Home-Based Businesses on the Rise: 5 Good Reasons to Work from Home

In recent years it was thought that home-based businesses were on the rise due to the Great Recession and a widespread loss of jobs across every industry. However, as the economy began to improve, fewer people than previously expected went back to the corporate world. Instead, growing numbers of entrepreneurs launched businesses from their homes and this trend is forecast to continue into the foreseeable future. Are you considering starting a business from your home? If so, here are five good reasons to work from home.

1. Increased Flexibility

One of the biggest issues many workers have when working under a company’s roof is that they are literally under the corporate thumb. Quite often you have no control over how you set up your work space and you certainly can’t control your schedule. If you are more productive in the evening, for example, you can set your hours to work when you are at your best. In other words, working from home offers a degree of flexibility not available when working for someone else.

2. Comfortable Working Conditions for People with Disabilities

Although there are now laws in place to make jobs accessible to people with disabilities, there is nothing in the law that says an employer must supply special desks or furniture for the disabled. What about someone confined to his or her bed but perfectly capable of working the phones? Here is where you could open a home-based business and set up your home office with an innovative hospital overbed table. Whether you are permanently or temporarily disabled, this is an amazing way to organize your office for your particular needs.

3. Tax Breaks for Home-Based Businesses

When it comes to tax time, there are a number of tax benefits you are eligible for when operating a business from your home. Actually, you can deduct a portion of your home’s operating costs and itemize depreciation at the same time. These are incentives which aren’t open to businesses not based at a home.

4. The Ability to Work Around Your Family’s Schedule

Altogether too often business owners complain that they simply have no time to spend with their families. It is rough launching a business and often the owner and directors spend 12+ hours a day on the job. When working from home, you can easily take a few moments away from your duties to spend a bit of time with your spouse and children. You are, after all, the boss!

5. Reduced Financial Risk

Then there is the additional benefit of reducing the amount of financial risk you’ll face when opening a new business. You will not need to pay rent on an office or manufacturing facility, and you certainly won’t be required to carry the extensive amounts of commercial insurance. This is huge in terms of profitability. The less you spend, the more you earn. It’s just simple business economics at work.

More and more home-based businesses are starting up every day, so if you are ready to take the plunge, now is a very good time to do just that. The latest statistics indicate that there are at least 6.6 million home-based businesses that employ more than 13 million people. If you are looking for a reason to step out on your own, you’ve just been given five.