Bob's Home Business Blog

It’s the dream of many people these days to start an online home business and be able to roll out of bed in the morning or whenever they feel like it, grab a cup of coffee and walk down the hall to their office. This is just one of the attractions of working from home and I’m sure you won’t have any trouble coming up with several of your own.

However, many Internet marketers will tell you that in order to succeed on the web with your Internet enterprise you’ll need a compelling reason why. Bearing this in mind, here are 5 persuasive arguments for starting your Internet career from your home:

1. Many Internet marketers say their number one motive for succeeding on the web is so they can spend more time with their family and this situation allows them to fulfill this need. When you begin making the money you need to quit your day job you’ll soon find that being your own boss allows you spend more time and do more things with your wife and kids.

2. Another undeniable perk of this situation is you can set your own hours so you can finally escape the 9 to 5 grind that your friends still have to endure on a daily basis. No more fighting the early morning freeway traffic, no more shoveling out your driveway at six in the morning and no more stressful situations with your boss. All of this can be a powerful incentive to work hard to achieve your goal of being able to stay home.

3. Most Internet marketing businesses, when set up properly, can run themselves and can basically work on auto pilot. This will free up all the time you need for the more important things in life such as family and friends and having fun.

4. Many successful home business owners online enjoy traveling the world. And when you get your Internet enterprise where you want it to be you’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor by visiting places you’ve only heard about or you’ve only seen in books or on TV.

5. Finally, your income can, and should, reach heights you’ve never dreamed possible and this will allow you to financially help family and friends who may be experiencing tough times in this terrible economy.

If someone is sick and needs help with their medical bills or if someone has lost their job because of downsizing or for whatever reason you’ll be able to step up and do the right thing to see them through until things turn around.

We all have different reasons why we want our online home businesses to succeed; and while some may be more compelling and important than some others as long as they provide the motivation you need to accomplish your goals they will have fulfilled their role.

Bob Withers

Back to top of page

Many people enjoy the thought or the notion of working from home full time while making a salary that can replace their current income from their job outside the home. Why now? Why are people so interested in starting their own business at home at this point in time and what’s the attraction in doing so?

The main reason there are so many of us who want to quit our day jobs, if we’re lucky enough to have them, and work from home is because of the current economic conditions not only here in North America but globally as well.

There are so many people who are worried about losing the income they’ve already established over the years because of cutbacks by companies who are trying to save money in order to survive and because of downturns in the economy that they would rather have a secondary source already in place instead of waiting until it’s too late, after their full-time position disappears.

There are several reasons why creating your own income is so tempting these days beginning with the fact that you won’t be dependent on anyone else or on some entity to provide money for you and your family in return for your efforts. This creates a much less stressful situation for you because any money you earn will go directly into your pocket and won’t be divided several ways between you and your employer and your co-workers.

This sense of independence also gives you a feeling of freedom by knowing you can set your own work hours and work as much or as little as you want on any given day. Of course the more effort you put in the more money you will earn, so this incentive usually wins out when you’re deciding how much time to devote on any given day. However, just knowing the choice is yours creates a sense of now being able to do what you want when you feel like it and without someone else’s approval.

You’re no longer tied to a time clock and you no longer have to answer to a boss who tells you what to do and when to do it and how often. You set your own rules and your own hours. Along with this sense of freedom comes a sense of duty to be more disciplined than ever before because you don’t have a supervisor looking over your shoulder making sure you work your 8 hours you must supervise yourself which I guess is what is meant by being your own boss.

Having your own home based business also means no more rush hour traffic, no more commuting in the winter, no more buses or subways and no more worries about arriving late. When you get your home venture where you want it to be financially speaking, especially if it’s an Internet based endeavor, you can take some time away from your enterprise when you would normally not even consider doing so with a regular 9 to 5 job.

There are also several financial advantages to owning your own home business including the income tax write-offs you can claim because you’re working out of your own house or apartment. With the price of gas increasing almost on a daily basis the savings absorbed by not having to drive back and forth to work every day could be astronomical when calculated on a yearly time period.

The savings accrued by not eating out at lunch time on a regular basis and by not having to take the bus or subway every day, if you do so, could be very lucrative when averaged over a 12 month period. So it isn’t difficult to see why so many people are gravitating toward the idea of starting a home based business and replacing their current job with a new endeavor where they’re the boss.

Bob Withers

Back to top of page

Working from home and home based business opportunities online are becoming more attractive to people not only because of the poor economy and the shortage of main stream jobs offline but also because of the small investment needed to start your enterprise.

Many new start-ups on the web only require the cost of buying a domain name as well as a hosting service for your new website. Of course once you have these two expenses taken care of all you need then is a computer and an Internet connection which most households already have in place.

