If you are considering a home business opportunity, or even if you have just started one, you may want to consider exactly what that decision would afford you. There are the obvious advantages to working from home—you control your own income, you choose your own hours, you don't have the rush hour traffic, you avoid the fear of layoffs or cut backs, you are your own boss. For sure those reasons alone are enough to spur someone into action who has even dreamt of being able to be a business owner. But what I've realized is that the home business venture proffers many more bonuses than most people realize.
Now that we have joined the ranks of the self-employed, I have found that I'm almost overwhelmed—although in nothing but a good way—at what this way of life has to offer. It has brought about a complete self-examination that has created a life without boundaries—literally. And anyone who is successfully running their own home business will be finding no borders where there used to be an abundance of them.
Consider just a few...
Chance to hone your time management skills- This is a great one. You didn't have time in a traditional job to manage your personal life effectively, I'm sure. A job dictates the hours you have left to do the things you need to do and want to do. Therefore, your after work hours are spelled out for you, purely out of necessity. I used to find there weren't enough hours in the day. Come weekends, it was chores, errands and maybe some time left over (if I wasn't too tired) to indulge in some personal time. Now, I'm finding it a welcomed challenge to decide which hours make the most sense for our business, which should be spent doing the things that are necessary and which are to be spent exploring what life has to offer.
Become more physically fit- This was a huge plus for me. Although I got up at the crack of dawn to make sure I exercised before showering and going to work, now I have found time to actually set up a complete workout plan. I combine the things that interest me (speed walking, some running and some yoga) and feel better than I have in years. Knowing I wasn't "on the clock" to be out the door to go to work has allowed me the time to take better care of myself. Even if you just add a brisk walk to your daily routine, it's a big difference in your health.
Take more short trips- This has been a biggie. Sure, you always had vacation time coming from work. Maybe paid, maybe not. But you had to request time off and then hope that the okay came through. And I was always torn as to whether to use my vacation time to travel to be with family at holidays, or to go somewhere new and exciting. Working at home, those mid-week visits to family and friends, or to a beach cottage, or even to an event (such as the Daytona 500 that was just here) are completely doable. And I don't have to worry whether another colleague happened to ask for the same time slot off.
Learn- Okay, so before you say this doesn't sound like fun, I have to tell you it is. I have been able to read more and watch more programs on the Science Channel or Discovery Channel and have actually spent a great deal of time online reading informative articles. A friend of mine who entered the home business arena about 4 years ago actually took some courses at a local community college that she had always wanted to take. It opens up the world to anything you want to discover to be able to set your own hours.
Do things you never had time to do but always wanted to- This is my favorite. Grow that herb garden, volunteer somewhere, join a book club, go to local plays and theater, try new foods and methods of cooking, coach a team or join a team....the list is endless. But the point is that without that time constraint that had us running inside to let the dogs out and then get supper on the table, we now have unlimited options to try things we only dreamed of before. We walk our dogs in the most pleasant part of the day and have quality time with them. That makes me so happy, that I am a better person. We also have 3 local flea and farmer's markets we never went to. Come the weekend, we told ourselves we have to fight the crowds and unless we got an early start, everything would be picked over. So we'd talk ourselves out of going. Now, we have even struck up a friendship with a gentleman at a local produce market and have learned a great many ways to fix vegetables and fruits than we never would have thought of. We also choose the mornings when most deliveries arrive.
Connect with old friends- This was one that I found a pleasant surprise. I was never one to spend much time on Facebook, Classmates.com, etc. Every now and then when I could sneak in a couple minutes I'd jump on line. Now, because our business grows through social media, we have connected with old friends and even gone to visit some of them. What a great feeling to have time to do that.
Live where you want to live- Yeah...that's right. And we do now. We live 1/2 the year in Florida (winters) and 1/2 at Lake Powell in Arizona. Portability changes everything. Instead of living where the jobs are or where the work is, the mobility that a home business offers opens up the world to you and your family. Since it probably only matters that you have internet service and a phone, try out new places. A friend of ours with their own home business actually retired from teaching at 35 and moved to a warm climate. She no longer had to live where there were openings for teachers. We love meeting new people and this affords us the opportunity to really see two drastically different parts of the U.S., while reaping the best from each place.
Improve your money-management skills- I, for one, didn't have any. Seriously. I counted on my husband to get our checks deposited and since he had an accounting system set up to auto-pay our bills, I never gave it a thought. I knew what are checks would be each month because in a traditional job, for the most part, you know what you will earn. Now, although we are earning more, it isn't a set paycheck and I have made it a point to take advantage of the business opportunity we bought into as it is based on a wealth and financial development product that offers advice, education and tips for making our money work for us. Since I took the time to learn what is involved in money management, I actually feel more secure than I did and it's a great feeling to know I'm making the most of what we earn.
Slow down and enjoy life- This is, by far, the most rewarding of all the bonuses that being a home business owner grants us. No more ironing my work clothes the night before, getting to bed early so I'm prepared for the rush the next day will be, running home (after traffic) to feed the dogs and ourselves and then doing the things that need doing before we turn in yet again. Now, we take life day-by-day, utilizing the time we have in the way that works best for our business and ourselves. I take advantage of the great weather when it's here and I often meet interesting people just running errands. My mindset is different and I project that.
We wouldn't trade our lives with anyone. We have found that the benefits of our home business are far more abundant than we originally told ourselves they would be. With a home business, it's a whole new world out there—and you could actually have time to explore it!
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