QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
By Mark McKeller

Q. I've had my own home-based cleaning business for three years. The money is good, but I don’t really enjoy the work or the hours. Should I look for another business, or try to be happy with what I have? 

A. Most home based business owners and buyers tell me that both income and control in their lives are important. In fact, more money and more control over personal freedom are the two most common reasons people want to be self-employed. In most home businesses, the work required initially to develop a good income will mean long hours and restricted freedom. These are necessary evils of breaking the shackles of working for someone else, especially if you must keep your “day job” while building your own business. A well chosen home based business should allow you to eventually decrease your work load by having enough repeat customers to reduce your marketing efforts, and/or by hiring others to share the work. Try to forecast when your revenues will allow you to sell less or hire help. Are you willing to relinquish some responsibility and control to others? If not and you really don’t like the work, can you accept less revenue?

If you can’t live on less income, don’t want to have employees and can’t foresee enough repeat business to stop selling, your situation probably won’t change much. If you don’t like the quality of life, or work, that you have, finding another business may be the only option. Analyze your next choice. Does the business give you repeat order customers? Is there enough profit for you to do the business by yourself? Will you like the work enough to stick it out in the beginning? Of course, the simplest choice it to try to make your current business work. After all, you’ve already succeeded through the difficult start-up phase. Carefully analyze all ways of sticking with it before throwing in the towel.