The Internet makes it so easy to get your business up and running online because there are so many different opportunities available for you to choose from as well as the ongoing support you can receive from the many different programs offered. For example, if you have any special talents or interests you can offer your skills by starting your own freelancing venture. People will pay you by the hour or on a piece meal basis whereby you charge for the job once it’s completed.

If your skilled in any of the following areas: article writing, e-book writing, website design and construction, graphic design, software programming or any one of the many other talents you may possess you can advertise on job boards and home business forums on the web to find companies and other home business owners looking to contract out some of their work for a price.

Another example of a low cost or no cost opportunity you can become involved with is affiliate marketing. This entails you, as the affiliate, advertising and selling other people’s products for a commission for each sale or receiving a payment for some task completed by your prospect such as filling out a form or subscribing to an email list.

Some of the benefits of this type of promotion are: you don’t need your own product to make a living online, you don’t have any overhead or shipping costs because this is all handled by the company or affiliate program and you don’t have any customer service issues to contend with because, once again, your sponsor will take care of it.

You can literally have your website set up with your product line added and your payment process in place for your customers within a few hours. Then all you need to do is drive traffic to your website by taking advantage of the many free tactics available on the Internet and then watch your sales and profits increase in your Paypal account. Another approach you can take to starting your own low cost venture is to build a website with its main theme or central topic being something which you’re very passionate and very enthusiastic about.

For example, if your a sports fan or more specifically a baseball fanatic you could start a site which contains articles about the sport and it’s players with all the latest breaking news being added via the many different feeds available you can subscribe to on the web. In no time at all people will begin recognizing you as an expert in your field. You can then sell advertising space on your home page to the companies who will be lined up to target your audience.

The Internet has opened up a whole new world of home business opportunities available to anyone interested and we have only scratched the surface in this article. If none of the afore mentioned possibilities peaked your interest then I would suggest you conduct a search online using your favorite search engine and I’m sure you will find something in the results that will spark your enthusiasm.

Bob Withers

Back to top of page

Home based business start-ups are on the rise and continuing to increase according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are many reasons for this upward trend including the rate of unemployment in the U.S. and Canada as well as the current overall state of the economy worldwide. There are over 18.3 million home based businesses in the United States and in excess of $427 billion is generated each year by home-based businesses according to statistics published by Entrepreneur Magazine.

Aside from the high unemployment rate and the current economic situation why have people begun to rely on their own initiative and want to work from the comfort of their own home? There are many advantages to owning and operating your own enterprise from home and here are 5 that really appealed to me:

1. Many parents want to spend more quality time with their children and they see the opportunity for this goal being realized by working from home. By being your own boss you can structure your work schedule around your kid’s hours. For example, you can be there when they get up in the morning, when they’re not feeling well and have to take a day off and when they get home from school. This work at home situation could be the solution to the so called latch key kids syndrome which has been blamed for some of the problems faced by today’s youth. Just by being there when you’re needed is a big plus for everyone concerned.

2. If you live in Canada or the northeastern United States you will certainly appreciate the fact that you don’t have to venture out every morning during our sometimes bitterly cold winters to get to your job. Instead you can pour another cup of coffee and take it to your home office and begin your day at work. You can even do this in your pajamas if you feel like it.

3. By owning your own home venture you can literally make as much money as you want depending, of course, on your level of effort and the number of hours you work. Your salary isn’t set by some company who knows you only by your employee number and you don’t have to approach your boss, with hat in hand, almost begging for a raise on a regular basis. You are your own boss and no one will be able to dictate how much you can and cannot make from your job.

4. Today’s technology allows you to pick and choose which work at home opportunity you would like to develop as your own and you aren’t limited to only one income stream. The Internet has changed the way business is done worldwide and the opportunities online are almost endless for new entrepreneurs. You can begin by concentrating on one venture and when you have your initial start-up where you want it to be financially you can then begin another enterprise or create an additional income stream from home.

5. Owning your own business and being your own boss brings with it a certain amount of respect and admiration from your friends and other family members. People admire others who are able to make their own way in the world by not having to depend on other people or entities for an income by working forty hours a week each and every week until you either  retire or die.

Owning a successful home business provides you the independence to set your own hours and schedule your own vacations for as long as you want and when you want. The perks are unbelievable and they provide the only incentive you need to drive you to accomplish your goals.

Owning and operating your own home based business online has many pluses, however to take advantage of this situation and to become all you want to be you must maintain your focus and be dedicated at all times to achieving your goals.

Bob Withers

Back to top of page

Once you’ve started a home based business online and you’ve become successful by making a steady income from your website you should now consider creating a second income on the web. However, only undertake another start up if your original entity is doing well and is where you want it to be financially speaking.

Don’t attempt to build a second business and a second income if you’re still struggling to make your original endeavor a success. This will only compound the situation because all of your time should be dedicated to making your first enterprise financially viable before entertaining thoughts of creating a second online income.

