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If you are the owner of a small business, there is very little to stop you from working in exactly the way that best suits you. There is no boss in charge of you to dictate how and when you are supposed to work. You can work at the time which is most convenient to you and your family, aided by business software designed for this purpose.
The greater freedom gained from running a business is often the reason why many people choose to leave their secure 9-to-5 job behind. Particularly for those with young families, striking a better balance between work and their home life with children immediately becomes a main priority once they become parents.
Technological advances have made home-working more than just a dream for millions of people. In fact, statistics show that around 60% of new businesses in the UK are home-based. There are thought to be around 2.1 million small home businesses currently operating in the UK.
Broadband Internet has probably been the largest catalyst for this gradual shift into new styles of working over the past few years. The increased reliability of broadband compared to dial-up and advances in faster, powerful computers has removed a lot of unpredictability from home computing.
UK home-based businesses have an annual turnover of £364bn and are responsible for almost a third of all employment in the UK, which is where I am currently based. When looking for employees, they have the advantage of being able to tap into pools of talent that are currently outside of the workforce because they cannot work full-time, such as single parents or the disabled.
In order to work with your employees in a home business, it will require software in which you can collaborate. Web-based applications are commonly used in small businesses because they allow everyone to access the same data at once. It solves the problem of not being able to get documents because they are not physically stored at your home, and allows greater collaboration between online teams.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
