Women in home based businesses have become a way of life for many of us. To have

a work from home business success story, I would like to give you an insight on how

to start a home business and and some of the pros and cons for women working at

home. I started my first business in 1993. I had been a medical transcriptionist for 13

years and the hospital I was working for at the time was closing its doors. I also knew

there had to be a better way for single women raising children (as was the case with

me) to make a substantial living and work at home. About one year into the business

it was time to hire some help. This was a struggle for me in terms of the exact point I

actually could hire someone and not "cut my nose off to spite my face". Hiring your

first employee or independent contractor is all timing. Once my business was

established, I tried conventional advertising in newspapers which was prohibitively

expensive and I found that word of mouth (based on my reputation in my field of expertise, medical transcription) was more successful.

The first thing you would need to do when starting your home based business is to

decide how far you want to go with it, what are your goals and how are you going to

meet those goals. You will also need to decide whether to hire employees or

independent contractors. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. With

employees you will need to take care of all tax deductions for payroll. You would be

able to give them definitive hours and days they are to work. With independent

contractors, you do not have to take care of tax deductions for them. They are given a

1099 for the year worked and it is up to them to file and maintain their own tax

records. However, you are not able to dictate when they work or what hours they

work. They are independent contractors and must be treated as such. I would like to

now touch on a very important issue of owning a home based business, the pros and

cons for your employees - independent contractors and what you as a business owner

should know and relate to them when they are hired. Here are some of the pros and

cons of a home based business I feel are important to mention:

Pros:

1. Home with children, able to participate more in their activities with school etc.

2. Do not need to drive in winter J

3. Make your own hours (independent contractors).

4. Able to work as much or as little depending on your unique situation.

5. Reached my goals as a professional.

Cons of working at home:

1. Stress level of maintaining a business -The task of remaining grounded will be a huge help with this issue.

2. Non-socialization.

3. Computer burnout.

4. Depression.

It is up to you as the employer to let your employee or independent contractor

understand the need for them to get enough exercise during the day, even stepping

outside for a short walk helps, the need to take shower and groom at the start of their

day, as if going out to work. This is extremely important for their health (and yours)

and well being. Life working at home is harder than one would think but also has its advantages.

Now, on to my new business and how this came about. I started making soap in 2003

and actually started my soap business in 2006 in order to begin my retirement process

and found that this is what I truly love and enjoy!. Making people smile and giving

them products for healthier skin is only part of it. I think the biggest enjoyment for me

is to give women something special, just for them, so they can take time for

themselves in their normal crazy routine, and relax. I researched natural soap making

and all other aspects of personal care products before launching Kim's Soap & Such. I

am still learning and will continue to increase my knowledge and expertise in this field

to be able to enhance lives and make people smile just from a scent or the feel of my products.

I also needed a plan that could be implemented by the time I was ready to retire.

What I mean by retire by the way is to be able to delegate responsibility to someone

else to run and maintain the main business while I have fun running my soap

business, a business that I enjoy tremendously and one that does not require any

employees or independent contractors.

Conclusion:

Both of the above mentioned businesses have different goals and fulfillment of needs.

When contemplating opening a home based business, start one that you have a wide

knowledge of and one that has a chance for success right from the beginning. You

need to truly contemplate the pros and cons when starting your own business, how it

will impact your social, family and children's lives, and more importantly how it will

affect you personally. Make sure you set goals for your business and make sure you

set a time goal for retirement. Once you have established this business and are now

thinking of planning a retirement goal for yourself, first and foremost, choose a

retirement business that you truly enjoy and can maintain yourself. Your retirement

planning would also entail your guidelines for a gradual retreat from the management

aspect of the main business in order to allow someone else to manage your business

successfully. This will be quite difficult as up until now you were the only one who had

the weight of the business on your shoulders for so many years. The plan of action of

course would be to acquire a responsible person to take over the management

position of your business. This could be someone who has worked for you for years or

you could begin the process of interviewing and hiring someone to prepare for the

change of management.

In closing, the best plan is to be prepared and informed before making the decision of

owning a home based business. It can be very rewarding, especially when your

employees or independent contractors also benefit from a sound business, buy their

first homes, and raise their children. Yes, it is definitely rewarding.

Author: Kim Dockery, Coldwater, Michigan, Kim's Soap & Such a home based business

was started in 2003, making soap for friends and family as gifts. I wanted to be able

to produce an excellent product for a reasonable price. Healthy skin is just one more

step to a healthy lifestyle. My soaps and personal care products are made with a lot of

love and the appreciation of a healthy life. Fell free to re-publish this article as long as you include my resource box.

home based business

(c) Copyright 2007 Kim's Soap & Such