Home based business: The pros and cons involved

If you are looking for a way to start-up your new business with the minimum amount of capital investment, do not hesitate to consider setting it up at your home. You would surely save a lot of money on operating expenses like utilities, rents, commuting costs and wardrobe expenses.

Functioning from home makes a lot of sense when you're launching a business and have limited start-up funds. But as with every good thing there remains a negative side, these kind of businesses also have some disadvantages.

Pros of working from home

Lesser commute time-

Commuting to and from offices consumes a lot of time. Working from the comfort of your home can save a great deal of that time and even relieve the daily stress of travelling. This can also give you more time to indulge in revenue-producing activities.

Flexibility of work-

When the office is in your home it allows you to wear whatever you feel comfortable in, work during the most productive hours, hire as many people as you prefer to and just adapt the workflow that’s best suited for your business. Hours of work can also be flexibly chosen as per your requirement.

Reduce overhead costs and save money-

Offices build at home helps in keeping your overhead costs low as you can save a lot of bucks spent on office space renting, extra phone bills or office utilities. Tax benefits for such businesses are lucrative as well. Zero commute costs even add to your savings.

Improves work and life balance-

Balancing between professional and personal life seems difficult for many people. So having your business at home can minimize this issue and help maintain a healthy life balance. This also relieves stress keeping you more fresh and active.

Cons of working from home

Lack of self-discipline-

Being in the home environment can make you lazy at times and divert focus on work, so without strict self-discipline and motivation, it can be quite challenging. Some can even find it difficult to concentrate on work while surrounded by household chores.

Bitter client experience-

There may be clients who would not find your home office very professional. They can simply call off the deals just because of this issue leading to loss in your business.

Impending distractions-

Guests, friends and family can drop in unannounced anytime at your home, even at your working hours, which can be very distracting. Disturbances from children, neighbors and other people could also disrupt your workflow.

Difficult to shut down-

The negligible distinction between work, home and personal life can make it extremely hard to call off work and most probably you end up overworking. As there are no strict office hours in home based business, you could easily be drawn to work endlessly making you feel overburdened and stressed at the end of the day.