“Home is where one starts from”
T.S.Eliot
T.S Elliot didn’t have new-start businesses in mind when he wrote “Home is where one starts from” but today this quote from one of the great poets of the twentieth century is now true of more than 70% of new businesses. In the UK there are four and a half million small and medium-sized enterprises. Just under half of those are home- based with a combined turnover of approximately £300 billion.
Home-based businesses are facilitating lifestyle choices and making self employment more feasible
For some, running their business from home is a way of getting started, allowing them to keep overheads down whilst the business gets off the ground. However for many it is a chosen way of life; it offers the ability to combine work and home life more effectively.
Recent years have seen sustained growth in the number of home businesses, with the highest growth coming from mums, young people and the over 50s, thus suggesting that home businesses offer self employment opportunities to groups of the population who may otherwise not be working at that point in their lives.
Growth is still high on the agenda
Whatever the reason for starting a business from home, there is union amongst home business entrepreneurs in their desire for growth. Those operating from home as a way of getting started see growth as premises and an increasing head count, whereas growth for those who have chosen it as a lifestyle choice means increasing their workload but maintaining a level of profit that makes it feasible to outsource the additional work.
Benefits of the home-based business at a glance
- Lower costs than renting or buying premises
- Fewer risks than renting or buying premises
- Opportunity to operate part-time or test the water with a new business venture before making a full commitment
- Opportunity to earn money when other commitments may make travelling to a place of work for set hours each day less feasible
- Opportunity for a better work/life balance
What do I need to do if I decide to start my business from home?
Stay legal
- Ensure that you can operate your business legally from home by checking with your landlord or mortgage provider
- Seek planning permission, or even change of use, if your business will require major alterations to your home
- If you require any sort of licence to operate your business then ensure that you obtain it and that it relates to your premises (if applicable)
Insurance
- Ensure that you are covered with public liability insurance if employees or customers will need to visit you at home
- Check your insurance to make sure that all your equipment is insured and that your home insurance covers you to work from home.
Tax
- Remember to claim back a proportion of your home costs through your business because you will be paying part of the running costs of your business within your normal household bills. For more information please see our blog post on use of home as office.
With such significant benefits, increased government support and the technology now available to make home-based businesses possible, is it any wonder that so many people are not only choosing home as their place to start their business from but as their chosen place to grow from as well?
We hope that this article has been interesting and informative. If you have any questions or would like to discuss starting your home-based business with a Free consultation, please contact Sam on 02475 185286 or complete our online form.
