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While lots of new home businesses launch every day, the truth is that many are failing.

One main reason for home business failure has to do with a lack of discipline. Working for someone else whether inside the home or commuting, allows one to have a set schedule and daily tasks that they need to follow. When you work for yourself, you have to set your own goals and objectives, and have the discipline to follow your plan.

Anyone can start a home business, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should. Some people who started and closed their businesses should never have gone to work for themselves to begin with. Many lack the dedication to follow through and keep up the pace that is necessary to be successful.

Some people are simply seduced by ads and word of mouth when they hear others talk about how great and freeing it is to work for themselves in their own home. A home business is a great opportunity for some but others need to have a boss prodding them to get through the day, or someone else who can tell them what needs to be done.

After the excitement has worn off of starting your own home business, it will quickly become clear that it’s not fun and games. Everything depends on you. From taking orders, handling sales calls, customer service, running a website, collecting money and mailing packages – it all rests on your shoulders. If your business grows, you can hire an extra set of hands to deal with the backlog, but in the beginning to keep costs down, most home businesses are run by the people who created them.

Quitting your regular job to work at home because you expect to have lots of free time and extra money to spend is a huge myth that causes many to quit. A business that is just starting up will take up a lot of your time. To handle all of the work, you can easily find yourself working well into the early morning hours. You can also start to spend less time with your family as you strive to build your business.

Extra money to spend is something that you will often not see for months or years because you will need to pay bills for your business and home costs, and you will need to spend more money in marketing and development to grow your home business.

When people advertise stories about working from home, they will tell you about the glitz and glamour. You will be told that you can roll out of bed at any time and work in your pajamas. This is a bad idea because every business needs to run on a consistent schedule if it is going to be successful long-term.

All of this said, there is a new breed of home business opportunity called affiliate marketing where you can simply join an existing business or business opportunity who will provide all the products and marketing materials for you. They will even handle all of the order processing, payment collections, product shipping and customer service on your behalf. In fact, some of the affiliate programs that I am building my own home business online with are shown here on my website (check them out).

Whether you are building a traditional home business, or an affiliate marketing based home business, nothing will take the place of personal discipline and having a daily action plan that you follow to get the word out and grow your business successfully. If you have the inner-discipline required to make your own daily plan (and follow it), there are few freedoms greater than that of being able to call your own shots and work for yourself from the comfort and convenience of home!

People decide to open their own home business for many reasons. You may want to spend more time with your family, be your own boss, or make more money than a 9 to 5 job can offer. In a job that has you working for others, your entire work life and sometimes your home life is strictly scheduled for you. From the time you begin and end work, to breaks, vacation and pay, you have very little control.

However, in your own home business it can be hard to suddenly have complete control over everything and no one to lean on. Over time we gather habits, be they good or bad. When it comes to your home business, you have to figure out the bad ones and break yourself from doing them if you want to succeed.

Before you get the home business off the ground make sure that everything is in place. This means setting aside special hours in the day to do the most important activities. Remember that you will need to make contact with clients, banks and other businesses and most of this has to be done during the day and usually no later than 5pm. Prevent exhaustion by following the plans you laid out so that you don’t overwork yourself.

Business continues to move forward so you will have to constantly update yourself when new business strategies are put on the market. You can take classes or teach yourself over the internet, but stay ahead of the pack by knowing everything you can because it will help you to better develop your business.

A good way to break bad habits that can have adverse effects on your business is to write them down on paper whenever you discover a new one. Once you know the habits that are holding you back, you can implement different steps that can help you to overcome these habits.

For example, procrastination is by far one of the worst habits that can cause your business to crumble from the bottom up. If you constantly put off work and say that you’ll do it tomorrow, deadlines will pass and clients will choose other business owners that they can depend on. Once you lose customers it can be hard to attract them back to using your company and services.

Your business is real, so treat it that way. If you don’t take it seriously, no one else will. However, this does not mean that you will have to bypass having a bit of fun every now and then. Taking a break to enjoy yourself will help you to stay fresh and on top of your business. If you work yourself too hard, you can quickly burn out and lose the enthusiasm you once had at the start of your home business.

Remember that this is a work at home business. You control the time and hours that you work. Realize that there may have been activities that you would have loved to do in the past but your 9 to 5 job was holding you back. Now that you don’t have those worries anymore, set aside some time to enjoy the activities you love. Your business is done at home but that does not mean that you have to be glued to your computer for a full day.

