When You’ve Decided You Should Work From Home – What’s Next?

Posted by Debbie Dragon on November 13, 2007

Once you’ve decided you should work from home, regardless of what your own unique and personal reasons are, you have three basic choices- and yes, you should have an idea which of the three types of work at home varieties is ideal for you.

For people who work from home, they are either:

A) Operating a home-based business on a independent contract agreement, like Tastefully Simple, Tupperware, or Pampered Chef.
B) Employed by a company and working on a telecommuting basis.
C) Self employed business owners.

Now, there may be slight variations to the three basic types of work-at-home positions, but these are your main options. Before you begin looking for work at home, you should understand the differences between them and decide which one (or maybe even which two) of the variations is most desirable to you.

Home-Based Businesses

There are literally hundreds of different home based businesses. The main advantage of working as a consultant or representative of these companies is that you are not starting from scratch. The company has already created a name and brand for itself, unless it was just started yesterday, (and you should really reconsider your decision to put money and effort into a start-up business plan of this nature because more of them fail in their first year than will succeed!) This means you can follow the general path that other independent contractors of your company have taken to success, and the theory is you can duplicate what they did and become successful also.

Most home-based businesses offer multi-level marketing; meaning you earn commission on the sales you make personally, and you can earn commission on the sales your “team” or “downline” make. Your team is made up of people you have helped start their own independent businesses within the company, and often you are responsible for training them as well.

Many home-based businesses require the independent contractors to go into other people’s homes and give parties, shows, or demonstrations – but not all. While you are not employed by the home-based business company you select, you will be required to follow specific guidelines and rules when operating your business- sort of like a franchise.

Telecommuting

A telecommuting position is often the same type of work you would do in an office setting, except you are doing it from your home. With advancements in technology, it’s possible to do MANY different jobs from home, that were once thought to have to be completed within an office.

Administrative assistants, office managers, transcriptionists, accountants, bookkeepers and hundreds of thousands of other positions can often be done from home on a telecommute basis. Sometimes you may be required to report to the office once a week or once a month; or to show up for staff meetings- but the majority of your work in a telecommuting position is done from your home.

Telecommuting means you are employed by another business. You receive a paycheck and benefits similar to what you would receive if you worked in the office, but you’re saving the employer office space and equipment by performing your duties from home.

Self-Employed

Perhaps the most complicated and intensive of the three options for working from home, you could also become a self employed individual and operate your business out of your home. Being self employed has numerous advantages and disadvantages in comparison to the other two choices, and not everyone can become successful as business owners. I really believe it takes sheer determination and the unwillingness to fail to make it work. If that sounds like you, becoming self employed just may be your best option!