| Do you dream of being your own boss and being | | | | plenty of businesses that you can run "from home" |
| able to work at home running your own business? | | | | without actually spending much time "at home". In |
| Many people who dream of being able to work at | | | | fact, as a home based business owner, you might |
| home, overlook the degree of isolation they will | | | | find you spend less time at home than you would if |
| experience when working at home, and don't stop to | | | | you were working as an employee at someone else's |
| think about how well-equipped they are to deal with | | | | business premises. |
| it. Your ability to cope with isolation will depend upon | | | | Think of all the self-employed plumbers, electricians, |
| your personality. The degree of isolation you are | | | | landscape gardeners, decorators, mobile nail |
| likely to experience, and the way you will be able to | | | | technicians, car valet services and repair services of |
| cope with it should be given careful consideration | | | | all kinds. These business owners do all their actual |
| before you commit yourself to a work at home | | | | work outside their own homes, the only part of the |
| career. | | | | business that takes place "at home" is their |
| There are two basic elements to consider before | | | | paperwork; even appointments are usually booked |
| you choose a home business: | | | | via a mobile or messaging phone service. |
| 1. how happy you are when you are alone for long | | | | At the opposite extreme are the people who use |
| stretches of time; | | | | the Internet to work at home. Their business is |
| 2. how much time you will need spend working on | | | | conducted entirely online and usually in solitude. A |
| your own. | | | | person with a home based Internet business can |
| You need to be careful to decide how much time | | | | spend anything from a couple of hours online each |
| alone is enjoyable and how much would seem | | | | day up to (and sometimes over) a full twelve hours. |
| unbearable to you. We are all different in the way | | | | The time required depends upon the type of |
| we react to being alone. Some people are perfectly | | | | business and the personality of the owner. If you |
| happy to live an almost reclusive existence while | | | | work online as, say, a virtual assistant, your business |
| others start yearning for company after an hour or | | | | might involve fulfilling orders at short notice and you |
| so alone. It is important to realistically assess which | | | | will need to choose whether to put in some extra |
| of these types is nearest to your character before | | | | hours of work or to decline the job (and possibly risk |
| looking closely into possible home business ideas. | | | | losing a customer for good). |
| The joy of being your own boss will not last long if | | | | In between these two extremes there are home |
| you are the type of person who needs prolonged | | | | based businesses where you spend part of your |
| daily interaction with colleagues but have chosen a | | | | working life at home and part of it mixing with other |
| home business which requires you to spend most of | | | | people. For example, if you have your own sewing |
| the day working alone. Don't let yourself fall into the | | | | business at home and specialise in making garments |
| trap of thinking that it will be different when you are | | | | to order, you will have contact with your customers |
| working for yourself: personalities do not change that | | | | when fittings are needed. If you have a home based |
| dramatically. If you are an extrovert who needs to | | | | craft business, you could spend up to half your time |
| be with other people for most of your waking hours, | | | | travelling to craft fairs and selling your products there. |
| you won't suddenly find yourself overjoyed to be a | | | | Working as a personal fitness trainer or providing any |
| hermit just because you are working for yourself. | | | | sort of tutoring will involve a high level of contact |
| Being your own boss brings many changes but a | | | | with clients. |
| complete personality change is not one of them. | | | | There are endless ways to make money working at |
| Running your own business from home does not | | | | home, so there is no need to rush into starting a |
| necessarily mean you will have to spend all day, | | | | home business without carefully considering every |
| every day as a prisoner in your own home. We | | | | aspect of what it takes to run your own home |
| often use the phrases "working at home" and | | | | business. Don't forget to include an assessment of |
| "working from home" as synonyms but there are | | | | your isolation tolerance level. |