Electronic equipment such as laptops and mobile devices will do a lot to make your business available everywhere. Try to separate business from pleasure and avoid pulling out your smartphone every other minute to check an email when you are spending time with the family, but do check daily if you are away from home just to make sure that you catch any important messages that were left by clients.

Managing a home business requires developing a few different skills than working a normal job, but the freedom you’ll gain with your success is well worth the investment.

To manage your home business, you need to remove clutter and have a perfectly organized space that is easy to work in. No one wants to trip over wires, papers and boxes as they move about their day in a home office. Implementing these tips can help you to stay organized while you remove clutter from your work space.

Remove Clutter

Clutter builds up in every aspect of our lives, and it can quickly grow out of control if you don’t sit down and organize it. Old papers that are no longer needed should be shredded and tossed to make room for new files. As your business grows, you will receive large amounts of mail every day and you should carefully open and go through them to toss out the ones you don’t need, while you file away the ones that you do.

Throw away paper, boxes and other trash that may accumulate as you work. Allowing clutter to build in your office space can cause some home business owners to feel stressed and annoyed as they constantly wade threw anonymous piles of junk that needs to be in the garbage or filing cabinet.

Eliminate Unnecessary Waste

Along with clutter, another problem that can cause build up in your office space is holding on to objects that you don’t need. If you buy a new monitor, get rid of the old one by selling it or giving it to a family member or friend who can use it. Electronics quickly become outdated and as you upgrade, remove the old ones to allow more space in your work area. If you buy or have newspapers delivered daily, remove the old ones. Newspapers have a way of adding clutter because many readers will simply throw them in a corner until they begin to stack up and become an eyesore.

Use Labels to Keep Things Organized

Nothing will waste time more than a home business owner who spends hours looking for one important file or paper. As your business grows, the paper work will grow with it. Your office should be organized at all times but this will be difficult if you don’t have folders and drawers specifically labeled to help you find items that you need quickly.

Use Your Tools

When you have all the tools needed to keep your office organized, don’t forget to use them. This may seem simple but many home business owners will quickly become overwhelmed and begin to stack files and papers in one spot or another to quickly complete a task. They will then neglect to put the files in order when they get some free time. Spend a few minutes every week to make sure that all your files are put in their correct slots. This is a huge time saver because you will easily find what you’re looking for if it’s in the right place.

Acquire Decent Shelving Space

Shelves are a great way to get extra space in a small home office. High and against the wall, they offer you an extra setting to place important files that may not be needed at the moment. Other shelves can be placed in a specific area to allow you to grab files that you will need to use daily. Shelves are also low cost depending on the ones that you choose, and they can add more space to your office while keeping your budget in check.

Let the Light In

Even though you work at home, you should let the sun in. A dark and gloomy office can cause some individuals to feel tired and sluggish even when they have had a good night’s rest. This can slow down your business and productivity and cause you to intake too much caffeine as you struggle to stay awake during your work hours. If your office does not have a window to let in some light or if you tend to work during night time hours, you can purchase good lighting or special items that mimic sunlight.

There’s nothing like having your own successful home business. Just remember that it takes discipline to stay organized and manage your time effectively to be truly successful.

For many people, being a parent is the #1 motivation for starting a home business. The ability to work from home, create your own schedule and spend more time with your family is a very compelling reason to start and build a successful home based business.

Here’s 10 new home business ideas for parents that you could start today:

Stock Photographer – Stock photography is used in numerous applications, from websites and blogs to print ads. The demand for stock photography is quite high for good and unique photographs. Therefore, most stock photography companies allow independent contractors to upload pictures for sale on their websites. You can also start your own website offering your photographs for use for a fee.

Graphic Designer – Designers are needed everywhere and demand is high. If you have a talent for using software to make web pages, advertisements, banners, book covers (eBook and paper) and more, there are many home-based opportunities to get paid for your abilities. Start offering your services on sites like Fivver and Upwork who can connect your services with the buyers who need them.

Freelance Writer – As a freelance writer there are many different opportunities today based on your skill level. You can write for so-called content mills, individuals looking for writers, as a copywriter writing specific sales copy, or you can write for yourself and publish your own books as PDFs or via Kindle Direct Publishing.

