Perhaps you have been in the corporate world so long you are wondering if it’s for you.  You most likely are afraid and nervous about making the decision to commit and come home.  Taking that first step feels like a monumental decision. 

According to a 2002 report by the U.S. Census Bureau, "stay-at-home" dads numbered only 189,000 compared to 11 million "stay-at-home moms" for the 41 million children under 15 living with two parents.  Women are coming home from the corporate work place and most are contributing to the household income by working from their home.  I have been a WAHM for 12 years earning a corporate level income.  If you are asking yourself if it can be done I’m here to

tell you it absolutely can be.

When making the decision to work at home there are lots of things you will want to evaluate and questions to be asked.  One of the first questions is what kind of business you should start.  Consider the following:

• Do you have any knowledge in a specific area?
• What skill do you have that you can develop into a business?
• What will you enjoy doing?
• How much money do you have to start a business?
• What will this business take to start?
• Is there a market for the product or service?
• Can you stick with this even when the going gets rough?
• How much income can you really produce?
• How big could this business be and how big do you want it to be?
• How hard are you willing to work?
• What are the tax implications?
• Are there any city, state, or national regulations?
• Do you need insurance?
• What is the start up time?
  
  

I suggest you now sit down and do a pro and con list.  List the down sides and the positives of any business you are strongly considering.  If there are more positives than negatives you most likely have found the answer to your question, “Can you really make money at home?”

There are numerous resources online to help you answer some of these questions. Here are a few of the sites I recommend.

http://www.sba.gov

http://www.bcentral.com

http://www.wahmbreakcafe.com