The home based internet business and freedom
Ask most people why they want to start a home business, or these days a home based internet business, and “you’ll round up the usual suspects,” as Claude Raines put it in Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart.
They will talk about making money, firing the boss, spending more time with the children, improving the quality of life; the opportunity to travel… the list goes on. However, if you look closely at the list, a common theme underlies all the specific items on the list.
When people start a home business or home based internet business what they are really looking for is one thing… FREEDOM!
That’s what it boils down to, right? No more boss telling you what to do. There is no alarm clock to wake YOU up so he can get to the dead end job that he doesn’t pay enough to allow you to do what YOU want to do. No more telling the kids they can’t go to Disneyland because there isn’t enough money, or not being able to go to Johnny’s ball game, piano recital or play because you have to be at work.
A lot of people think it’s all about the money, but if you got honest answers from people, you’d find that many would be willing to earn the same as their job now if they could get rid of the boss, the alarm clock, the coat. and tie, the shoes that pinch, the customers who complain and the fear of being… ahem… reduced.
That’s great! I do this and I can confirm that having FREEDOM is fantastic. As I sat at home to write this when I “arrived at work” at 10am on a Monday morning (in lounge clothes), the phone rang. she was my daughter. I had a dead battery and a new (preemie) baby on the north side of Dallas and was one step away from hysterics. Before I finished telling her mom the whole problem, I was throwing the jumper cables and my bag of tools in the Prius and getting ready to head out. There is no boss to ask, you see. There’s no real potential loss of income because I can always do this tomorrow. He was already thinking of a restaurant where he wanted to have lunch near where she was.
Now, in a weird way, that’s freedom. Doing what I want (or need) to do on my schedule without having to ask permission or worry about what will happen to my paycheck if I leave work early today…and maybe take the day off tomorrow entirely.
Unfortunately, many people who sign up for an internet business or home business only see that part. Unfortunately, many of the people who sign them up only talk about that side and all the money they can make.
Yes, freedom IS nice. It is real. I revel in that, but let me tell you a couple of facts too.
If you start a home-based business, whether it’s a home-based Internet business or a conventional one, or a hybrid, the chances of success or failure are the same as with any store that opened its doors downtown today. . The causes of success or failure will be the same as those of the barbershop, computer repair shop, hardware store, or grocery store that opened today.
The Small Business Administration outlines many of those causes on its website at http://sba.gov/ and it behooves the beginning entrepreneur to take a look. In fact, they currently have information that tells it like it is for anyone starting a new business venture, whether it be a physical store business, a traditional home-based business, or a home-based internet business. I guarantee you’ll find a wealth of information, including the causes of small business failure and tools for small business success on the SBA website.
An overview of all this information is that success depends on preparation and sustained effort on the part of the entrepreneur.
Yes, I was free to jump out the door to help my daughter without asking permission, but at some point I would have to sit down and write this article, clean up a website, connect with a potential client or business owner, study the news. and read the message boards. In other words, I would have to work to make MY business a success. I would have to do all the things my BOSS would have asked me to do, but now I have to do them myself. I’M THE BOSS!
And the janitor, and the sales manager, and the receptionist, and…
What the hell! I can pack my computer and go to the coast next week. Oh yeah. I have freedom, but I also have a business to think about. Let’s see. I will need an ocean view motel with high speed internet in the room. They have to accept pets. Don’t forget to contact some people there and make this a business trip…