Category: Start-up

3 Reasons And 3 Ways To Start A Business Out Of Your Home

In general, it is absolutely legal to run a business out of your home. Furthermore, when starting certain types of businesses, I highly recommend it!

There are some examples of great companies like Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Facebook that were initially started out of the home (or, even more illustrative, the garage).

Sometimes, it IS illegal to have a home office:

  • You rent, and your landlord prohibits it
  • You own a condo, and your homeowners association prohibits it

In these cases, be sure to check the by-laws and agreements that you signed. Sometimes, only specific kinds of businesses are prohibited: Your homeowners association may not want you running a manure refinement business out of your condo, for example…

For the rest of you, starting your business in your home may be a great idea. Here are some big advantages:

  1. No additional rent/mortgage expense
  2. Some of your existing rent expense can be deducted on your taxes
  3. No commute

In some cases, it may not be a good idea:

  • Your business has a lot of inventory – where will you store it?
  • It requires a lot of physical equipment
  • It is intrusive to your home in another way (like the manure example)
  • You need to segregate work and home to work effectively

With today’s technology, though, there has not been a better time to start a business from the home. Here are some you could get started on today:

  1. Consulting firm
  2. Blog/content monetizing
  3. Amazon/drop-ship business

I quit my job to help you quit yours. The first step in doing that is to create a second stream of income, and—in my opinion—the best way to do that is to build a business.

Running your business out of your home, at least at the beginning, is a great way to minimize your expenses until you prove your business concept and want to invest more.

Your business can start with literally nothing more than your computer, phone, and a website. You probably already have the first two, so we’re talking $10 per month. If I was starting all over again, I would have made that investment from my “day-job” income much earlier.

I teach people how to create businesses that allow them to lead lives of more freedom, impact, and fun. Check out how to do that here!