Arts and Craft Seller – If you’re artsy and like being creative, it can be more than a hobby. You can sell your art online and make good money. Websites such as Etsy, DeviantArt, and Art.com make it easy for individuals to upload pictures of their work to sell. You are responsible for shipping it on time, and you’ll give a percentage of sales to the website you list on. You can also start your own website but usually you’ll make sales faster working through an established and trusted venue.

Amazon Seller – Fulfillment by Amazon has started a trend in individuals selling both new and used merchandise through their service. Learning how to sell on Amazon can take a little time but there are people who are making six figures per year doing it, and you can too. This is something you can do on your own time, with your children in tow.

eBay Seller – Selling on eBay can be more challenging than the other choices, but many people do it successfully as a full-time job. If you have access to the right products, you can do it too. Again, this is something you can do on your own time, so if the kid’s have soccer practice, or a parent-teacher conference, you can be there, and schedule your work for off-parenting hours.

Life Coach – You’ve seen a coach at a football game, but did you know that some people hire “life coaches” to help them with everyday life? Some people need help with parenting skills, whilst others need help getting through a life challenge such as losing a job or career change. Some people become successful life coaches relying on nothing more than what they’ve learned through the hard knocks of life, although there are now many certifications you can get as well to develop your skills and expertise in this field.

Lifestyle Blogger – Have you seen the movie, “Julie & Julia“? Julie started out as just another blogger, blogging about her adventures cooking from Julia Child’s cookbook. She became very popular, sold the rights to her story, and a movie was made. She made money off the deal, of course. Today, bloggers blog about all sorts of things and earn money through advertising, affiliate marketing, and product promotions. You can, too.

Herb Gardner – This work-at-home business takes a little time and work, but it’s healthy, the children can help, and you can potentially earn a full-time income from your back yard if it’s allowed in your area. You can sell at farmer’s markets, and directly to consumers or restaurants if you plan and market your business effectively.

Online Teacher – If you have a degree in teaching you can teach at online K-12 schools right from home. You can also, if you have at least a master’s degree, teach college courses online. What’s really great is most of the time you can sign on when you want to, from anyplace with internet to do your job, as long as you meet certain requirements.

Working from home is often a parent’s dream. They can be near their kids, not have to work by someone else’s clock, and still earn a very good living. Now, in the age of the internet, there are more opportunities than ever before to start your own business and work from home. What are you waiting for? Some of the best opportunities are available right here on my website. Start your journey to home-based business success today!

Working for yourself isn’t all plusses. Sometimes there are huge minuses. It’s up to you to determine whether the pluses outweigh the minuses. But, it is good for you to know in advance what the pros and cons of working for yourself are so that you can be realistic about what you’re getting yourself into.

Ok, do you want the good news, or the bad news first?… Let’s go ahead and get the cons out of the way because there really is a lot to look forward to in working for yourself!

Cons:

• Work and Home Life Often Collide – Due to the lack of a fixed schedule, and no clear delineation of work versus time off, you’ll find yourself working odd hours to accommodate the needs of your family; thus feeling as if you never have a day off.
• You’ll Do a Lot of Work for Free – Much of the work you do for your business is not billable, therefore will feel like free work until you start making a profit. It can be hard to push yourself to do things that aren’t producing income right now, but you must press on anyway so that you can do what’s necessary to grow your business.
• Family Will Ask You to Do Things (since you’re “available”) – Even though you have work to do, when family members see you around, they’ll think you’re available. Sometimes it’s fun like playing table tennis with your kids, and other times it’s new chores added to the “honey do” list. The reality is when you work from home, the boundaries between work and family life are blurred.
• You’ll Get Distracted – Without supervision, even the most studious and organized individual can go off the rails due to the internet, television and stuff that is around to distract you from work. In fact, even if you rely on the internet to do your work, you’ll have to be very disciplined to avoid checking for Facebook or Twitter updates, or watching some online highlights of the game last night. It’s up to you and only you to set up and respect rules and limits to achieve success.

