Wouldnt it be a dream to be able to run your own business out of the comfort of your own home?I’m sure at one point, you have thought of starting a small business out of your home or at least know someone who has or is currently running a business out of their home right now. Home-based businesses have been around for many years now. For years the majority of home-based businesses were more related to the business owner having a special skill like making jewelry, creating art pieces and things of this nature. We will take a look at the 5 reasons this has become more and more popular in the modern age
1. The Internet
The internet is the biggest driving force to having so many people starting up their own business from home. Each year we depend more and more heavily on the internet and the more we go web-based the more business opportunities are being opened. A large majority of business today are completely dependent on the internet. With having the ability to work from basically anywhere there is internet access there is a huge movement of people taking advantage of this. Yes, there are still tons of businesses that require a physical location but the biggest trend is the small businesses such as e-commerce stores. With having an e-commerce store there is no one to say you have to have an actual brick and mortar location. If the owner plays his/her cards right, it is possible to make a great living from the comfort of their home.
The internet has changed the world in so many ways. The biggest thing it changed is the way we think. It impacts us in so many different ways, from how we communicate with people, buying the things we want, dating, investing and tons of other ways. These are all business opportunities that are blowing up as we speak. As technology advances and new platforms are being developed the more creative we are getting to be, which allows more people to take advantage of running businesses from their home.
2. Affiliate / Dropbox Programs
I’m sure the majority of people have at least heard the term Affiliate or Dropbox programs. A lot of companies are starting to implement these strategies into their businesses left and right. Essentially what an affiliate program are arrangements in which an online merchant Web site pays affiliate Web sites a commission to send them traffic. These affiliate Web sites post links to the merchant site and are paid according to a particular agreement. In a way, these companies are extending their sales team with practically no cost to them. It allows someone such as a small business owner to market specific products on their website without actually having to own inventory.
For example, if your hobby was fishing and you really enjoyed talking about fishing tips, gear, boats and everything else; you can make a partnership with Bass Pro Shop and become apart of their affiliate program. This will allow you to talk about specific products and will be able to refer people to their products. If you have a lot of people that enjoy reading are watching your content, there is a good chance that they will want to buy through you. There are people out there that become affiliates of multiple companies and make a decent living just by getting people to click on the product on their website.
3. Self Branding
Self Branding is becoming a very popular term ever since social media has taken over the internet. Most people are familiar with the term branding in general, like the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products. Branding is also that good feeling you get when you buy a product or service from a well reputable company. So self branding is basically taking the same approach a business would except focused specifically on you. So how does this relate to having a home based business? For example, think of YouTubers, they are putting out videos and building an audience. The more and more people they can attract to watch their videos the more people know who they are. They are the modern day “movie stars” or celebrities which some actually are.
If a YouTuber has a few million subscribers that constantly watch their videos and is able to brand their self to something like Outdoors for example. The YouTuber has the leverage to use his/her popularity to promote certain outdoor products that they might like and use themselves. So people will want to buy these products because if they like the YouTuber enough, there becomes a trust for that person and if they show that they like using those products then there is a good chance the subscribers will want to do the same. With an audience such as a few million subscribers, there is a good opportunity to make a good living just from this method. There is also the ability to make a living just on views alone by advertisers paying for ad space within your videos. This seems to be the better know method of YouTubers making their money.
Written by: Jady Guidry
