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Work From Home And Be Your Own Boss!
by Candice Clem
More Home Business / Other Business Opportunities Articles
Published on this site: July 18th, 2009 - See
more articles from this month
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why the majority of
business conducted worldwide is conducted by small businesses?
There is a practical answer as to why there are so many small
businesses and small business franchises popping up all over the
world every year: each small business owner and small business
franchise owner gets to be their own boss. Driven people with
business sense, an instinct for sales, marketing, management,
administration, and finance eventually find themselves against a
ceiling in a large corporate setting. Eventually the
entrepreneur screams to be set free, and the desire to start
their own business—be their own boss, run their own
company—kicks in and takes over. So what is the next step? For
many people the solution is to open a small business or a home
based business; a practical and effective way to begin is with
the small business franchise.
Working from home has a certain appeal; there is a draw to
being able to make your own hours, to avoid the commute, to work
with a schedule that fits your lifestyle, your family, and your
timetable. It's important to note though, that there is a
certain amount of discipline, structure, and commitment
necessary to run a really successful small business franchise
out of your home. There are four big questions that every eager
entrepreneur should ask himself or herself before jumping into
the home based business.
- Do I really want to be my own boss, or do I simply not want
to have a boss?
Being your own boss is not the same thing as not having a boss.
Not having a boss is no deadlines, no expectations, and no
accountability for your work effort. Being your own boss is very
different. Being your own boss means that you have the passion
and personal discipline to impose upon yourself the goals and
expectations that are necessary to propel your home based
business into a successful franchise. Being your own boss means
that you are able to set for yourself work goals either in terms
of jobs accomplished or hours worked in a given period of time.
It doesn't mean you have to call yourself into your own office
and write yourself up, but a successful small business franchise
owner is someone who is able to create goals and a work schedule
and is disciplined enough to make themselves stick to that
commitment.
Helpful Hint: make a work schedule; track your
projects, goals, hours, and expectations for yourself as both
boss and employee.
- Can my home be a productive home office?
Contrary to the taglines you will often encounter in an
internet advertisement for a work at home offer, a true home
based business is not something that you should try to
effectively run in your bathrobe from the desktop computer on
the kitchen table. Successful small business franchises are ones
that are run by motivated owners who can create for themselves a
structured work environment to get maximum productivity out of
themselves and their franchise. It is highly recommended that if
you are going to begin to work from home that you create an area
of your home that is your office. A dedicated environment that
is specifically set aside for running your own franchise. Just
like you don't want to live at the office, you don't want your
office to dominate every aspect of your home.
Helpful Hint: Shower and dress for work as if you were "going" to work. Use a
separate desk for franchise business and home business such as
bills etc. Use a separate phone or phone line to make business
calls and to contact clients, employees, and service providers.
- Is this a dream, or is this a whim?
Deciding to take up tennis is not such a bad whim. Purchasing
the shoes, the racket, a container of tennis balls, and a
membership to a health club could get pricy, but in the end if
you decide it's not for you it's not that big of a loss.
Deciding to take up running your own small business franchise
from your home should not be put in the same category of "things
I would like to try." While there are low cost franchise
businesses that in some cases may seem like an affordable loss
if indeed they do not fit your particular business style,
running your own franchise from your home is something that
takes a lot of work, determination, passion, and commitment. It
is also much more rewarding in the long run than a decent
forehand shot. Make sure that you really are committed to being
a successful small business franchise owner before beginning
your franchise. Look into several franchises and gather
information from many different providers to decide the
franchise that is really right for you. Don't get frustrated
when things get hard because running a business is difficult,
demanding, and there is a certain amount of stress that is
necessary to be successful.
Helpful Hint: Set a goal for a time
period of at least 6 months and then re-evaluate how your home
business franchise is going. Measure your passion for the end
result with your passion for the day-to-day operation of your
small business. Make sure that you can commit the time and
energy to seeing your home based business through it's infancy
and into success.
- Who will hold me to my commitment, help me with my
frustrations and celebrate my success?
Small business, especially home based small business, thrives
on the relationships that are developed between providers,
clients, co-workers, and other small businesses in the
community. Just because you want to be your own boss and work in
an environment that is under your control does not mean that you
have to operate your small business franchise in isolation. The
beauty of a franchise is that you are not a sole provider of
your service or product. Many franchise opportunities include
training and support. Make sure that you have people around you
and your business that you trust to give you helpful advice,
constructive criticism, and accountability to making your small
business franchise a success.
Helpful Hint: Attend small
business training and conferences provided by both your
franchise provider and other local businesses. Create a network
of other franchise and small business owners that you can share
your successes and frustrations with that will help you become
more successful. Share with others your goals and expectations
for your home business so that they can help you measure your
success and devise ways to grow your home based business
successfully.
A home-based business opportunity has the freedom that many
people have longed for their entire career and can be a very
rewarding and profitable experience. But like anything in the
business world hard work and careful planning are extremely
necessary tools in order to have a successful and profitable
experience. Make sure that you have put the thought, planning,
and work into creating the right strategy and environment to
successfully run your home based franchise so that when you do
make that step you find yourself experiencing everything you
hoped a small business success could be.
Candice Clem: Find
http://www.franchisegator.com/Home-Based-Business-Franchises/
work at home franchise opportunities and information for
entrepreneurs at http://homebasedbusinessopp.com Home Based
Business Opportunities.
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