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Table of Contents

Web

Technology

Location

Legal

Personnel Management

Risk Management

Insurance

Business Success Tips

Sample Documents

Checklists

Contributing Authors

	Steven D. Strauss Author of The Small Business Bible
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	Joe Kennedy Author of The Small Business Owner's Manual
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	Tom Severance Author of Business Start-Up Guide
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	Stephanie Chandler Author of The Business Startup Checklist & Planning Guide
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Pros and Cons

Just as there are pros and cons associated with buying a franchise, so,

too, are there pros and cons regarding the home-based business option.

Pros.

First, as indicated, because home-based businesses are less expensive

to operate, starting a home-based business is practical, doable.

Finding the funding to buy an expensive food franchise, for example, is

a very difficult task. But starting a small business from home is very,

very affordable. Moreover, not only is your rent less, but you put less

mileage on your car, have less need to wear out expensive clothes, and

enjoy significant tax deductions.

Secondly, people who work at home tend to like working at home.

They are a happy lot. A Prevention Magazine survey found that homebased

businesspeople say they eat healthier, have more free time, exercise

more often, and have a better sex life than when they were

employees. The survey also found that those who work from home

spend more time than before with family members. Mothers or fathers

with school age children are more available.

Finally, working from home is a very flexible option. Because your

office is just down the hall, it is easy to make a work schedule that works

for you. You can work when you want, and if that is at midnight when

you cannot fall asleep, well, bully for you.

Many businesses you know started out as a home-based business:

Microsoft
Apple
Disney
Amazon.com
Xerox
L.L. Bean

Cons.

I said earlier that working from home requires discipline, a fact I

know from personal experience. Having worked both inside and outside

the home extensively, I personally like working outside better, because

the detriments of working from home are significant.

The first problem is that there are a lot of distractions when you

work at home, distractions that are not present when you work at an of-

fice outside the house. If you have children, the good news is that when

you work at home, you see your kids a lot. The bad news is that you see

your kids a lot. Crunching to meet that deadline or taking that important

phone call is more difficult at home because, frankly, those around

you do not always realize that even though you are at home you are also

at work. If you do not mind being interrupted, that is good, because you

will be interrupted.

Second, home-based businesses require self-discipline in many areas.

If you want to sleep in, you can. If you want to work in your

bathrobe, you can. It is easy to find yourself watching too much TV, or

playing too much golf, or surfing the Net too often. Goofing off: Who

would have thunk that is a home-based business hazard? Conversely,

instead of working too little, it is similarly easy to work too much when

you work at home. Your office after all is right down the hall. Why not

go put a couple of extra hours in and get that project out the door?

Workaholics need self-discipline, too.

Finally, a nice thing about going to a regular office every day is

there are people with whom to interact and socialize, and this simply

does not happen when you work at home. Meeting new people, sharing

ideas, hearing the latest joke--you give all of that up when you open

your own home-based business. Yes, you may hire employees down the

road, but when you start out at home, you’re usually alone.