Many people would love to leave behind office politics and the daily commute, and adopt the work-at-home lifestyle. It’s important for anyone who makes this major career change to do so with eyes wide open, and rose-tinted glasses removed. There are quite a few myths about home businesses that might mislead entrepreneurs.
Here are three common myths:
- You will work shorter hours: Yes, you will save the time you used to spend on commuting to your corporate job, but you will no longer have in-house accountants, administrators, IT technicians and other support staff, and handling these tasks will be time-consuming.
- You won’t have to pay for childcare. Certainly, you may not need full-time day care for your child, but you should allow in your business budget for the times when you need to rely on paid childcare for a few hours.
- A third myth to dispel is the idea that home insurance covers a home business. This can be partly true in some circumstances, as a standard home insurance policy may provide protection for damaged or stolen home business equipment that is also used by the family. However, the coverage is limited, and most likely would not be enough to cover more than the most basic business equipment.
A home business operator should consider adding an endorsement to the home insurance policy to increase coverage for business equipment. Depending on the nature of the business, other insurance products that home-based business owners may want to consider include protection for business interruption and liability related risks.
