With the high cost of retail space and all the loopholes you have to jump through to start a business, more and more folks are running their business right from their homes. This trend is growing steadily as the age of technology keeps improving and evolving. The trend has grown even faster since the Great Recession where so many people have lost their jobs and are trying to make a living.
It makes perfect sense to run a business from your home. Certain businesses are easier to run in this fashion then others. A service-based business, such as a computer repair center, is a classic example. When you own a retail shop on a busy street, you are going to pay big bucks for the space you are leasing. In addition, you have to buy permits, inventory, display cases and other furniture that will be required to operate the business. This can really add up in what you pay monthly for overhead.
In addition to the business expenses you also have the expense of traveling to your business every morning. Depending on how far you have to commute, this could easily add another 100+ dollars per week just for gas and food for lunches. Unless you have several employees (another expense) you are going to have to man your business every day from opening to closing.
A home-based remote computer business eliminates a lot of the above-mentioned expenses. If you have fewer overheads, you can charge better prices for your service. Physical computer shops can be really pricy because they have to pay all the overhead expenses involved with a brick and mortar shop. The only advantage is that you can get walk-ins with computers that have hardware issues. A home based remote only computer shop will not be able to do the hardware repairs.
Most home based computer repair businesses are family owned. What that means to you is far less hassles when it comes to getting the job done. Most corporate companies have strict rules that are not always in the best interest of either the employee or the customer. With a family based home business you will get friendly and personal service along with a great price. Another advantage is that you will be supporting a US based company, not some corporation overseas.
Starting a home-based company will require some effort on your part, however. You will need to get all the local licensees that are required and software programs such as Quick Books to keep track of all your transactions. You will also need to set up a merchant account so you can take credit cards. In addition, you will need to purchase a program that will allow you to connect to your customer’s machines. There are lots of choices out there but in general, the more you pay the better and more secure the software will be. Our company uses Bomgar as our support portal. Not only is it the best but also it is the most secure option for both our customers and us.
In summary, you can see that having your business based at home can save you a ton of money in the long run. This type of set up can be used for many types of business portals but there are some that simply need a brick and mortar existence to be profitable. If you are dealing with food or selling certain types of items, you will do better with a physical location. For the service industry, the home-based business will work just fine.
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