Irregularity and uncertainty of income is typical of many home businesses.  You project your income and estimate your future sales. 
 However, often the reality can be much different when you consider:

economy of the country or your area
your production ability
lack of some materials
your health
family emergencies
competition cropping up

What do you do?

that customers and markets can be uncertain
plan with the expectation of emergencies, hoping they don’t occur
try to have a savings back-up
investigate other items or types of services you can include when necessary
realize that emergencies and changes do occur
have another source of income besides your home business

How do you handle irregularities of income in …read more

“I’m going to establish my home business because then I can be the boss.  No one will tell me what to do!” many new business owners, or those considering their own business exclaim.
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Are you really your own boss in your home business?
In a way this is true and another way it isn’t.
 On the surface, it seems so.  You decide what you want to do, that is what type of business you’d like to develop.  You can work somewhat flexible hours, thus around your family’s schedule.  You don’t need to commute.  You don’t have to worry about professional dress unless you’re meeting customers.  …read more

Jean Murray, who has blogged here at Home Biz Notes, both as a guest blogger and regular blogger, now writes about Small Business at Bizzia.  She recently published an excellent post about the pros and cons of starting a home business.
Very often, when someone thinks of expanding their hobby into an income producing venture or starting a home business entirely new, they consider only the thrill of working for themselves.  They fail to look at the downside of a home business.  Yes, there are downsides, as well as the advantages of working from home and setting a somewhat flexible schedule.
What …read more

Hard times make people inventive.  One of the newest and hottest home business ideas around is the used clothing store-in-a-closet idea.  The Wall Street Journal recently reported that women are selling their used clothing directly from home.
When I first read the title, I thought these women were selling on eBay.  Nope, they are selling their clothes directly from home.  Many of us have a variety of clothing at home, in many sizes, styles, and colors. I also know a few women (some of them in my family!) who have many pairs of shoes that could be sold.
Advertising would be relatively …read more

With the downturn in the economy, more of us are working more hours and harder than ever.  And those of us in small home businesses are working even more than that, if possible.  How many days a week do you work?
Since I left my full-time job in December to work on my home-based business, I have tried to save at least one day a week to relax, do my quilting.  It hasn’t happened very often.  Most weeks, I finish what I have to do just in time for Monday morning to roll around.
And it isn’t just about work.  I had …read more

Home business owners are like other business owners – we need the support of our families to succeed in business.  But what if your family doesn’t support you in your business?  That can be very tough.
My husband is very supportive, and our children are grown, but it’s difficult when you have young children and your spouse isn’t helpful.  So what do you do?
I’m helping a woman start a home-based business, and she is struggling with this question. She said her husband told her, “I think this is a dumb idea.  Don’t get me involved.”  Well, at least that’s not downright …read more

Yesterday’s post about aiming high got me thinking about how to stay motivated. Some days it’s difficult to get up and get going – even when your office is just around the corner (literally!) from your bedroom and the kitchen.
I know how it feels. Working at home has its own rewards – and drawbacks. The rewards are that you can work in your jammies and not have to talk to anyone. The drawback is that you are working in your jammies and not talking to anyone. For you – and me – I offer you a list …read more

I’ve only been full time in my home business for two months, and already the opportunities are pouring in.  Within the last week, I have been contacted by two “friends” – each one has said, “This is a great home business opportunity for you!”  In both cases, I turned them down.  What?! Why would I turn down great opportunities?  Because they looked and sounded more like scams (pyramid scheme/Multi-level Marketing) than legitimate home business opportunities.  And lots of people are getting taken by these schemes.  You would think with the recent news about Bernie Madoff and the BILLIONS of dollars …read more

Home business owners know the benefits of working from home. But those same benefits are also drawbacks. Your availability to be with your children is also the difficulty, because you are available to be with your children.

I know how it goes.  I was a work-at-home mom for several years when my children were very little.  As someone who knows, I’m here to offer some tips:
1.  Try to stick to a schedule. Notice I said, “try.”  Sometimes it’s impossible, like when children are sick.  But the more tightly you can hold to the schedule, the easier it will be …read more

A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Stacy Brice, founder and chief visionary officer of AssistU, a company which trains and supports Virtual Assistants. Today, I’m interviewing Cindy Gaffen, a VA who owns Virtually Fantastic. If you are considering becoming a VA, Cindy is a great model for you to follow. Here is what she had to say:
1. Why did you decide to become a VA? Tell us about the process – what did you do to prepare?
For years, I thought about what I wanted to do for a living and how I …read more