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To Take The Plunge Or Not To Take The Plunge?

Working from home is a wonderful dream that many people have. They picture themselves tapping away on their computer and easily making large amounts of money… all while doing what they love, whatever that may be. But, working from home can be hard work, even though the benefits may be worth it.

Ask yourself, honestly, these 10 questions before you make that final decision to take the plunge and start working from home:

• Do you have confidence and courage?
  Leaving your job and starting something new at home can be scary. Do you feel committed enough to do what it takes whether it be cold calling or asking for start-up funding? Even though you might be scared, you should feel somewhat confident in yourself that you have the necessary skills and ability to make it work.
• Do you have not just an idea, but a plan?
  Dreaming about working at home while you watch your kids grow is a beautiful dream, but you should have an actual workable realistic business plan in place before you quit the rat race.
• Do you have a supportive spouse and/or family behind you?
  It’s hard enough to begin working from home and the support of your spouse is very important. I would even go so far as to say not having it is a deal-breaker. Some spouses can come around after they’ve seen your business plan or see you making money.
• Can your business become profitable quickly?
  If you’re working at home on the side and making a small part-time income, you can project what your income will be if you quit your day job and do this full-time. If you’re totally new to the income producing home job, try to put together some realistic numbers. If it’s going to be a slow start, can you afford to do this?
• Are you a self-starter and a motivated person?
  If you work for yourself at home, there is no boss cracking the whip. You have to crack your own whip at your own self and this is literally and figuratively hard to do. Can you work smart and accomplish a lot in the time allotted? Your home life will suffer if you have to constantly pull all-nighters because you procrastinated on a project.
• How do you feel about working alone every day?
  Working from home can be pretty lonely, unless you make use of social media such as Facebook or Twitter, which is like a virtual water cooler.
• Can you stay focused on what you need to do?
  Sure, you can throw a load of laundry in the machine, but you can’t let yourself get distracted by the TV, cleaning the house, running errands, or playing online games.
• Can you work with distractions?
  Your biggest distractions are probably your kids, but they’re probably a big reason why you want to be working at home. Take off the rosy glasses and see if you really can do both. If your task at hand is mostly sales calls, can you make them only when the kids are napping? Or if your work consists of writing, can you do that with the kids underfoot?
• How much time everyday can you devote to your business?
  Truthfully, can it be run successfully in the amount of time you have?
• Is it something you truly want to do from home?
  Don’t decide on a business or service just because the profit looks good, you have to like doing it or it will get old fast.

If your answers to these questions make you feel that working at home may be a good fit for you, then why not give it a try? You don’t have to quit your job and jump in with both feet; you can start your business on the side to get all the kinks worked out and an income coming in first. Or, consider taking a leave of absence or some vacation time to give yourself a taste of what working from home might really be like.