Ready For Self-Employment?

In order to start a home-based business, you need to have an entrepreneurial spirit and you also need to be a self-starter. If you like to procrastinate and have to be coaxed and prodded to get your work done at your day job, then you probably do not have the discipline to start and run your own business from home.

According to experts, in order to successfully run a home-based business, you need to have what is referred to as the “completion gene.” In other words, you have to be industrious when it comes to getting started with your home-based business, but you also have to have enough stamina and persistence to keep it going. When you first start out with your business you are heady and excited and completely “up” for the challenge, but will you still have the same enthusiasm and vitality in a year’s time, or two years, or three? As well there are bound to be hard times when it comes to your business. Are you prepared to deal with those? If yes, then you are likely on the right track. If not, then perhaps you should stick with your nine to five job for the time being.

While breaks are important, too many breaks and too much down time is likely to make you look unreliable in the eyes of clients and this will cause you to lose business. If you cannot do work and deliver it on time then this will be a hindrance to the development of your business. It is extremely important when you start a home based business to set realistic goals for yourself and re-evaluate them as needed and to devise a routine for yourself that works. Schedule time to work as opposed to doing it haphazardly and fitting an hour or two in here and there around grocery shopping, laundry and picking up the kids from school. Always take the time to review what your priorities are and if something is not working then figure out why and attempt to look at it another way.

Be aware that financial responsibilities are completely on the shoulders of a home business owner and when you do not work for a day or two or a week or two, there is no money coming in which can be burdensome to many. Self-employed individuals do not enjoy vacation pay, holiday pay or paid sick days. As well self-employed people must bear the brunt of such things as health insurance, life insurance, retirement savings, cost of childcare and so on.

While self-employed people are entitled to some breaks on taxes it is usually not enough to offset the extra cost of other expenses. Both Medicare taxes as well as Social Security taxes must be paid in full by the home business owner and these two things alone amount to approximately 15 percent of an individual’s income. As well there is also federal income tax to think about and local taxes. In some cases self-employed people may have a spouse who is covered for health and life insurance through their place of work but some people do not enjoy these benefits.

Be aware that many financial institutions will not lend to home based business owners because they consider it too much of a risk to do so. In fact some banks need to see proof that a self-employed person has successfully run a home based business for a period of two years before they will even look at a loan application.