According to industry analytics, online businesses are growing at the rate of 2600% a year. Steve Strauss of Huffington Post is calling this shift a self-employment revolution. There are a number of benefits from being self-employed, not the least of which is more job security. When you work for yourself, no one can fire you.
Some of the benefits of working from home that I love include:
- Working the hours I want to work. I am not on someone else’s schedule, so if I want to start at 5am, work until 7am, take time off to get my kids ready for school, then work again from 9-2, there’s no one to tell me no.
- I never have to worry about missing my kids’ dance recitals, concerts, or school events.
- I am available to friends and family when they need me.
- I can take vacations whenever I want, and if I want to take a 35-day road trip across the country, I can just bring my work with me.
Starting my own online home business gave me the advantage of being my own boss. The benefits were immediately apparent:
- At first, we spent less on gas. Then, we were able to go to having one car (one car payment, less maintenance)
- Daycare costs disappeared overnight, saving us $700 a month
- Incidental costs – dry cleaning, new work clothes, lunches out, parking fees – disappeared
For me, it’s been paradise. I do, however, get a little offended when people say, “Oh I wish I could sit at home and make money without having to go to work.”
It’s not that easy. In fact, the reason I’ve been successfully supporting our family and growing my business each year for the last 5 years since I’ve been doing it full time is because I WORK HARD.
It’s easy to be someone else’s employee, to show up when they tell you to and only do the work they ask you to do. It’s hard to seek out clients, sell yourself and your abilities, and then deliver on your promises.
I probably work more hours now than I did when I was a corporate stooge…but the difference is, every ounce of work I do benefits me and my family – it isn’t going to line the pockets of a CEO or fill the coffers of some shareholder. The harder I work, the more I do, the better off my family is.
The great thing about an online home business is that it can be in virtually any industry – any type of service, product, idea, or hobby can translate into a business. But you have to have the drive, dedication, and desire to succeed.