What Scares You About Starting a Work-From-Home Biz?

If you are like many other stay-at-home moms (or dads), you've been dreaming of your own home business. But you hesitate. So what scares you about starting a work-from-home biz?  Are you worried it's going to suck away all your time, cost you money, sap your energy, and keep you away from your family? Are you thinking it will only bring problems and complications into your life?

Have you ever taken the time to sit down and vet your work-from-home biz fears? The first step to overcoming a challenge is to understand what the challenge is. And whatever scares you about starting a work-from-home biz is a challenge. But, with some work and a helping hand, it's a challenge you can meet, overcome, and change your family's life for the better!

Ready to get started on conquering that fear?

List out your work-from-home fears

There are probably as many things that scare people about starting their own work-from-home biz as there are people who want to start one! And, believe it or not, that's good news – because it means you're not alone. Others have traveled this way before you, and there is a path forward.

Start by listing out all the things you can think of that are scary about the idea of running your own work-from-home business. Some common fears are:

• never-ending headaches and stress
• taxes
• paperwork
• invoices
• client or customer complaints
• not finding any clients or customers
• having to hire employees
• not being able to pay employees
• drowning in work
• spending all your money and having your business fail
  

Why did we want you to list out your fears? Many of us stop ourselves from taking chances by letting poorly-defined scary things get in the way. Once we've listed these things, we can start to look at them logically. Often, we'll realize that they aren't as big a threat as we were imagining before we looked at them. And even if they are, there are ways to mitigate that threat.

We enjoy writing articles that can help you work through your fears. This post on knowing what to watch for before you leap into a work-from-home biz can get you started on the right foot. You can also use our list of money don'ts for small-biz owners as a guide for what to avoid, and what to do instead.

What does “business” actually mean?

A simple definition of “business” is the trade of goods or services in an attempt to make a profit. So essentially any time you sell something or provide a service, you are doing business.

This definition doesn't imply that your work-from-home business has to be big and complicated, that you need to go somewhere to conduct it, or that you need lots of money to get started.

You've probably done some sort of business already, even if you didn't really think of it that way at the time. Have you ever had a garage sale? Sold something on eBay? Did your neighbor pay you for fixing their computer? If so, you did business!

Even better, you probably weren't scared during those business ventures – because you were thinking of them as events or services to get things you no longer wanted out of your life, or helping a friend and making a little money on the side.

What are some simple options to tame what scares you about starting a work-from-home biz?

If you have opinions, experiences, or expertise that you enjoy sharing, you could always start a blog (you can find out how here), write guest blogs, or write an e-book to sell on Amazon.

Is teaching something you love to do? You can develop your own courses and sell them from your website or join a platform like Udemy which pays you whenever someone buys your course.

Do you have skills or services that are in demand or intriguing? You could sell them on Fiverr. There is plenty of competition there, but if you choose your gigs wisely, it is possible to start making some extra income.

Or have you ever considered proofreading or court transcript proofreading? Court transcript proofreading is a bit different as you CANNOT change anything that is said – it is a transcript. So there is a bit of a learning curve to understand the kind of proofing that court reporters want. If you have an eye for detail and the ability to spot errors or inconsistencies, you may enjoy learning how to do it.

Another option is to develop a website related to a niche you have experience in. Include associated products that your readers would be interested in buying. In this case, you can look for affiliate programs related to those products and make a commission whenever anyone buys the product through your site.

Do you need a website for these options?

For most of them, yes, but building a website is not the difficult, scary proposition it used to be. You don’t have to know code and have a college degree in website design. Many website-building platforms are quite easy to use. You just choose the elements you want and drop them into your post. There are several free website builders that let you have the frame of a working website up in minutes. Then it is just up to you to add the content.

So… Is fear needed?

Fear is useful when we question it and use it to anticipate and prepare for potential problems. In this case, we've shown you some ways and given you some tools to start your own business from home. And, better yet, you don't need lots of money, to do lots of paperwork, deal with employees, or any of the other fears we listed at the beginning of the article to try these options.

These are all simple ways to make commissions or sell simple services – not the type of thing that requires business licenses and all that sort of paperwork.

(If you do eventually get more serious and earn significant business income, then of course it is always wise to take the advice of an accountant and lawyer to find out the legal requirements in your area.)

If your fear is just fear of the unknown, then why not tame it by learning? Many fears get smaller when we understand how to approach the scary thing.

How do you get through what scares you about starting a work-from-home biz?

Start by chalking out your ideas and course of action. Write it down and set doable goals for yourself. And of course reward yourself each time you reach a goal. You can achieve big things in small steps!

An online-based business is easier to do from home and fits into a Mom’s (or Dad’s) schedule. If you want to consider online careers like blogging, proofreading, transcription, bookkeeping, selling on Amazon, becoming a voice-over artist, building an affiliate business, and need help setting up your own business, feel free to check out our training page with those and other great options.

So what scares you about starting a work-from-home biz? Did we address your concerns? Join the conversation below. 🙂