One thing that repeatedly comes to mind as I think about my journey as a home-based professional is job security. If you are thinking about becoming a home-based professional, you have undoubtedly thought about how it is risky to leave your seemingly secure current employment situation to venture out on your own. I know that I thought it was risky when I first started out.
As time has passed, however, I have come to feel more secure in my employment than I ever did when I was working at any job. The reason for this sense of security is that I earn my keep by working with multiple clients, doing a few different types of work. Some clients are short-term and only need a certain amount of work done. Others have a set amount of work that they need done, but over a longer period of time. Still others have a need for work that is produced on an ongoing basis. By attracting a mix of clients, I have created a situation where all of my eggs are not in one basket. That, to me, is security.
When I was working at traditional non-home-based jobs I never realized just how precarious my employment was. The economy was stronger than it is now, and talk of layoffs or business closures was not common. Also, I always enjoyed good relationships with my employers and never felt that I had any reason to think that I could find myself out of a job on a moment’s notice. Now I realize that no matter how well I got along with any of my employers, any of them could have gone out of business or had to lay off even some of their best staff. I am lucky that that never happened, but I realize now that the sense of security that I enjoyed during that time was false.
It is risky to leave the world of traditional work and go into business for yourself. There is always the possibility that your early attempts at self employment may not go as planned. If you plan carefully and think things through at every step of the way, though you will eventually create for yourself the type of security that comes from knowing that you can rely on yourself to create the personal and professional life that you want.