Now let’s see the benefits…

Pros:

• No More Living by the Clock – If you arrange your business right you can wake up naturally without an alarm forcing you to get up when your body isn’t ready. You can also go to bed when you want to as well. It’s a great freedom not to always live by the clock.
• No More Traffic Jams – One of the best perks is not having to be caught in a traffic jam during rush hour. Working from home for yourself, you won’t have to do that anymore and it will be a huge relief, most especially on bad weather days when everyone else has to navigate through undesirable conditions and impatient drivers.
• Fewer Work-Related Interruptions – Office chatter can get overwhelming at times and it can be difficult to get work done due to it. Not to mention office meetings… Be honest, did you ever really get work done due to a meeting? During the meeting you’re probably thinking about how you could be getting work done right now instead of talking about it. Or maybe you’re just daydreaming about the possibilities of working from home for yourself… Don’t tell your boss! 😉
• You Really Can Work in Your PJs – Yes you can! You can wear PJs, yoga pants, or a moo-moo; no one cares. You can even get inspired right out of the shower and work naked if you want to, not that I’m recommending it! It’s your business and your house, and you’ll decide what to wear (or what not to wear).
• A Flexible Schedule – If you have a parent-teacher meeting, or a lunch out with your spouse, you don’t have to ask permission to go. If you want to get your hair done, go for it. Whatever you want to do during the day is up to you as long as you find time to also get your work done so you can get paid. Your schedule is your own.
• You Can Eat Healthier – Going out to work often causes everyone to eat out for lunch five days a week. That can not only be expensive, but it can also be unhealthy for the people doing it… unless you have great discipline and restaurant choices available. Working from home allows you to have more choice and control on what you eat every day, and if eating healthfully is important to you, it will be easier to do when you work from home for yourself.

Working from home offers different benefits and drawbacks. It’s up to you to determine if you have the personality for it. You’ll need to rein in family and friends who want to take advantage of you, as well as yourself, to stay on track for creating a healthy and profitable home business.

If you want to achieve success in an online home business, you’ll want to be seen as an expert in your field. Why? Because people pay attention to and follow experts.

The beauty of the world we live in today is that it’s easier than ever to gain knowledge and share that knowledge with others. In fact, Google itself allows you to tap into the world’s brain instantly. Here’s some ways you can start sharing knowledge and solving other people’s problems in a way that will position you as a real expert in your field…

• Blog Regularly Toward Your Audience – Start a blog on your website and blog directly to your audience with many forms of content, discussing many issues that the audience has. It’s a great way to get traffic, but it’s also a great way to demonstrate expertise.
• Write a White Paper about a Problem – A white paper is a long report that addresses a problem and then offers solutions to the problem. If you write a paper or two about individual problems your audience has and demonstrate viable solutions, you’ll be able to show your expertise even though you’re just starting out.
• Publish a Book about Your Expertise – Writing a book and authorship is always a great way to show your expertise. Direct the book to your target audience and answer questions they may have. Address one problem and solve it and then you’ll get more respect that you know what you’re talking about.
• Make Checklists to Help Your Target Audience – If you know the types of things that your audience has questions about, create helpful checklists, cheat sheets, or tip sheets that are available for view and/or download on your website or blog.
• Share Answers Freely on Social Networks – Social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and even forums and message boards are great places to answer other people’s questions in a way that highlights your expertise.
• Become a Contributing Writer – Blogs, websites, newspapers and magazines all want more content and will take well-written, expertly delivered articles. Some of these will even pay you for the content. Write originally for each and rely on your bio to send traffic your way.
• Get on a Speaking Circuit – Create a couple of presentations that you could easily turn into public speaking fodder. Practice by putting that information on video, YouTube, your blog and other places that publish videos online.
• Create a Dedicated YouTube Channel – Many people have become famous because of YouTube, and you can too. Use YouTube as a way to demonstrate your expertise on the topics of interest to your audience.
• Host a Free Webinar or Teleseminar – Technology enables you to do a lot to spread the word about your knowledge and expertise. You can create “how to” videos, tip videos and more to show the world and most importantly, your audience, what you know.

Demonstrating your expertise when first starting out doesn’t require you to have a huge customer list, established earnings or even a following of subscribers yet. Implementing any of these ideas is what can help you gain a following, increase your website traffic and ultimately help you build the home business you’re dreaming of.

One of the biggest things about trying to find a real work-from-home job or business opportunity that turns a lot of people away is the prevalence of many different scams.

