Home-based Business - The Naked Truth
Everybody dreams about it - having a leisurely cup of coffee ona lazy morning, enjoying life as your home-based businesscontinues to bring in the big bucks. Well... I hate to burstyour bubble, but this home-based business thing is HARD WORK, sobefore you hang up your tie and high heels, here are a couple ofgood and bad things to expect.You write your own paycheckThat's exactly how it is with a home-based business and beingyour own boss. YOU WRITE YOUR OWN paychecks! How much ...
...you earndepends on how hard you work... plus you get to keep ALL theprofit. There's NO BOSS to tell you that the company hasn't beendoing great so all you're getting is 45 cents as your bonus,while he comes to work the next morning in a bright, shiny newPorsche! Problem is, you then realize "Hey! Just a minute... I've got toput some aside for that rainy day, retirement fund, vacation,etc, etc. I'm MY OWN BOSS NOW!". So you find the paycheck thatyou actually write for yourself at the end of the month has afew less zeroes in it! How's that for irony? It's hard workHaving your own home based business is a lot of hard work. Ifyou're used to taking 30 minute coffee breaks on company time,you're in for a real shock. Assuming you're running a one-manshow (which is usually the case for new start-ups), then you'relikely to find that there's not enough hours to do all that youwant to do, let alone have a leisurely cup of coffee! The good thing about this is that every ounce of sweat you putinto your home business will ultimately yield results. Remember,the pyramids weren't built in a day, but when they werecompleted, they lasted for generations. That's the way it iswith your home-based business. You're working hard to build abetter life and future for your family that will probably lastlong after you're gone. The buck stops where you areWhether it's a virus that crashes your computer, an unpaid billor a customer complaining on the phone, when you own ahome-based business, the buck stops where YOU ARE! Every problembecomes YOURS. There is no computer division, accountsdepartment or PR department to blame. It's a bit frighteningwhen you consider that you are the central - and probably theonly person - who can keep your business going. If you're worried about making the wrong decisions, let me putyour mind at ease - YOU WILL! You ARE going to make wrongbusiness decisions, but don't let it discourage you though,because even big-wig CEOs make mistakes. Will there be toughtimes? DEFINITELY. Tough times bring out the best in people andevery mess you get INTO and OUT OF, makes you a better person -smarter, tougher and more resilient. After you've gone through acouple of ups and downs, you'll get into the groove and go withthe flow - that's the way it is with business and that's the wayit is with life in general.Different type of benefitsIf you're like me, you've probably grown accustomed to (andtaken for granted) the many benefits of a regular nine-to-fivejob - free medical and dental, vacations, paid training, coffeebreaks and the occasional business lunches. I found that for me at least, running a home-based business hasgiven me priceless benefits. Tops on the list would probably bethe fact I'm closer to my family. In addition to taking care mywebsites and running our home catering business with my wife,I'm also the official driver, handyman and maid all rolled upinto one. Even though it gets totally crazy sometimes, I lovethat I'm always there for my kids. Oh, they still make it apoint to drive me up the wall everyday, but I'd rather be drivenup the wall by them than by my maniacal ex-boss. The Naked TruthOK, here's THE NAKED TRUTH about having your own home-basedbusiness - YOU SET THE RULES, YOU CALL THE SHOTS. That means youcan do things anyway you want, from your working hours to yourfiling system to what you wear (or don't wear!) at work. Carefulthough... when you set lousy rules, you'll end up with a lousysystem, a lousy business and worse, a lousy reputation. In theend, it's going to hurt that paycheck that YOU write foryourself every month. Just because it's a home-based businessdoesn't mean that you can throw professionalism out the window.In fact, an even higher level of professionalism may be requiredbecause you're operating independently and competing withestablished companies.Of course how much flexibility you enjoy depends on what kind ofhome business you're running. Since my mornings are spent takingcare of my websites and writing, I don't physically interactwith people much, so I do have the liberty of working in mybathrobe or anything else I choose (I leave it to yourimagination). While lost in cyberspace, I also have the libertyof snacking anytime I want, which accounts for my growingwaistline. Then in the evenings, when my wife and I are busywith our catering business, I'm definitely fully clothed,complete with my tidy apron and smiling my best smile as we takecare of our customers. So What Now?There you have it folks, my run-down of some of the basic stuffyou can expect when you start a home-based business. You mayearn less and have to give up some status for the first coupleof years, but when you consider the big picture and take intoaccount all the other intangible benefits, there's nothing quitelike being your own boss! As your business grows, you'll bewriting yourself bigger and fatter paychecks. Then, you can sitdown to that leisurely cup of coffee, enjoying a lazy morning,while your home-based business brings in the big bucks! Care tohang up your tie and heels, anyone?
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