Running Your Own Home Business

By Jennifer Tarzian

Everyone dreams of independence and the ability to spend more time with their family. For many this remains just a dream due to financial obligations that send one or both parents to work full time. For single parents, it can be even more difficult or unrealistic to dream about spending more time at home with their children.

Thousands of people do own their own home business, so it must be possible, but can I do it? That's the question. How do I get started? How do I go from Joe or Jill NineToFive, to Joe or Jill I'm At Home And I Love It!

First of all, don't let anyone tell you that you can just jump up right now and quit your day job. Unless you have a nice nest egg put away, you will probably have to continue working your normal job until you are making enough on your home business to move to it full time.

Anything that is worthwhile takes a lot of sacrifice. There are no free lunches. To keep working and start your home business, you will be spending even more time working than you do right now. Your goal is to become independent, but until you are, your workload will increase.

You have to decide how much "sweat equity" you are going to invest in your new home business. That means that you have to invest time in your business. The more time you can invest, the quicker your home business can support you.

You may have to work your eight-hour day at your day job, then put in another 2-4 hours on your home business. It's like taking a second job. It's hard, but the rewards are great in the long run. Better than a second job, though, your home business will eventually pay you enough so you can be your own boss full time.

But the whole reason I want to work at home is so I can be with my family. I hear that from people all the time. We all want things right away, but we know the truth is that we have to work a long time to get what we really want.

Once your home business is able to support you and you can quit your day job, you will have more time with your family. Until then sacrifices have to be made. That's the reality of things.

Now, if you can somehow involve your family in your home business, you have the best of both worlds. With small children that is very difficult to do, however, if your children are old enough they can help you achieve the goals you set together for your home business.

If you have teenagers, they can answer emails, help you make or package up the products you sell, and maybe even help you run your website. Use your imagination for ways you can involve members of your family and not only will you be able to spend more time with them, your home business will succeed even faster than going it alone.

A new home business is not the only way you can work from home. Look for jobs that allow you to work from your home computer. See if your boss has work that you can do from home. You may find that you actually have more money working part-time at home than working full-time at your job.

When you take into consideration auto maintenance, parking, gasoline, buying lunch, and all the other expenses directly related to your job, you may be surprised at how much of your paycheck goes into continuing to work at your current job.

Only you can decide if working at home or starting your own home business is for you. If you are not a person who is truly self-motivated and self-disciplined, you won't succeed without that boss to push you. If you do have those qualities and truly desire to have more freedom and want to work at home where your family is, then working at home will be a great adventure for you.

You have to be willing to make the sacrifices and do whatever it takes to make your new home business a success, but in the long run, when you are your own boss and your business is a success, you will look back and say it was all worth it.

Jennifer Tarzian is the owner and operator of www.youngparentsmagazine.com .

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