Here are some ways to tell whether an opportunity is real, or if it’s too good to be true:

• No Legitimate Contact Information – If the business opportunity is real, they will have a real business website with a real business email address at the minimum, not a Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail address. You should easily be able to look up the people and the name of the business to find out more information. Ideally, the business will also provide a physical address and telephone number that you can verify.
• Promises of Riches Overnight – Any plan that claims you’ll become rich overnight is a scam. It’s just not going to happen. Working from home at a job, or running your own business, requires patience, skill development and plenty of work to make money. The idea that you can setup a website or join a business opportunity, do nothing and get paid is simply false.
• Upfront Investments (Beware) – Many legitimate MLMs (Multi-Level Marketing) companies and affiliate programs do ask for money up front, which is a business investment. Even if you do not like MLMs, some of them are legitimate companies that offer a great opportunity. However, some jobs or opportunities only want your money. You should have plenty of time to do research before opening up your wallet and pulling out your credit card. Never pay for a job, although an investment in a business opportunity is considered normal.
• You Feel Pressured to Act Now – If you’ve been contacted by someone making a lot of promises to you about making tons of money and insisting that you must act right now or you’ll lose out forever, your red flags should go up. It’s true that there are time-sensitive offers and opportunities, but just keep in mind that a real business opportunity is going to be there tomorrow and for many years to come. Make decisions based on the long-term expectations you have for the company you are working with and an honest self-evaluation of your own commitment to work hard and do what it takes to succeed.
• Western Union and Money Orders – Sorry call out a legitimate company like this, but it’s often true; if you need to use Western Union to send money to anyone for joining a business, be very skeptical!
• It Sounds Too Good to Be True – Trust yourself first. You know it in your gut that it’s just too good to be true, but you are tempted. Stop. Take some time to research the company and not just the people and places they give you to research. Do your due diligence and walk away if you can’t prove they’re legitimate.
• Random Email Job Offers for Opportunities You’ve Never Heard Of – This happens sometimes when you apply for or fill out an application for different job opportunities online. Your contact details may be shared or sold as someone who is interested in a work-at-home job or online business, and you could receive unsolicited job and business opportunity offers by email. If you didn’t request information about a particularly company or opportunity directly, delete the email and make sure you unsubscribe if there is a link available in the mail to do so.
• Outlandish Pay for Low Wage Positions – This is a common sign of a scam. You’ll see the advertisement on a seemingly legitimate website that promises a lot of money for many different positions that normally don’t pay that kind of money. Be realistic. You won’t make $45 dollars an hour as a receptionist.

Above all, trust yourself and be diligent in your research. Have confidence knowing there truly are many very good online home business opportunities and jobs you can do from home which will allow you to earn a reliable income. While skepticism is healthy and encouraged, you must also remain optimistic and determined to find the right income opportunity for you. It exists and I trust that you will discover it soon. 🙂

If you’ve decided that you want to work from home with your own business, you may need to have a form of steady income while you finish creating products and developing your business infrastructure. The good news is there are a number of ways in which you can bring in some extra income while you get your business off the ground.

