Blog

Have you ever toyed with the idea of starting your own business and working from home? Home businesses are on the rise and for good reason. As many of our EIS customers have experienced when starting their own at home Edible Images business there are numerous benefits to running your own business from home.

Personal freedom abounds when you have a home based business. You can choose your hours dependent on yours and your customers needs, with technology these days you don’t have to miss a call or email which means you’re not chained to a desk or set office times. Being your own boss means you get the final say and can drive your business and energy in the direction that suits you. And, you don’t have to answer to anyone or explain where you are, where you’re going or why you might be late. You needn’t mould yourself to suit a job, rather you can mould your business to suit yourself.

Starting your own business can often sprout from a hobby or interest you’re passionate about or it could be just the desire to work for yourself, take on a new challenge or change direction in life. You needn’t have the start up idea, there are plenty of existing small businesses to buy or ideas to get you started. Either way, doing it from home allows you to grow and develop it the way you want at a pace that suits you.

“I still pinch myself that I get to do something that truly ignites my soul whilst getting paid for the privilege! Stuff dreams are made of”. - Kristene D’Ambros, Mummy Bakes Cakes

Running your own business allows you to put all of your skills to use, it affords you so much personal and professional growth. It stretches you out of your comfort zone and makes you take on tasks and challenges that you never thought you could handle. It can scratch that creative itch and have you soon discovering so many new skills you didn’t realise you possessed. You can revel in the knowledge that you are the expert in your business!

Without a doubt one of the biggest attractions to a home business is the potential work life balance it can provide. It can fit in with family demands, stay at home parents find this way of working so beneficial as they can be on hand to parent, yet also fulfil their desire to work and contribute financially to the household. It reduces the need for costly childcare, allows you to stay home if the kids are sick (you work while they sleep) or even schedule long weekends without having to apply for time off. You can get to those school events that you always missed when you worked for someone else or grab that coffee with a friend.

In short, you can grow your business in line with the growth of the family and/or your own personal needs. Many at home business owners choose to do their work at night once the kids are asleep or work around times that suit their family or their own leisure needs. You may choose to keep it at a certain level until the kids are at school, then grow it as more time becomes available to you.

“Starting my own Edible Image business was a learning curve for me, at the beginning it was a challenge to balance work, life and finances but after the first 2 months things got easier and I was able to pay off my initial business outlay and maintain a positive income. The juggle was worth it as I was able to build it up enough to pay for itself but also to add income to our household and remain a stay at home mum to three children”. - Janifer Hutchinson, Janifers Edible Cake Toppers

Running your home business also means output equals input, what you earn from your efforts is yours to keep (after expenses of course), rather than putting in the hours for someone else to profit from your hard efforts. You should also check out the tax benefits associated with “at home” businesses.

Home business usually means low start up cost as there are low overheads, no rent etc required. You also have the benefits of saving money and time (and frustration) on commuting and parking. The lack of commute also translates into greater productivity as you don’t waste valuable time on it. Productivity is dramatically increased due to less “office” distractions such as colleagues, meetings, and even office politics.

As you can see there really are so many positives to starting your own home business. If you’re still not totally sold, here’s one last thing to consider - its casual Friday every day of the week when you work from home!