What are the benefits of having a home-based business?
In the midst of uncertainty, we often step back to evaluate where we are and what we do. Often, regardless of field or fashion, career or pathway – we can be lulled into a misconceived permanence. Of course in the midst of recent world events, many of us have had to reevaluate if where we are is where we’ll stay; or if what we’re doing extends to tomorrow.
Luckily the world around us is ever-changing. Technology continues to develop at breakneck speeds, and the way we communicate becomes more intimate and instant with every second. We are better equipped today than we were two days ago to handle our businesses from home. In fact, it’s becoming the preferred way to conduct business for new and old entrepreneurs alike.
As the world becomes increasingly demanding, and connections ever closer in this wide and small world – here are some of the freedoms and advantages we experience in operating a home-based business.
Personal Growth and Ease
Of course, the biggest advantage is the ability to take control of your own destiny. When you’re the boss of you, no one gets to set your hours, tell you when to come into the office, or when you have to attend meetings (or prep for ones that just end up getting canceled). This freedom may mean fewer miles on your car, the ability to spend more quality and focused time with the family and kids, easier or less stressful mornings and probably even sounder sleeps at night; unencumbered by the fear of someone else reviewing your job performance, semi-yearly audits, or making sure you hit deadlines set by someone else. You and to You, and ONLY You! The Boss!
This becomes abundantly clear in the Personal Leverage you can work and grow. Since you become the master of your own business, you’re not necessarily limited by someone else’s schedule, resources, or interest caps. You can learn what you want when you want, how you want to! This is important. The workplace is not always conducive to a creative atmosphere – often bosses require you to do it their way or it might altogether get vetoed. Because you’re not beholden to other work styles or accommodations, never has it been easier to work smarter, not harder.
Speaking of smarter – when you get to dedicate yourself wholly to your own business, something you’re passionate about, you get to dedicate yourself however you choose to. You get to intermingle your beliefs with your passions – you can choose to grow and develop your business not just as a fiscal pinpoint, but as something spiritual and personal that you can align with the outside of your home, family, or business. Your soul.
Monetary Growth and Potential
When you’re an entrepreneur, “success” is often dictated by your effort – you get out of it what you put in. Although you may not earn more money just because you work harder, your salary isn’t arbitrarily set by an HR department, and entrepreneurs generally have greater control and flexibility over how they build their businesses and how they determine their own financial success. Success to you and success to Corporate America may not always align. You don’t have to work in fear of how much PTO you have or haven’t used, and you can determine your own raises based on how much you earn. Your earning potential is directly correlated to your performance – not to mention you might actually save on food and gas.
It also means some potentially hefty tax deductions (who doesn’t love that?), freedom to build how you want to build your business, and the freedom to scale your business when and how you see fit – all of which can result in more money in your pocket. Home-based business owners can qualify for self-employed tax deductions, including deductions related to business use of their homes, vehicles, computers, Internet and phones, insurance expenses, or even meal and entertainment expenses to name a few! Low to no overhead and start-up costs are also a major benefit for some home-based businesses (no office space, no warehouse, no inventory requirements, etc.). Since you’re not tied to leases, contracts, or venture articles, you’re free to scale up and down as you see fit, to match your growth potential and work ethic.
If you’re not spending time at the office, those dollars are better invested in your business ideas. Realistically more than 50% of all new businesses fail. When we’re caught in the fear of logistics, that fear can often stifle our creativity – which is often our greatest asset as entrepreneurs. The ability to craft, R&D, grow, build, and test from the comfort of your own home means you’re not losing money in business overhead when an idea doesn’t pan out the way you had hoped it would.
The greatest growth is most easily achievable by those with the most time to learn and grow. Generations X and younger often see lower startup costs and lower risk in their investment and entrepreneurship, oftentimes as easily with a Computer and small startup investment. This means they can spend less time in the weeds of debt and recovery, and more time in investment and growth. Never has it been easier to build your own fortune and dreams, and not someone else’s.
Community Growth and Connection
When we’re building our own businesses, we get to reinforce collective clout. Artisans’ Cooperatives, Farmers Markets, Business Summits’, and Expos are incredible ways for small alliances to become big economic forces that ensure the prosperity of their members. Together, as a team, it’s easier to control local prices and economies, find information, and drive necessity, scarcity, and support multiple businesses and platforms across multiple fields and industries.
The ability to create your own schedule, business, market, and assets means you’re not tied to a singular strategy or even market. As a result you have the freedom to start sideline businesses, find buyers for underutilized assets, or even merge when and where you’d like, at your own discretion.
Lucasfilm sold Darth Vader to Mickey Mouse (as the Wall Street Journal cutely coined it) as a way for Disney to guarantee George Lucas a happier, stronger retirement fund at a time that was tough for Hollywood. More importantly, it kept his idea alive. The movies could recycle the cyclical series from ‘77 and ensure its survival in what we now know is a VERY successful set of sequels, spinoff products, and even theme park expansions.
As yard sales and eBay has proven time and time again, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure – reinforcing the relatively new insight in manufacturing, Waste-to-Wealth – where byproducts can be as valuable as their initial core product. While not every entrepreneur might be in manufacturing, the ability to industrialize with other businesses, markets, and entrepreneurs is something not all branded companies have the luxury of accessing.
There’s a special kind of Ease and freedom in being able to express your unique Personal, Monetary, and Community Growth. The Connection and Potential associated with owning your own business is exponential. Owning your own value, potential, growth, and connection means taking control of your Business, your Life, and ultimately your Destiny.
During these trying times – don’t shy away from your talents, but instead press into the unknown. Often trials get worse before they get better, understand those facts and use them to your advantage. Maintain consistency, and protect yourself at all costs from the hysteria of the world around you that may at times, pull us into confusion and loss. Use your abilities and strengths to lift and build those around you, and in turn, build your brand, your business, and your future.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of LifeVantage or any other agency, organization, employer or company
