Without question the greatest lure for starting and running a business is the fact that you become your own boss. Of course, this is only partly true, for the simple reason that your customers will always be your bosses. I have been self-employed in various ventures for a number of years, with the majority being operated from my home. For me the lure of self-employment is the freedom, hands down. It is not so much the potential to generate a substantial income or the ability to grow equity, it is simply the sense of freedom and independence that being the boss affords. This means setting your own schedule, working at your own pace and earning what you wish. As long as you get the work done, satisfy your customers and clients and meet your deadlines, you can work in your bathrobe if you so choose, if no one is coming over for a meeting. More significantly, you will not have play office politics.



While it may not be a good reason to start a business solely on the prospect of making big bucks, it is true that the majority of people do have the potential to make more money by owning and creating a business than they do working for a paycheck. Why? When you work for someone else, there is only you and so many hours in the day to work for an hourly wage or a commission.

On the other hand, whenever you have a business of your own, you can multiply yourself by hiring others to increase the overall revenue of your business. This will in turn multiply the number of your customers who will buy your goods or services, you can duplicate your business model and open in new geographical areas, and you can duplicate and expand the number of products that you sell. Once you have built a business that is generating revenues and profits, duplicating what works can greatly increase your personal income and equity.

Even without duplicating, you can set your own wages, put in more hours to complete a job if necessary, and remain in control of that project. Too often in a business, you will have to wait for nine other departments to get on board before you can finish a task. Whenever you working at a pace that you control, you can ascertain just how long every task should take, you can charge customers accordingly, and then even finish the project on your own if it is feasible.

Having the ability to create your own work environment and the ability to be flexible in how you operate the business are even more of the major advantages of starting and operating a business from home. If you so choose, you can spend some of these commuting hours getting work done or enjoy more time with friends.

The average employee commutes at least one hour each day. That is five hours a week in which you have flexibility to do as you choose. If you like, you can walk the dog at noon, be there to pick up the kids right after school, be at home to let the plumber or electrician in, take your car for repairs, and do a plethora of other personal needs on your schedule, without hurting your business responsibilities. And there is no boss or employer that you have to ask, or vacation days that you have to burn.

Another nice thing about your own business is that you have the ability to work in an office setting of your choosing, you can decorate and furnish as you wish, and decide which high-tech and no-tech appliances that you prefer. For the all the millions of individuals that have chosen home offices over cubicles, this choice is a huge factor. Additionally, if you are green conscious, you can regulate your own heat, shut off unused lights and even go solar-powered if you so choose. While many businesses today are getting in step with the green environmental movement, plenty are not. You, as your own boss, can do so and feel that sense of doing something good for Mother Earth in your own little piece of the world.

Whenever you have a home business you are also qualified for several tax benefits that are associated with operating a business, even if you still work a normal job for someone else and only run your business part time. The very day that you open for business, you can deduct part of your utility bills against business income, a portion of your transportation costs (equal to the percentage of time and mileage your car is used for business) are tax-deductible, and even this book that you just purchased is an allowable deduction for educational purposes. While you will pay some self-employment taxes, you can typically benefit by more deductions with a home-based business.