MikesHomeBiz Blog

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There is a growing trend world-wide for people to choose to work from home for any of a wide range of reasons. Some of us will remember how our parents worked for one company for a lifetime, collected a gold watch after 25 years of service, and retired at sixty-five or thereabouts to live in reasonable security on a company pension.

Those were the days before inflation became the bugbear of investments, and companies switched to providing Provident Funds, so that the employees carry the risk of providing for their old-age. Huge unfunded deficits still linger around the world where many of the remaining company and even state pensions are massively under-funded and where the old concept of a guaranteed pension has become a bad word.

Retrenchment was an almost unheard-of concept until comparatively recent times, where it’s not unusual for an individual to be retrenched two or three times during a working lifetime.

What all of this means, is that the old idea of aiming for the “security” of a job with a large company is no longer what it used to be. In some ways this old paternalistic approach was inappropriate in many ways, but for better or for worse, those days are gone, forever.

The golden rule then is to take responsibility for yourself, your life and your future, because no-one else will do it for you! There is no shock quite like that of being called into the boss’ office only to be told that your services are no longer required, and that your severance package is ready for collection at the pay office.

If you’re unprepared for this, the sudden realization that you’re on your own, and that you’ll have to make massive changes merely to survive financially is traumatic, at least. The emotional shock can scar an individual irreparably, having to deal with loss of self esteem, and feelings of failure.

All of this is not meant to sound like doom and gloom but is meant to portray the unfortunate reality of life today. How different these feelings can be if the individual has put contingency plans into place, well in advance.

This then is perhaps one of the most important reasons to have started a home business, initially part-time, to make provision for the dreaded day, should it arrive. If the day doesn’t arrive, it’s extremely comforting to have another plan up one’s sleeve, just in case. The added bonus of some extra income in the interim is yet another advantage!

In another article in the series, we’ll look at some other reasons for starting your own business, and we’ll consider some of the options you may wish to consider in deciding what to do, from the huge range of top home businesses that are available, and from which you may choose.