The Facts

Home-based businesses in the US are accountable for ten percent of the economic income, approximately $314 billion, and constitute 52% of small businesses. Starting your very own home business doesn’t need a huge start-up capital, most home businesses need as little as $5,000 to start up and get going.

According to the International Data Center (IDC), the average home business income is $63,000 and the success rate for home businesses that are established every year is 85% over a three-year term.

In another survey by the Home Office Computing Magazine, it assessed the respondents on how they find their new work from home environment. Almost all those interviewed, 98% to be exact, say that they are happier working from home, 96% are willing to recommend working from home to others, and 88% say they will never return to their former jobs in the corporate world.

The Essentials

In a home-based business fact sheet adapted for Maine from Iowa, Jim McConnon, an extension business and economics specialist, laid out the essentials of starting a own home business. The fact sheet provides the basics of what an aspiring home business owner needs to consider:

Are you the type? Do you have the personality that will propel your business to success? It is not enough that you know your product or service inside-out. You should also have the management skills to actually run the business. Not everyone is gifted with the entrepreneurial acumen that makes up business tycoons and others just don’t have the personality to sustain a business. For a small home business to make its mark, the owner must be self-motivated, determined, and committed – in other words, you have to be a self-starter.

Can you separate work from home, and home from work? Being inside the house in your pajamas, with a steaming cup of morning coffee in your hands, while checking your email for new leads or checking your blogs for new activity is a dream come true for most people, and more so in this economic situation we are all in. But along with a home office are the legal consequences that you have to deal with. However, the Small Business Administration can help you plan this out. You can take their assessment test to weigh your readiness for starting a home business. Carefully consider the advantages of working from home against the potential drawbacks of running your business where you live. You can avoid possible problems that may arise from these issues in the long run.

How big is my market? Is there a demand for your product or service in your locality? Will your potential customers become interested in what you have to offer? Determine your target market, conduct a feasibility study, and observe your competition, these are just some of the considerations that the aspiring home business owner have to take note of. You may think you have the greatest product or service in the works but without testing it in the real world, you may end up losing money.

The Possibility

If you are set on starting a home business, you have a lot of things to think about and carefully weigh. It is not easy, and dare I say it, being your own boss is not for everyone, though many may dispute this. To start a home business is a challenge, a challenge which not everyone may be ready for. However, if you are successful in setting up and running your own home business, it is a very rewarding and gratifying experience, not only in your journey to financial freedom but also, for your own personal fulfillment.