Home Employment Or Home Business: Which One Is Right For You?
The internet has created work at home opportunities never available before. If you need the security of an employer, you can telecommute. And if you want to be your own boss you can start
an online home business for peanuts.
Take a look at the following statistics:
- There are 48 million home based workers in North America.
- More than 4 million Americans work in a home business.
- The U.S. Department of Labor believes that half of all
Americans will be working from home by 2025.
Home Employment vs. Home Business
If you wish to work at home you have two choices: home employment
(work for someone else) or a home business (work for yourself). Both
of these work at home strategies have their advantages and
disadvantages:
Home Employment
|
Home Business
|
Pro
regular paycheck
no initial investment
Con
limited income
less flexibility (must answer to
employer)
|
Pro
greater freedom
(you are your own boss)
unlimited income potential
Con
irregular income (at least at
first)
requires initial investment of time and money
|
Keep in mind that these two work at home options are not
mutually exclusive. You can - and should - work for someone
else until your home business is established (if a home business is
for you).
If you are interested in home employment (working at home for
someone else) go to my Home
Employment Issues page.
The main focus of this site, however, is on starting a home
business. You can start an online home business very cheaply in your
spare time. Then you can work to expand your home business to the
point where you can quit your "day job."
The Truth About the Dot Com Meltdown
Right now you may be thinking, "What about all the recent internet business failures? Isn't an online business too risky?"
It is true that many high-profile online companies are failing. And they all have one thing in common - they are all competing for the mass market!
That means they are competing with national chains like WalMart. They need large staffs and huge advertising budgets. But why would you buy online and wait for something to be shipped when you can just drive to town and get it right now?
Big business failures make the news. But small companies (many of them home businesses) serving niche markets are thriving online. For example Cory Rudl's Internet Marketing Center makes millions - yes, millions! - of dollars a year with a staff of only 6 people. And he started his business by himself, in his apartment, less than 5 years ago!
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you will become a millionaire. I'm just saying that it is possible. You may not get rich, but you can work at home and make a good living with your own home business if you concentrate on a niche market.
What is a niche market? Let's take an example. Let's say you collect salt and pepper shakers. So you decide to open a store that sells only salt and pepper shakers. That is a niche market. Collectors of salt and pepper shakers are only a small percentage of the population.
In the past a small niche store like this could only survive in a big city. Only a large population would have enough salt and pepper shaker collectors to keep your business running. But on the internet you have access to every salt and pepper shaker collector in the world! (At least all the ones with a computer.) And they can browse through your store 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Best of all, because you are a home business, your overhead is only a small fraction of what a real "bricks and mortar" store would cost.
Starting to see the advantages of an online home business? Remember, the internet is still in its infancy. There are still many areas with little competition. Now has never been a better time to work at home in your own home business.
If starting a home business interest you, check out How To Create a Home Business in 6 Steps. It is a detailed step-by-step tutorial that shows you how to start a business with minimal risk and minimal investment.
Return To Home Page
