What is a home business? Mainly business run from home by an individual or a team.

Most of these businesses start as a hobby, as an enjoyable way to pass time and when the business reaches a point where it can attract money – because of the solution clients or customers pay for, voila, it is a business run from home.

Most home businesses don’t require an office space (expensive). The owner of such a business does most of their work from the comfort of their home (office).

Owners will register a website or a blog to sell their products and services.

The website or blog also serves as a marketing arsenal. Newspaper classifieds and word of mouth, in addition to social media sites like Facebook (free reach and paid ads), Twitter, search engines like Google (organic search and Adwords – not forgetting Bing Ads), Amazon (through their fulfillment service) and many others are also used to spread the word about the owner’s products and services.

The website or blog can also be used to interact with current and prospects. The owner can also answer customer queries and get feedback from the sites they are using to sell their wares.

So why should you start your own home business and begin work immediately?

1. As a way to take turn your hobby into a profitable business

Normally when you take your hobby to a higher level, for example, where it has to earn you some money, you become more serious about it.

You’ll work hard to do things better, to get things right, and the more you achieve the more satisfied you’ll be when you post better results.

Starting a work at home business is therefore one way to take your hobby to the next level.

2. To gain knowledge from different industries and niches that can be useful in achieving your own goals

While busy taking your hobby to the next level, you will learn a lot along the way.

There are always lots of things that you can do to make your work enjoyable.

You’ll find yourself looking for resources online and offline.

What do you achieve from these? Useful knowledge.

3. To make more money on top of what you earn from your job or other businesses

A home business can bring in more money. So if you are getting a twenty thousand shillings (say 250 US Dollars) salary every month and your home business brings in 5000 Kenyan shillings that is twenty five thousand shillings.

You can take 2500 from the 5000 and save with your favourite bank…then use the other 2500 to improve your business a simple tactic to pave way for more profit.

4. Put time, that you may have wasted on unproductive pursuits, to better use

A work at home business can help you deal with a sedentary lifestyle (the business can get you walking and cycling a lot).

It can help you kick out of your household laziness and procrastination. When you do something (good) you enjoy working on and it brings in more satisfaction, the worst thing you could ever do is stop doing it.

If you usually find yourself wasting many hours doing things that are not beneficial to you, why not take start a business of your own, working from home, and see what happens.

5. To start building a firm foundation for your future company right now, with the little money you have

Some big companies headed by some of your role-models were started this way – from home.

If you have dreamed of owning your big company but don’t have the capital to start it, may be it is time to start a business right where you stay and start saving for the big thing.

May be you can start now and expand your operations later on. All you need is to start something in line with your big dream…then nurture your dream everyday.

You may need to diversify later on.

What matters is that you’ll be working on your big dream instead of waiting for the bank to give you all the capital you need to start your big company.

6. To meet different people who can help you in your journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur

Starting a home business will expose you to more like-minded individuals. Those are the friends you need to learn business skills from.

Their struggles and success can help you come up with ideas that can give you an advantage over your competition.

Some of these friends will be ready to help when things don’t turn out as you expected –  either for free or for a reasonable amount of money.

They’ll be ready with advice – which you can choose to ignore or consider while making decisions affecting your growing business.

You’ll meet a lot of people. Remember them. And learn from them – their mistakes and successes.

All the lessons you learn from these people will go a long way in helping you build a successful business – and you becoming a successful entrepreneurs mentoring others and helping them with their new businesses whenever you can.

7. To have money you can use during emergencies

Starting a home business may be one of the many steps you can make towards financial security. So when your plate fills with little money here and there, don’t eat everything in one sitting…save some. Take back some food into the fridge (bank or another venture) for days when you won’t have a regular stream of income.

Or better, invest it wisely.

Instead of having it all lie idle in some bank account earning a measly 5 to 10 per cent interest annually, you can use your profits:

• to buy shares in other small businesses
• to improve your business’s processes to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction
• hire the right people that can steer your business in the right direction: employees, consultants, sales people, freelancers to get you more customers online.

Questions to help you get started with your home business right away

Got a hobby? Got something you are good at? Got something your friends and family always call you to do or fix? If yes, then you have one of the essential requirements of a work at home business venture (if you didn’t know).

So how do you turn that into a business? How do you monetize your hobby or whatever it is that you are good at?

• Be clear about the service or product you want to give out in exchange for consideration (money). For example: I’ll be designing logos and websites for High Schools in my neighbourhood (primary target) and other school within this county (secondary target).
• Ask yourself whether there’ll be people ready to pay for your product or services. Would you pay for the product or service you are about to put in the market yourself?
• Ask yourself whether the buyers would benefit from paying for your product or service? Is your product or service something the buyer really needs…or is it just another product or service that’s only meant to attract money in return for nothing?
• Think about how you will reach the people who may need your products or services. Will you have a website and blog? Will you call them? Will you walk into their offices? Will you reach them using traditional media? Will you use the many online marketplaces other freelancers and business owners are already using?
• ‘How much will I charge?’ Don’t forget to ask yourself this question? Take into considerations the benefits your product or service offers plus other things like cost of production, transport etc. Then think long term as you price your products.
• Think about how you will deal with customers…the ones who want a 40% discount…the ones that call you a moron…the ones that love your product or service but can’t pay for it now…the ones who always pay late…the ones who complain every now and then…the ones who’ll call you thief…the ones that want things for free… You’ve got a lot of thinking to do buddy.
• Think about how much time you’ll need to dedicate to your home business every day. Two hours or three? Morning or evening hours? Stick with what works for you. Remember that too much isolation is not good for you, so spend time with friends and family too. When little Jimmy asks Can we go play ball now? Don’t tell him you’ll do that tomorrow if you can do it today. I think something like Give me ten minutes Jimmy is better than tomorrow.

I think that having considered all the points above, you are now ready to start your own work at home venture, not so? Share your thoughts, questions or experiences in the comments below.

PS: 10 Things to Look At if You Are Thinking of Starting a Business – Download this PDF guide.