If you think that working from home seems like the perfect opportunity to sit in front of your computer sipping coffee in your pajamas while still making money, you may have bought into some of the myths perpetuated about an at-home business.
While it’s true that there are a lot of benefits, a home-based business is also a lot of hard work. Those days the internet means that you can run almost any business from home: from direct sales to design and crafts, from writing and translation to training and motivational speaking. If you don’t need everyday premises to meet your customers in then you can probably run your business perfectly well from home.
But not everyone is capable of the determination, dedication and often rigorous demands required in order to be successful.
Before you turn your resignation into your boss and throw in the towel of corporate life, take a look at a lot of advantages – and disadvantages – of home-based work and carefully weigh your options.
The WAH Pros
Working at home (WAH) can be the perfect solution to balancing work and home life while successfully earning a living capable of supporting yourself and a family. It’s fully possible to earn enough money while working at home to carve out a comfortable living, if you’re willing to put in the hard work.
Some of the obvious benefits are often enough to lure professionals from an office environment to the home front. Some of the most obvious benefits are:
Setting Your Own Business Schedule
When you’re not bound by an 8-5 lifestyle, you have a lot more freedom than you would in a typical corporate environment. This means that there is often time in between job responsibilities that allows you to plan other things with your family that would typically carve time out of your workday.
But at the same time, you MUST schedule your work. Without a schedule, it will not work!
Work At Home & Cut Down Commuting Costs
If driving in rush-hour traffic is one of your worst nightmares, working from home can eliminate the problem almost entirely. Although you may be required to leave the house for meetings or other pre-arranged obligations, these can be scheduled specifically to avoid high-traffic times and you can save a significant amount of money on gas as well as costly repairs as a result of over-using your vehicle
More Time With The Important People
Along with setting your own schedule around your current needs, working from home also gives you the opportunity to spend more time with the people in your life who really matter.
Instead of living in a cubicle for 8+ hours a day in a cold and professional office park, you can easily allow more time for the important things in life, like time with your children or spouse that otherwise would be strictly limited.
The Cons Of Working At Home
If it sounds like a dream come true so far, you haven’t taken a look at the darker side of home-based work.
It’s true that the pros can outweigh the other side significantly based on your current needs, but home-based work is not all fun and games.
It requires a lot more dedication and commitment than a typical day at the office, and unlike office work, sometimes things don’t automatically end at the end of the day when you clock out and head home.
Be Prepared For Rigorous Scheduling Demands
When you work from home, you may have to devote more than eight hours a day to the task at hand.
Being able to set your own schedule does not mean that you have to work less hard to make your living.
You may not be able to accomplish all necessary tasks in a given 8 hour period, no matter how it is broken up into more manageable chunks. You may have to work harder to make the same money that you would in a regular office environment.
Self-Discipline Is The Key To Success
It’s easy to procrastinate when you don’t have a particular time that you have to punch the clock. Being at home is an advantage and disadvantage simultaneously.
Not only are there built-in natural distractions, but the potential to be drawn away by others is also often irresistible. You need to be your own boss and dictate when you’re going to be available for work – and stick to it. This is particularly important if your business relies on consistency, for example trading stocks or bitcoin through a trading platform like the-bitcoin-millionaire.com/pl
Otherwise, you may find that making a living is more difficult in a comfortable environment than it is by other means.
Limited Productivity
While a home office may seem like a dream-come-true, it also comes with some drawbacks. When the family is sitting a few feet away watching a movie or sporting event, it can be hard to stay focused on the task at hand. Finding a quiet place free of distractions in a home office can be difficult. It’s best if you find a place to work that is quiet and behind a door where noise won’t interfere with your work.
A Home Business Is A Profession
Understand that a work at home business must be treated as if it is a profession or a career in order to generate legitimate income.
Don’t become blinded by the way you think it will be – consider the reality behind the dream and make an informed decision by investigating any business opportunities carefully so that you can be sure that your home business fits your expectations and your potential.
Only then can you truly become profitable and productive at home.
Before you decide to quit your job, make sure that you weigh out your options carefully and have the passion necessary to be a professional work at home entrepreneur!
Everything good involves effort so don’t jump on the bandwagon of some great offer that is guaranteed to work without effort!