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The Top 10 Reasons to Own a Home-Based Business

Guest post by: Jocelyn Chavez

Article Overview: Imagine eliminating your daily commute and gaining that extra time. That’s the reality for more than half of all U.S. entrepreneurs. And with established home-based franchises and business opportunities available, owning a business that can be run from a home office can be your reality, too.

The Top 10 Reasons to Own a Home-Based Business



If your morning routine consists of playing 'beat the clock' in an effort to get yourself and your family out the door, followed by commuting to work, you've probably thought about how much more productive you could be if instead of spending time sitting behind the wheel, or on the train, you were already sitting behind your desk.

Imagine eliminating your daily commute and gaining that extra time to devote to working. That's the reality for more than half of all U.S. entrepreneurs. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, approximately 52% of all small businesses in the U.S. are home-based.

Owning a business that can be run from a home office can be your reality, too. With established home-based franchises and business opportunities available, in some of the fastest-growing industries, you don't have to devote years to inventing a new product or service and launching a business from scratch, in order to experience the rewards of home-based business ownership.

The Advantages of Owning a Home-Based Business

With computers fueling essential business functions and connecting people from around the globe, home-based businesses and telecommuting arrangements have gained widespread acceptance and become the norm. From increased productivity and efficiency, to cost savings, social responsibility and flexibility, home-based business models and remote working arrangements offer considerable benefits. Here's a closer look at some of the significant advantages of owning a home-based business:

1. Lower overhead and operating expenses- Low-overhead, work-from-home business models are extremely cost-effective because they eliminate the need for pricey real estate, as well as the expenses associated with securing and maintaining traditional office space. In fact, small- to mid-sized businesses in the U.S. could save $124 billion in real estate, electricity and related costsby implementing a telecommuting strategy, according to a Citrix Online-commissioned Telework Research Network (TRN) report on telecommuting.
2. Minimal staffing requirements- According to Small Business Administration (SBA) statistics, over 90% of home-based businesses don't have employees. Not having employees to manage frees you to focus on building the business.
3. Freedom and flexibility- Many home-based businesses feature flexible operating hours. A flexible schedule, combined with eliminating the daily commute provides you with a greater sense of control over your time and your schedule. Nationwide, the average one-way daily commute to work lasted about 24.3 minutes. And according to American Community Survey (ACS) data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, on average, Americans spend more than 100 hours each year commuting to work.
4. Increased efficiency and productivity- In addition to the time-saving benefits of cutting out the daily commute, a home office allows you create a work environment free of distractions and interruptions, thereby maximizing productivity and efficiency. The Citrix Online sponsored, TRN report, "Workshifting Benefits: The Bottom Line," found that if the 79% of American workers polled who reported they would choose to work from home if given the opportunity, worked from home just half of the time, a company of 100 people could gain approx. $576,000 per year and the U.S. economy as a whole would gain $235 billion in increased productivity.
5. Tax benefits- Home-based businesses that meet certain requirements may qualify for tax write-offs and may be able to deduct a percentage of mortgage interest, utility costs, repairs and other expenses.
6. Minimal inventory requirements- Home-based business models often feature minimal inventory requirements, or no inventory, which reduces expenses.
7. Reduced fuel consumption and lower transportation costs- A typical U.S. household spends approximately 17% of its after-tax income on transportation costs - more than it spends on food, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). With fluctuating gas prices, home-based businesses are a cost-effective way to reduce gasoline expenditures and wear and tear on vehicles. In fact, a study commissioned by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that the estimated 3.9 million U.S. telecommuters reduced gasoline consumption by about 840 million gallons.
8. Improved work-life balance- With the average American worker spending 100 hours of time commuting to their workplace annually, that's an amount that exceeds the two weeks of vacation time (80 hours) frequently taken by workers in a given year. Home-based businesses cut the commute and put you in control of your schedule.
9. Minimizes the latte factor- Eliminating the daily commute is not only convenient, it also benefits your wallet; as it reduces the likelihood of making seemingly small, incidental, unnecessary, impulse purchases that add up over time. From banishing the temptation to grab a coffee en route to the office, to reducing the need to pick-up lunch when busy days leave little time for brown-bagging it, working from home eliminates many unnecessary purchases. Plus, while experts recommend that individuals working from a home office maintain a regular routine that's consistent with preparing to go into corporate office, your attire will likely be considerably more casual, which means that your clothing expenditures along with your dry cleaning expenses- which can be very costly- will typically decrease.
10. It's environmentally responsible- Working from home and home-based businesses benefit the planet. An estimated 1.35 billion gallons of gasoline could be conserved annually if every U.S. worker with the ability to telecommute did so 1.6 days per week, according to a report released in 2008 by the American Electronics Association. And the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculates that conserving 1.35 billion gallons of gas a year through increased telecommuting would prevent 26 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the environment.

With home-based franchises and business opportunities available in some of the fastest-growing sectors, from medical billing to home services, now is an ideal time to own a home-based business.

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Article Tags: home office franchises, homebased businesses, homebased franchises, remote work arrangements, telecommuting franchises, top advantages of owning a homebased business, work at home businesses, work from home franchises, work from your home, work out of your house



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