Advantages of Running a Home Based Business
Owning your own business is a dream for many people today. As unemployment rates rise and corporations start reducing pay and benefits and even outsourcing jobs, people are starting to wonder what it would be like to work only for themselves and to create their own jobs.
Running a home based business offers many advantages, and the ability to eliminate your boss is only the beginning.
One of the most appealing aspects of starting a home based business is that it can require almost no investment. If you already own a car, a cell phone, and a computer with Internet access, then you are already equipped to start your own business.
A simple startup kit and a clear business model are all you need to get into the game and start making money.
The low expenses are only the tip of the iceberg, however. Starting your own business is a great way to make more money. Imagine if you received all of the profits related to the work you do at your current job. If you are self employed, there are no higher-ups who are taking a percentage of the profits.
You aren’t helping to pay the salaries of CEOs, upper and mid management, and your boss. The money you make is going right to you.
If you own a home based business, you are also able to keep a larger portion of your income. There are many tax deductions that are made for self employed individuals.
Your home office will enable you to take a portion of rent, mortgage costs, utilities, and more off of your total taxes at the end of the year. You can also deduct work related phone, computer, and car expenses.
If you calculate the mileage you drive for your job, you can even deduct these costs, and the current IRS rate is $.55 per mile.
Last, owning your own business offers security. You aren’t going to fire yourself or sell your job to the lowest overseas bidder. Job security is something that most people do not have these days.
When you need to obtain security, great income, and the ability to maximize your deductions at tax time, owning a home based business is a great way to do it all at once.
I am going to be starting a new home based courier service, problem is, if i use my home address on business cards, invoices, or website will this scare off potential clients?
My address is an obvious home address and if they look me up on a map they will clearly see i work from home.
Question is: should i invest in a po box or a physical mailing address (ups store)?
Can i just omit an address on a business card and website or will this raise suspicion?
I want to look professional, not like i’m working at home in my pj’s all day.
( I owned a flower business for 10 years and forwarded the phones to my home in the evenings so I wouldn’t miss a potential sale; if a customer called and suspected I was answering the phone at home, they heard my dog bark or the baby cry….they hesitated and sometimes refused to give me their credit card number)
Thanks
Tim,
These are great questions that anyone starting a business should ask.
Luckily, it’s easy and inexpensive to create a professional business image, complete with address and phone number, without sacrificing your privacy (or sanity). A PO Box or mailing service address are a great way to start. Since most paperwork that gets filed with local governments is public record, it’s better not to use a home address. A side benefit to this is that if you move, you don’t have to change your business address, which can be a big hassle these days due to identity theft concerns.
As far as phone numbers go, Google Voice is a great (and free!) service that allows you to create a phone number that you can then forward to another phone depending on the time of the day. So, if you don’t want to receive business calls on weekends, guess what? You can set up a rule in Google Voice for that. And that is just one simple example.
Professionalism counts. And what was true 50 years ago is true today: you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Best regards,
Sam