• Provide a Service – If you plan to make your own products and sell them, you likely have skills that other people will want to use. Try finding out if anyone needs the types of service you could offer. Perhaps you’re good at graphic design, database management, transcription, or something else entirely. Put it out there and people may buy your time. A couple places you could start listing your services for hire are popular freelance sites such as Fiverr and Upwork.
• Get a Part-Time Job – If you can’t wait for services to take off, you can get a part-time job. Sign up to be a substitute teacher or a temp at an agency, or head over to your nearest fast food place and you’re likely to be hired on the spot.
• Get a Work-at-Home Job – There are many legitimate work-from-home jobs that you can get pretty quickly if you have experience, education and skills. Look for call center work, and you could be bringing in extra money within the month.
• Sell Items on eBay – Have too much stuff in your house? Try selling some of it on eBay. You can also buy from stores on sale, and then sell for a higher price on eBay. Believe it or not, everyone isn’t able to get to the same sales you can.
• Sell Items on Amazon – This is the same idea as eBay, but you may not be aware that you can sell your old books and pretty much any items that Amazon sells, right from your home office. You can even ship some qualifying items to their fulfillment service and then sit back and collect checks as Amazon does the heavy lifting for you. Look up “Fulfillment by Amazon” to learn more.
• Have a Yard Sale – One of the fastest and most reliable methods of bringing in some cash is the old-fashioned yard or garage sale. Or go virtual and use services like Craigslist or VarageSale to sell your unwanted household items to local buyers.
• Sell Your Body – Seriously, you can sell your blood, plasma, breast milk, sperm, and hair to appropriate locations. Sometimes it’s not very quick, such as with sperm and breast milk which require a lot of tests, but with blood and plasma you can walk right in, answer a few questions, give and get paid on the spot. With hair, you may have to locate a hair broker, or try selling it on eBay.
• Babysit or Dog Sit – One of the fastest ways to make a buck is to babysit or dog sit, but make sure you do it in their house or you’ll have to worry about licensure. Tell everyone you know that you would like to babysit or provide animal care (or both). Truly caring caregivers are in high demand and if you choose this path, you’ll find many opportunities to earn extra income this way.
• Return Stuff You Don’t Use – Have you made recent purchases and the tags are still on them? Do you have the receipts? Typically you can take those items back for a full refund. If you’re not using them right now, why not take them back. Most of us have far more stuff than we need anyway. Even online purchases from Amazon are easy to return for a full or partial refund.
• Rent Out a Room – Do you have an extra room or two in your home that you could rent out? If you do, extra money is just a few clicks away. Use services like Airbnb (The Unique Alternative to Hotels) to list your property and start attracting renters today. Or go old school and list your room in the classified section of the newspaper. Either way, if you’ve got some extra space, you can turn it into cash!
• Join a Medical Experiment – Human trials and studies are often conducted right in your area at your local hospital. You can usually find out which studies are being done with a quick search on the net. You’ll be paid for your time, and get free healthcare for the associated issue.
• Join an Affiliate Program – Affiliate programs give you the opportunity to join free or for a small fee and sell other company’s products for a commission. Some affiliate programs pay 40% or higher in commissions simply for sharing their products with others, and many people have been able to turn online affiliate marketing into their full-time income. In fact, take a look around my website today and you’ll find some of the top affiliate programs that I’m using to make money from right now.

Never lose hope or let a lack of money in the present moment keep you from moving forward in your life or business. There are always ways to get cash when you need it while you get your business off the ground. It simply requires you to stay positive and look for opportunities. Then be decisive and take steady action toward your goals.

Everyone is after more work-life balance. Some jobs are better than others at allowing at least some work-life integration possibilities, but some business owners are slow to catch on. If you have a job that would make it simple to work part time from home, then you’re in a good position to try to convince your boss to let you work part time from home by following these steps.

Figure Out the Logistics First

Before even approaching your boss about the idea of working from home, you’ll need to figure out whether it’s possible. What tools do you need at home that you have at the office to make it work? Are you willing to come out of pocket and set this up for yourself, or are you going to ask your boss to foot the bill?

Provide a Well Thought-Out Plan of Action

If you can demonstrate exactly how everything will work, including showing up at meetings on time, then you’re half way there. Create a report for your boss showing how you’ll do each area of your job while you’re at home so they can visualize the potential.

Provide Supportive Research

Include supportive research that shows people who work from home at least part of the time are more productive, instead of less productive. Be ready to prove this by increasing your productivity when you’re given the opportunity to change your work location.

Develop a System

Set systems in place well in advance so that you know they work. Test them out before approaching your boss so that you know they will work 100 percent. Ensure that you won’t have dead spots in your house when you answer your phone, or that sounds like the TV don’t interfere with calls.

Provide Assurances about Required Meetings

If meetings are planned in advance there should be no issues about you getting to meetings on time. But, if your place of business often has last-minute meetings, that could be a problem. You could set up technology to help with this, but it will require help from others. Alternatively, if you live close to the location of your job, you can state that you can be at any meeting within an hour if they’re important.

Call in Sick

This one’s a little sneaky, but can be very effective… Prime your boss before approaching them by calling in sick but working from home while you’re sick. Just state that you don’t want to make others sick, but you’ll get your normal work done from home. You can actually wait until you’re really sick to try this so that you won’t get into trouble for lying, although being productive when you’re truly sick may be a challenge.

Ask for a Trial Run

Once you present the idea to your boss, ask for a trial run. Say that you’ll work two days a week from home such as Thursday and Friday, which are usually low meeting days anyway. Then if you get the permission, do a great job with the opportunity you’re given.