It may be difficult to get motivated to begin another home based business online especially if you are financially secure and you have no worries about making ends meet and you’re able to save for your retirement or you’ve already made arrangements for a regular income when you take a permanent vacation from work. However, I’m sure if you think about the situation for a moment you’ll have no problem coming up with several reasons why another source of revenue from the web would be the sensible thing to do.

1. If you take a look at what’s happening globally, for example with the middle east situation and the turmoil in Libya and Egypt and of course the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the profound effect these events are having on our economy and the price of oil and gas in particular it seems as though you can never have enough funds in reserve to guarantee your future financial stability. A second income to pay the monthly bills and to keep up with the increases in the cost of living would make your financial situation much more balanced and secure for the future.

2. The rising costs of educating your children may motivate some of us to seriously think about a second online income just to take care of this expense alone. Knowing that your kid’s future educational expenses have been taken care of would be a huge relief for many of us and this would enable you to focus more on increasing your revenues online without having any other financial distractions to worry about.

3. For many the reward of being able to stay home with the kids and enjoy more free time with them would be the stimulus needed to begin another Internet enterprise from home. This second income source may be just what’s needed to make this dream a reality.

4. Maybe you have a close family member who’s in dire financial straits and who is in desperate need of monetary help; another income from the web would allow you to offer them the help they need to get them over this economic hurdle and help them get back on their feet again.

5. There are so many people around the world who are suffering every day in so many different ways that maybe the philanthropist in you would consider using this second income stream to set up a foundation to provide funds to many of your favorite charities around your city and around the world. This may be your opportunity to give something back to those who are less fortunate and enable you to share your good fortune with those who need it most.

A second income stream from another online home business would provide the additional security we all need in these times of economic uncertainty and coming up with a good reason why you should undertake this endeavor shouldn’t be too difficult a task to over come.     

Bob Withers 

Back to top of page

Remember the old adage “numbers don’t lie?” Well, if you’re considering starting a home based business numbers may be the deciding factor which sway you in favor of taking the plunge. For example, in terms of success rates, about 70% of home-based businesses will last over a three-year period, compared to 29% of other business ventures, according to the Home-Based Business Institute.

Entrepreneur magazine estimates that $427 billion is generated each year by home-based businesses. (Pittsburgh Business Times) That’s bigger than General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler all put together. 89% with household incomes greater than $80,000 have a home office compared to 14% of those with incomes below $25,000 (Find/SVP). A recent IDC survey indicates that the average income for income-generating home office households is $63,000 a year. (Stats courtesy of Kristie Rimmele, kristiet.com)

These are certainly compelling statistics in favor of becoming a home business owner. However if you need further convincing maybe the current economic climate and the soaring unemployment will help you make up your mind. The average unemployment rate in the United States rose from 4.6% in 2007 to 5.8% in 2008 and then took an alarming jump from 5.8% in 2008 to 9.3% in 2009, and it continues to climb.

According to the Financial Post: “Unemployment for African Americans is projected to reach a 25-year high this year, and a study released Thursday, May 27, by an economic think tank, had the national rate soaring to 17.2 percent and the rates in five states exceeding 20 percent. Moreover, the unemployment gap between men and women has reached a record high — with men far outpacing women in joblessness.”

Inflationdata.com says: “At this point the inflation rate is neither in the long term down trend nor in the six year uptrend but remains in sort of “no man’s land”. Indicating what we have been saying for quite some time that it really could go either way. We could have a deflationary depression or a hyperinflationary depression but either way we end up with a depression.”

The current condition of the stock market is another concern. Adam Hewison, President INO.com says on his blog: “There is no quick fix for the economy. I expect to see a prolonged economic climate that is not conducive for stocks to move higher. However, there will be pockets of opportunity where certain markets and sectors will move higher. All in all, this is not a rosy picture for either the US or world economy. As I have said many times on this blog, these are trading markets and not markets to hold long-term.”

And then there’s the federal government’s bailout of our financial institutions. The editor at Inflationdata.com says: “Based on the magnitude of the bailout expenditures it appears Hyperinflation is already baked into the cake. You thought WWII and Iraq were expensive?  You “ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The current bailout is larger than all the major government expenditures since the revolutionary war combined. In three months, Paulson and Bernanke spent more than twice the cost of all of WWII.” This begs the question, how are we going to pay for all of this?

As Adam Hewison said, this isn’t a rosy picture for either the US or world economy, and the associated financial worry and stress of day to day living and working and trying to pay the bills for the average American is becoming more of a widespread problem than ever before. Because of this many more people than ever before are turning to home based business ideas to help alleviate their financial stress. Maybe it’s time you did too?

Bob Withers