Understanding a home entrepreneur
A home entrepreneur is an entrepreneur that founds a business at home. Rather than going out and setting up an office or another form of physical location, a home entrepreneur launches the business from their house.
The advantages of being a home entrepreneur
There are many advantages that come with starting a business from home. Some of the key ones include:
Gain a desired lifestyle
First, a home entrepreneur may allow you to achieve a better work-life balance than may otherwise be possible. It is common for entrepreneurs to desire a particular lifestyle – potentially founding their business specifically to achieve a desired balance. A home business may be better aligned with achieving this than having to go into the office every day.
Avoid the costs of an office
A potentially substantial cost associated with working from home comes from avoiding the cost of an office. Rent is not cheap, and even though there are possible alternatives to hiring an office, such as coworking, working from home has little to no additional costs associated with it.
Avoid child care costs and other savings
There may be further cost savings beyond the rent savings that come from working from home. You may be able to look after children when working from home – saving a substantial cost that would otherwise be incurred. Similarly, there may be costs savings associated with not having to drive into the office every day.
Limitations of being a home entrepeneur
While there are many benefits that come from working from home as an entrepreneur, there are also some disadvantages associated with the arrangement. These include:
Potential for distractions
There may be a greater danger of distractions associated with working from home. Your work and home activities may start to intertwine, and it can be possible to spend a disproportional amount of time on non-work activities. While having a physical location to go and work allows you to step away from home activities and focus on the tasks, general home tasks are ever-present when working from home, potentially pulling you away from launching your business.
Difficulties growing
Another potential disadvantage of working from home is that it may constrain the growth of the firm. It can be more difficult to take on additional employees or to scale your operations if you are based at home. This may not matter if your intention is to be a solopreneur, but if your intention is to have a growing business this is something to break in mind.
Difficulties achieving a work life balance
Finally, some people may find it more difficult to achieve a work-life balance when setting up a home business. There is a danger that always being ‘at work’ makes it challenging to switch off – potentially increasing the stresses associated with launching your business.
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