There are many benefits from working from home and many people are now looking for a means to do this rather than have a normal type of job. There has never been a better time to work from home either since the new digital age has brought many opportunities with it which previously didn’t exist.
Some of the reasons why people choose to work from home are being able to set their own timetable, choosing their own hours, doing something they are passionate about, and having more time for friends and family. By not having a regular type job you can also benefit from not having to have a long commute, being your own boss and writing your own paycheck. However there are down sides to working from home too and it’s not easy, or everyone would be doing it.
Building a sustainable business from home is something many aspire to but not everyone manages. You need to be disciplined and committed to setting aside the time to actually do the work. You may need to work long hours in order to make your home based business pay for itself and you are sacrificing the regular ‘paycheck’ of a normal job. By starting your self employed work from home business alongside a normal job, you can benefit from the regular payment of your job and build a home based business alongside it. Once the income from your business matches or takes over from your regular job you can quit and go full time in your business. This is what many people do to bridge the gap between a normal job and building their ‘at home’ business.
Working from home can save you a small fortune in travel expenses, food and drink and often before you have received your paycheck, you have shelled out a lot of cash in tools, uniform, petrol and eating out which you simply wouldn’t have done if you had been working from home. The convenience of working from your laptop and building your business in your pyjamas, or working anytime day or night when inspiration hits can’t be overlooked. In a regular 9-5 job you have to keep turning up however you feel but if you work from yourself you can take a day off when you choose, lie in and work through the night. If you are working on your laptop you can also take it anywhere in the world with an internet connection. It is a totally flexible lifestyle.
How to work from home
Many people start their ‘work from home’ businesses by becoming affiliate marketers. An affiliate simply promotes and sells other people’s products online. There is nothing to store or to send out. You simply create content or adverts and promote goods and services online. I started out online with the ebay auction site by buying items from charity shops and car boot sales and then selling them on ebay. After a while of doing this I looked to sell digital products online. My room was filled with stuff and I spent much of my time standing in the post office queue waiting to weigh my items to send out. I thought there must be an easier way to earn money from home.
Selling digital products
Selling digital products requires no storage or even having to touch an item or deal with a customer. Many affiliates write blogs and create content which then drives customers to the products. The sale is handled automatically through a website and you earn your commission of usually around 40% through your affiliate link. This business model is already working for thousands of affiliates who have a completely flexible ‘laptop lifestyle’.
How to benefit from affiliate marketing
Many online stores also sign up with affiliate websites to earn extra commissions. If you already have a blog or website you could be promoting products which your visitors would be interested in simply by placing banners on your site or blog. Learning affiliate marketing can take some time so it is well worth learning from a professional coach or mentor. Most people can learn to do affiliate marketing and if you have a laptop and internet connection you are halfway to having your own home based business already. The basics of affiliate marketing are simply creating content and posting affiliate links within the content as I have done above. Advertising and promotion is another aspect which you should also learn to get visitors to your site.
Having done many jobs myself I definitely think the benefits from working from home far outweigh the drawbacks. You do need to be disciplined however and set aside time to work on your business each day doing the most important tasks first. It is very easy to get caught up in browsing the internet and before you know it the day has gone and you have done nothing productive. Every day you spend doing this is a day wasted and you must prioritize your time and not just be a ‘busy fool’.
The key benefit of an affiliate business is that it can be scaled up once you have got everything in place. Many bloggers have thousands of visitors to their blogs which bring in multiple sales each and every day. It does take time and effort to get to this point of course but the potential is a strong motivating factor.
Top affiliate marketers build huge email lists of subscribers and send out email newsletters with useful hints, tips and advice. They also promote affiliate products through these email and even if only 10% of their list purchases an item, this is a nice payday if you have a list of 10,000 or more subscribers.