Benefits of Working from Home

The Benefits of Working from Home

Self-employment is appealing to people for numerous reasons. These reasons go above and beyond the ability to be one's own boss and to have a hand in the direction of the company. In this economy, no one has much job security. A small business is a good way of ensuring that you stay employed even during the worst of the downturn. Being self-employed also confers a number of lifestyle benefits, including the ability to set one's own hours and to save money on tax and business expenses. This is especially true for home-based businesses such as network marketing.

You Are the Boss

When you work for another company, someone else is in charge. Your boss tells you what to do and when to do it. He or she sets your schedule and you must abide by it. You must ask for time off to go to appointments, take vacations and watch your son's ball game. Your boss is free to deny your request for leave if he or she feels like it. You also have no hand in directing or guiding the company. If you do not like the direction the business is going, you are powerless to stop it. Your pay is limited to what your boss is willing to give you.

Working from home could not be more different. As a person who is self-employed, you will be the boss. You will set all the rules, you will decide when, where and how you work, and you will determine when you take leave and for how long. If your son has a ballgame after school one afternoon, you will be free to attend. You will not have to ask for leave to visit an ailing parent who lives far away or to go on a weekend getaway with your significant other.

You will also have complete control over the company. What products you make, where and how you sell them, and how the business fares will be totally up to you. You can change anything at anytime without consulting anyone. As the boss, your pay will only be limited by the business' earnings.

Personal Growth

Working from home also allows you an unprecedented opportunity for personal growth. As a small-business owner, you will have to wear many different hats and attend to many different problems. You will be challenged and you will grow to meet this challenge by developing new skills and abilities. You will learn a lot about yourself. You will also get to meet a lot of new people and have many unique and exciting experiences that most employees never dream of. It may sound intimidating but you will quickly learn how to handle the change.

Portability

Employees are usually tied to their office. You are required to live nearby and show up everyday at the specified time. Some employers let people telecommute on occasion, but that is an unusual situation.

When you have your own home-based business, you can work from anywhere. You might have a home office where you do the majority of your work, but you can also work from a coffee shop, a bookstore, a restaurant or any other place that offers an Internet connection. “Home” could also be mobile; when your business is based around the Internet, you can work just as easily from a mountaintop in Tibet or a beach in New Zealand as you can from an apartment in Cleveland.

Lower Expenses

Working for an employer is expensive. Among the other expenses you have to pay are gas or public transit fees to get to and from work everyday, the cost of the occasional lunch out and the cost of a suitable wardrobe. If you own a car, you will also have to pay for maintenance on the vehicle due to the wear and tear of constant commuting. If you work long hours, you may get take-out for dinner most nights or hire someone to help clean your house. All of these expenses add up and reduce your take home pay even more.

Self-employment comes with its own list of expenses but these are smaller and are easily managed. Once you get past the start-up fees, which for a network marketing business are less than $200, your costs will be minimal. You will not have to pay for rent on an office, you will not a separate power bill or a cleaning bill and you will not have to pay for a professional wardrobe. When you work from home, you can wear whatever you want. Because you will structure the business around your lifestyle, you will also be able to save money on eating out, gas and car repairs.

Your main expenses for your work from home business will be Internet service and office supplies. Your income potential will be unlimited. While you may not make as much as you would like at first, your business will grow as you go along and you can eventually earn a full-time income. Start out with small goals and raise the bar as your confidence and experience increase.

Tax Advantages

The lifestyle benefits conferred by a work from home marketing business extend even into the tax arena. The law allows you to deduct most business related expenses from your income. If your home office is used solely for your business, you can deduct the cost of the office and all your supplies. This includes your furniture, office supplies, software and electronics. You will have to keep the receipts in case you get audited by either the IRS or your state's tax department.

In most cases, you can also deduct the cost of your health insurance. If your entire family is on your plan, you may also be able to deduct their premiums. You can also deduct magazine subscriptions if they are industry-related and long-distance telephone calls to clients.

Travel expenses are also deductible. This includes gas and wear and tear on your car from any visits you make to clients or the office supply store. If you travel long distances, you can often deduct the cost of the hotel, the airfare, car rental fees, tips and even part of your meals.

In order to qualify for all of these tax benefits, you have to keep accurate records. You will have to get a mileage book for your car. You will also need to highlight individual business expenses on your phone and credit card statements. The most important thing to remember is that you must keep all bills and receipts if you intend to deduct any of these expenses.

No Experience Needed

An Internet marketing business is not a home-based business that requires you to have prior experience in the field. Network marketing may be a good fit for you regardless of your background. Unlike many other businesses, you do not need to have any particular work history. There are no educational requirements and you do not have to get any special training. For this reason, a network marketing business is good for people who are just starting out, for those who have retired from their careers and for anyone in between.