In light of the controversy over Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban home-based work, many discussions have arisen over the efficiency of working from home, and whether it has a positive or negative effect on a business. This, in turn, has led to countless myths and false arguments swirling around out there about home-based businesses.
One such myth has led to the idea that people who work from home stay in their pajamas all day and never leave the couch. In fact, at-home entrepreneurs often display a higher level of discipline and productivity compared to people that go into offices, according to a recent article by Business News Daily.
Read below to learn the truth about 3 more myths of home-based businesses.
Myth #1: Clients won’t take me seriously.
A common reason given for why working from home is not as effective as going to an office is that clients or customers won’t take you seriously, depending on the industry.
Some of the top businesses in service-based industries in particular, like public relations or search marketing, are traditionally thought of as being in modern offices with spacious conference rooms for clients to meet. However, the days of Mad Men-esque conferences are the exception in today’s market, and most firms work virtually with clients instead.
Fortunately, the stigma of home-based businesses as being less established than offices may well be dying off. According to the most recent U.S. Census data, the number of work from home entrepreneurs grew 25% from 1999-2005.
Myth #2: Other than cutting overhead, there are no financial incentives for home-based businesses.
On the contrary, in addition to not having to pay overhead for leasing office space, home-based businesses qualify for many federal tax incentives that save money. It’s just a matter of looking in the right place. For example, here are 12 deductible items from Bankrate.com for your home-based business:
1. Home office
2. Office supplies
3. Furniture
4. Other equipment
5. Software and subscriptions
6. Mileage
7. Travel, meals, entertainment and gifts
8. Insurance premiums
9. Retirement contribution
10. Social security
11. Telephone charges
12. Child labor
These financial advantages, along with others, allows you to invest more into your company, and less on overhead costs, giving you an edge over competing businesses that work in offices.
Myth #3: I won’t be able to focus amidst home distractions.
For some people, it may indeed be challenging to be work from home. Having a family around and a long chore list hanging from the refrigerator can an obstacle to getting in a productive mindset. However, by simply establishing boundaries with family members, and keeping a regular work routine, entrepreneurs have found working from home is easily doable.
Read our blog post “5 Tips for Working From Home” to get more ideas on how to reduce distraction and boost productivity when working at home.
Working from home does have its own challenges. But it is important to get the facts and disregard the myths about home-based employment so that you can decide if it is the right move for your small business.
