and the difficulty of compartmentalizing your work from your family life can also be extremely challenging.
Most home businesses are not profitable in the near term and most new home business ventures run the risk of undercapitalization,
especially in the first year of operation.
However, there are a number of things that you as a home business owner can do to increase your odds of success
and keep from being overwhelmed.
First, make sure to have a ‘To Do’ list ready for each day
that you can refer to as soon as you wake up in the morning. This will help offset the fact that there is no one telling you what needs to be done.
Without such a list, you may suffer from spending time in front of your monitor for long hours, but done nothing
at the end of the day except checked your email. You cannot afford too many days like that.
Get a large marker or chalk board to help you stay organized because planning and goal setting are so important to the upstart entrepreneur.
Be certain to schedule regular trips to the health spa or go biking, etc on a regular basis. This will really help to clear your head.
If you work on the computer you will probably begin to feel lethargic after a while. But plenty of exercise, clean air and healthy food will help.
Go to the cinema and see a film or go to a sporting event from time to time so that you do not feel so isolated as you make the transition from employee to working your own home business.
If possible, go to local small business owner meetings as well.
