Be Your Own Boss: Start a Home Based Business

by: Akhil Shahani

A home based business is the stuff that dreams are made of, for millions of people. Imagine a life where you are your own boss, and there are no Monday morning blues to drive away! Not surprising that every minute six people start a home based business somewhere in this world. If you want to start a home based business, one thing is certain – you can’t do it by sitting on the fence. Take that first step towards career heaven by understanding some of the basic requirements.

Start planning – just because you’re going to run it from home, doesn’t mean that the usual brain numbing, soul searching activity, which goes under the polite name of business planning is to be dispensed with. Some of the important considerations are:

• Identifying the right business – this is the first thing to do when you start a home based business. Ask yourself what kind of product or service you want to offer. Is this something that you’d like to do? Do you want to go it alone, or become a franchisee? There are lots of companies that offer attractive opportunities to home based partners, like http://www.type-at-home.com or http://www.PlatinumPartner.com, and they may be worth considering too. Just be sure that your home is an appropriate location to run this type of business.

• Identifying the market – will you sell in your local area, or can you cater to a wider internet audience? Serving a distributed customer base may have its logistical issues.

• Evaluating skill sets – Do you have any special skills that can be turned to your advantage? For example, if you speak several foreign languages, have you considered translation services?

• Counting heads – while most people who start a home based business might work alone to start with, they need to grapple with manpower issues as the business grows. You need to plan in advance how many people you might need, say over the next few years, and whether the home business model will be able to sustain this expansion.

• Crunching the numbers – of course, you have to do the math. Smart home based businesses can be very profitable, especially since they involve lower overheads. Nevertheless, you might choose to start a home based business that needs a higher start-up funding, perhaps for inventory or equipment. Make sure you get the financials right, or ask a qualified professional to advise you on the profitability of your business model.

Remember the law – a home based business will have to adhere to specific laws. These could be about any of the following:

• Tax issues – check whether a home business can avail of special tax breaks. Sometimes you might be able to set-off some taxes if you lease equipment rather than buy it outright. Be sure to understand the regulations specified by the local tax authorities.

• Zoning laws – is the business activity permitted to be carried out from residential premises? As your business expands, will the zoning restrictions change?

• Insurance requirements – if you’re going to employ people in your home, find out whether you have adequate coverage. Workers’ compensation coverage and other benefits are mandatory in some places.

• Occupational health and safety regulations – your workplace must be a pleasant and safe environment for yourself, your employees and clients. Do ensure that you comply with laws that govern worker safety and related issues.

Think about your life – while getting away from an “office” might be a key motivation for you to start a home based business, there are plenty of risks in bringing the office into your home. The first question you need to ask yourself is whether you’re really the type who will enjoy operating from home? Do you have the discipline to chase business goals despite not having the rigors of a formal schedule? Can you motivate yourself enough to work alone at most times? And most important, will your office intrude upon your personal life more than ever? Make sure you sit down with your family members before you take that final step.

The decision to start a home based business can bring you huge rewards in terms of financial gain, flexibility and the confidence that comes with being in charge of your work life. However, nothing in life comes easy, and a home based business is no exception!

About The Author

My name is Akhil Shahani, and I come from Mumbai,India's financial capital. I studied in Mumbai (Bachelor of Engineering) and in the United States (MBA from Kellogg,and am a Certified Management Consultant from International Council of Management Consulting Institutes). I worked in several companies in India and the U.S., but for the last 10 years, I am doing what I love best "entrepreneuring!",and founded India's first knowledge management software firm in the process! My latest venture is http://www.aykya.com, a portal to help aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs. I am also part of the family business,and the widespread charitable work that our family has been doing in the fields of health and education. I love to share experiences, and that's probably the reason why I find myself as part of many associations, including the Confederation of Indian Industry, NASSCOM and various networking bodies. Sadly there's not much free time in my life, but when I get the chance I like to indulge in my hobbies of reading, listening to alternative music and adding to my already considerable store of cigar trivia!