
Running an online business from home is a very attractive prospect for a lot of people: Mothers who want to spend as much time with young kids as they can and still earn a living; retirees to who aren’t ready to stop yet; people of all ages who just want an alternative to the 9-5; people looking for a new start after redundancy. Those are just a few categories that spring to mind and the Internet has made Running an online business from home a realistic possibility for all of them and many more. What’s it really like though?
You can read my own story on a recent blog post I wrote but essentially I was laid off twice in my late forties. After many years of nose to the grindstone working I wanted a semi hands off business that I could run from home on a semi- retired basis. This would allow me to concentrate more on my passions for music and photography that my career had sidelined (in fact I’ve been able to incorporate them in the business) Only an Internet based business seemed to offer that possibility for the start-up budget I had. I’ve been running an online business from home and elsewhere for about 5 years now.
Step Away From The Netflix!
The first thing I’d say about it is that it’s definitely not for everyone. You spend a lot of time on your own for starters. A lot of people find that difficult especially if they’ve been used to working in teams or busy environments. You also have to be (or learn to become) very self motivated – there’s no one else to answer to after all. Personally it suits me to a tee and I actually find it pretty difficult to get anything done if my partner or any one else is around. I spend some time on phone or Skype calls and on interactive webinars but largely it’s just me and my laptop.
Secondly I’d say its very important to not take running an online business from home too literally. You can in fact run an online business from anywhere you can connect to the Internet. Even if you are physically in your home you can move around in there working from different rooms or even in the garden weather permitting. That can actually be very important for your concentration, creativity and productivity. In my online business for example I use a lot of video. Although I do have a dedicated office cum studio space I do like to move around a lot.
Don’t Take “Home” Too Literally
Essentially you have to think of your business as being completely portable because that is the huge advantage of working online from home. Since my laptop or at least my phone is always with me I can get things done wherever I happen to be. If I’m travelling to or from a conference I can work in the airport and on the plane preparing work that can be uploaded or scheduled for a later date. I often do a little video or writing work when I’m on holiday: perish the thought! You may say but I take holidays whenever I want to and that’s fairly often.
Thirdly think about the type of business you actually want. Do you want to sell physical products or virtual products (online courses etc)? Do you want a very hands on business where you are involved in sourcing, distributing and customer support or a business which is largely automated? There are online business models that lend themselves to either. In fact you don’t even need your own products to get started.
Support With Running An Online Business From Home
I hope this has given you a few insights into running an online business from home. I’ve personally found it incredibly rewarding and profitable. Most of all its given me a lot of the free time that climbing corporate ladders took away. Its also made me geographically independent. My partner and I fulfilled a long held dream of moving from city to coast just 2 years after the dark days of redundancy.
I’ve had a lot of help along the way from an amazing online business community platform I joined. If you’re seriously considering running an online business but have no idea where to start I’d recommend you click on the link below and grab the free video series it’s take you to. They were life changing for me and have been for a great many others.
