Moving from the Office to a Home Business

If you have always dreamed of starting your own business and working out of your home, why not do it? True, the move from a steady job to work at home can be frightening, but it is by no means impossible. There are a few things you can do to make the transition smoother, both for you mentally and financially.

Planning is essential. You need to decide exactly what you are going to be doing at home and how you are going to do it. Write up a detailed business plan and figure out how much money you need to get started. You will also need to figure out how much money you'll need to cover 3-6 months of expenses at home without working.

Try to start your business while you are still working full-time. This can be very difficult, but if you don't have the dedication to work evenings and weekends to get your new business off the ground, then perhaps you shouldn't be considering making the move from office to home! New businesses require a lot of elbow grease and you might as well start now. If you can start to build your business before you leave your old job, you will feel a lot more secure when you finally do switch over.

Start setting aside money. If you can afford it, put at least 10% of your monthly earnings into a separate bank account, reserved for your new business. This might mean making some cutbacks, but on the bright side, you'll be learning to live with less, which means you also need less to cover those extra 3 months!

Consider selling some things. Have a garage sale or throw some things up on EBay to earn extra cash to finance your new venture. This is a good way to get the money fast, without just working and saving for a year or two. If your start-up costs aren't too high, this might be just what you need to get going.

Test the waters by taking your vacation time from your regular company and using it to do market research and really focus on your business. If you have already been working evenings and weekends, throw yourself into the job completely for a week or two and see how well it goes. This could give you a good idea of how viable the plan is. Should it not work, out you will need to return to your day job and keep working on the moonlighting until you get it right.

Working from home can be very rewarding, but only if you have the means to make the move from full-time office job to full-time (and then some!) working at home. By planning ahead and testing your business before taking the plunge, you can make the transition a lot smoother.