Over the years, I’ve had folks say things to me like, “I would rather have a good solid job” or “I really need to know I have job security” when we are talking about starting a home based business. With recent layoffs from companies like Halliburton, Schlumberger, and Baker Hughes, (and possibly more to come), we should really take a good hard look at this thing we call “job security”.
While you are reading this article, from some of those “really good companies” such as eBay (2,400 jobs), American Express (4,000 jobs) Baker Hughes, Halliburton (8,000 jobs), and Schlumberger (9,000 jobs). These are the kind of jobs people went to college hoping they could get once they finished their degree program. Why? They were taught they needed a “good job”. But things don’t work the way they used to.
The point is that the economy has shifted. The way things worked for our parents and grandparents doesn’t really apply any more. If someone is fortunate enough to find one of those so-called “good jobs”, they don’t have any sort of guarantee that the job will last.
This is the biggest reason I advise people to consider opening a home based business on the side. We don’t all have to be full-time home based business operators and not everybody is cut out for that sort of life. In light of the shifting economy, doesn’t it make sense to open a business on the side?
With a home based business, you can work part-time, on the weekends, whatever will work for you. As your home based business grows, you may find that you are able to cut back on your regular hours, fire your boss, or just use the income to help fund your retirement.
You may need to try a few business ideas out before you find the one that fits for you but when it comes to financial management, it just makes sense that you open a little business on the side to help hedge against possible lost income from getting downsized, having your company shut down, or any number of other possibilities.