I work from home, producing websites, nurturing and growing them and working on getting the revenue stream up.
I consider myself to have a home -business career.
Can anyone make a career out of a home business? I guess that depends on the definition of what a career is.
According to the web dictionary, a career is "A chosen pursuit; a profession or occupation. The general course or progression of one's working life or one's professional achievements." It seems like two aspects define career, as opposed to "a job":
- Choice - a person making a conscious choice to pursue a certain profession.
- Progression – moving forward and developing the level of your work.
Not every job opportunity, at home or outside of it, has what it takes to make it into a career. Many jobs lack the potential for progression, of moving up the ladder to a better, more interesting and more profitable position.
In that respect, home businesses can be just as versatile as any work place or out-of-home business. You could spend twenty years doing the same thing, never growing the scope of your home business. Or you could keep on growing your business, increasing revenue and creating a genuine career for yourself.
Many home business owners look upon their home business as a source of supplemental income and keep it on that level for years. They do not seek a home business career and so put little or no effort into developing it. My friend Jane, for example, offers typing services from home. She has several loyal clients, providing them with about 50 hours typing a month, for which she get paid several hundreds of dollars. This is not her "day job" but rather a supplementary income to help "pay the bills". She does not promote her services in any way and seems to be perfectly content to keep it on the backburner for years on end. Jane does not have a Home Business Career. She has a small home business. That's all.
Of course it doesn't have to be that way. One of the most wonderful things about running your own work-from-home business is that you are not limited in what YOU choose to do. At any point, Jane the typist can decide to turn her typing services into a home business career. She could go on to promote her services, get more clients and projects. In the long run, she could even hire help or outsource some of the work. The sky is the limit when it comes to your home business career.
So, how does one turn a home business into a career? Here are some pointers – Make a conscious decision to develop your home business. This should not be taken for granted. It's perfectly legitimate to decide that you only want your home business as a source for some extra cash and keep off the home business career path. It's up to you and it's a decision only you can make.
Set long-term and short-term goals. Where do you want your home business to be a year from now? Five years from now? Don't be afraid to aim high with your goals. Once you know where you want to get, set up a business plan. It doesn't have to be a professionally laid out plan, but it does need to show you if and how your goals can be accomplished.
Stay motivated. Building up a business is different from merely running one. You need the stamina of a marathon runner, not a sprinter.