Over Deliver

Be prepared to up your game if you do get the go ahead to work from home. Make sure you find ways to connect with your boss, and show them what you’re doing so that you won’t be seen as someone who’s not even needed. Yes, there’s a risk to not being in the office… It’s one step closer to being an actual business owner. Deliver more results once you’re home, and your boss will be pleased and probably give you even more freedom.

Working from home does come with unique rewards and challenges, so be prepared to work out some kinks and perfect your systems as you go. Many bosses are keen on having some of their employees work from home these days, so why not you?

Many people want to work from home for a variety of reasons. Maybe you just had a child and want more work-life balance, or perhaps you have an illness that makes it difficult for you to get out of the house. Or maybe you just like being home and want the freedom to work your own way.

Whatever the reasons you want to work at home, you’ll need to choose whether or not you want a job from home, or you want a business from home. Here are eight questions to help you decide.

1. Are You Self-Motivated?

If you want your own business so that you can set your own hours, you will need to be very self-motivated. You’ll need to take time out of your day for marketing, interviewing clients, closing the deal and then doing the work too. You’ll be 100 percent responsible for delivering the work, billing and collecting. You’ll even be responsible for deciding the methods you use to do the work. To do that you’ll need to be a very self-motivated individual.

2. What Skills Do You Have?

Take a piece of paper and write down a list of the skills you currently have, based on what you’ve already done in the past. Can any of these translate into a business? Label them appropriately. Do any of these translate into common work-from-home positions such as call center agent or transcriptionist? Some skills cross over into both, but which side of the list gets full faster?

3. What Sort of Lifestyle Do You Want?

With a work-at-home job you’ll be required to “show up” for work on time each day that you’re scheduled, and you may have little control over that schedule. What’s more, with work-at-home positions it is a lot harder than typical jobs to call in sick, whether it’s you or a child who is sick. Often the first 90 days you cannot miss your schedule at all if you want to keep the position. Are you ready for that? Or, would you prefer a more family-oriented type of schedule that can be adjusted more easily and is more deliverables-based than hourly-based?

4. Do You Already Have a Business Idea?

If you have already researched a business idea, and feel as if you want to do that instead of working for someone else, can you pull it off? What steps do you need to take to make it a reality? Are you the type of person to be able to organize and take the steps needed to get your business off the ground? Can you find and afford help if you’re not sure what to do to get the business going? Does the thought of all this stress you out?

5. How Do You Feel about Punching a Clock?

For some people the idea of clock punching is relaxing, for others it feels like a nightmare. Neither feeling is right or wrong as it takes all types of people to make this world work. If you know up front that you are fine with punching a clock and you’d rather someone else tell you when to be someplace and what to do, then a work-at-home job is best for you. If that feels like prison to you, then a business is probably better if you can do what it takes to get it going.

6. Do You Have Money to Start a Business?

Starting any type of business, even an online business, requires an investment not only of time, but also of money. Have you worked out a business plan and do you know how much money you need to get started? Do you have that money available? If not, do you have a way to get it? Perhaps working at a job first, while you save for and work on your business on the side, is the way to go if you don’t have the funds to start.

7. Do You Need Training and Education?

Both working at a job and owning a business sometimes require skills that you don’t have yet. But that’s okay. Decide if you want to invest in the training yourself to get your business off the ground, or if you would like to try to find a work-at-home job where they will train you from the ground up.

8. What Is Your Biggest Dream for Your Life?

When you think of the future, what do you see? Does it sound relaxing to get up in the morning, have some breakfast, and move to your home office where you sign in to work at your job, taking a break when needed by telling your manager that you have to use the restroom, or go eat lunch and so forth, then when you get off work you’re totally and fully off? Plus, each week you collect a guaranteed paycheck? Or, do you like the idea of being able to do what you want when you want (and likely working more hours than you ever thought you could) but without the guarantee of a specific amount of income each week, knowing that you’re forging your own future?

Whatever you decide, neither is right or wrong. They are both good choices for you. Whether you want a work-at-home job so you can sign off after the day and focus 100 percent on your family, or whether you want a business that will cross boundaries into family time and vice versa but that puts you 100 percent in charge – both are good choices and choices that you are fortunate to have in this age of high speed internet.