If you are thinking about starting your own home based business you have a whole list of items to consider before making any financial or time investment. As with any business, home based businesses have to follow a certain protocol to become successful, but, it mainly falls on the shoulders of the business owner to make the right decisions at the right time.
The first question you should be asking yourself is: “Am I the type of person that can manage a home based business?” The reason you need to ask this question is because, although the idea of being your own boss sounds lucrative, not everyone has an owner mentality. An owner mentality would be someone who possesses the following traits: self-starter, self-motivated, organized, detailed, aggressive, and disciplined. Let’s add one more for good measure: committed.
You absolutely must be committed to starting your own business. Someone who is committed is going to take action and not procrastinate about things that need to get done. This is so important to the success of your business. There is a big difference between someone who is interested vs. someone who is committed. The interested person may or may not follow through on key initiatives, while the committed person will absolutely complete the task required.
OK, so now you perceive yourself as committed to managing your own home based business. Now what? You’ll have to make the decision to register yourself with your state as Sole Proprietorship or perhaps start a Limited Liability Company (LLC). A ‘Sole Proprietor’ is someone who owns an unincorporated business by himself/herself. The owner receives all profits and is responsible for all losses and debts. An ‘LLC’ is a business structure allowed by state statute. LLCs are very popular because, similar to a corporation, owners have limited personal liability for the debts and actions of the LLC. There is also the benefit of pass-through taxation.
Decide which one you’d like to be and be aware there will be filing fees involved when you register with your state. You should not make this decision on your own and it’s highly recommended that you consult with your income tax professional.
Next in line is deciding what type of business you want to run. There are many factors to consider before you make your decision. For example, what do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies or special skills you can turn into a business? Can you turn your earlier working knowledge into a business? Your first task is to find out what you really want to do. Something that you will enjoy doing and can see yourself promoting with unrivaled excitement. For our purposes we will focus on non-franchise home based ideas since franchise businesses usually carry a high monetary investment with them.
Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking:
Bookkeeping – keeping a client’s financial records
Collection Agency – you’ll need excellent communication skills for this one
Computer Training – one-on-one or in groups
Computer Tutoring – one-on-one and your client comes to you
Copywriter – create marketing brochures for customers
Desktop Publishing – providing printing services to clients/organizations
Medical Transcription Service – produce typed reports from doctor’s dictations
Online marketing – selling your own or other company’s products
Technical Writing- technology products that need descriptions
Video Production Services – take old videos and make them professional quality
And many, many more… Home based businesses have gained in popularity in recent years. You can say there is a close relationship between the recent economic hardships and a booming interest in working from home. Aside from the above list, you’ll find such things as paid surveys, mystery shopper opportunities, and several others. You can make money filling out online surveys right from a laptop on your kitchen table. There are thousands of companies around the world that invest large quantities of money in trying to figure out consumer trends. These companies are interested in finding out how consumers behave and why they are more apt to purchasing certain products and not others. While this may not be able to pay for the rent or mortgage, a few dollars here and there can’t hurt. With a little luck and plenty of research you can find these companies and sign up to receive their surveys.