When the economy is slow or in recession, many people lose their jobs. Corporate downsizing and business mergers result in an abundance of executives and other corporate employees who become unemployed displaced workers. The state of the economy and the instability of having a job encourage many people to start a home based business.

The idea of lifetime employment is a distant dream in the corporate world. With mergers and acquisitions, there is no longer security in having a job. Some companies outsource their customer service departments to other countries. The low wages make setting up shop in other countries advantageous to the company but leave long-term employees without a means to support their families.

This seeming negative occurrence spurs them to start their own business working from home. These employees take stock of their situation and know that they must either buy a business or start their own home-based business to support themselves and their families.

Working from home has some distinct advantages for the business owner.

A home-based business has fewer risks than working for someone else. You are in charge of your future. Working from homes provides a level of control that cannot be received from any company that cares less whether or not you are able to feed your family. Being your own boss is the ultimate job security.

Home based business entrepreneurs are continuing a tradition that began before the turn of the century. The economic center was based in the home. Agriculture was the major industry and could only be worked a few months per year. When the weather prevented these entrepreneurs from planting and sowing, they created cottage industries to supplement the family income.

Today this same spirit of creating a family centered economic base is the reason that home-based businesses are so powerful.

Empowerment of the individual is the theme of home-based business ownership. The flexibility of working from home is certainly one of the advantages.

Responding to the sound of the alarm clock at 5 am to fight traffic for an hour is a task that home based business owners remembers only as a distant nightmare. Spending more time with children is another of the top five reasons home based business owner's state as reasons.

Being self-sufficient is the cornerstone of a thriving society. Working for someone else is a less than optimum condition because the owner of a business or a supervisor holds your livelihood in his or her hands. When independent minded people work in organizations that require conformity, they run into serious problems.

Independence combined with a strong desire to succeed is admirable qualities that may not bode well in a corporate setting. But, these qualities will lead an employee to find a better way to create income in their own home based business.

When working for someone else proves to be less than an ideal situation, entrepreneurs find a way to work from home to provide for themselves and their families is to start a home based business.