It was always a dream of mine when I was younger to be the CEO of a large company with lots of people working for me (well, actually, between you and me, the actual dream back then was to have lots of men working for me - "girl power" and all that!!). As it turned out, I did become the "CEO" of a company but not the huge corporate company in my dream.  Instead I became the CEO of my own home business.  A bit of a difference but when I look at the benefits of being a work at home mum versus the stresses and responsibilities of being in the corporate world, I'm so happy that particular dream never came true.

Entrepreneur vs Employee
Of course being an entrepreneur has it's challenges.  There's the self-motivation, managing your own time, learning to market effectively, avoiding distractions but it's really no different to having to learn the ropes in a new job.  And the rewards wouldn't be quite so meaningful if it was all plain sailing.  Job satisfaction has always been important to me, both as an employee and as an entrepreneur.    But even with the challenges, the benefits of working from home with your own home business, for me, far outweigh the benefits of being an employee!

Where do I start?
Well, lets start at the beginning of the day!  There's the commute for one thing!  My commute these days is about 10 feet - from bed to home office.  In my last sales role, my morning commute was sometimes as long as an 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get to my first client.  Of course I'd have to be "suited and booted" before facing the customer so that meant getting out of bed even earlier to make myself presentable.  Now I can work in my dressing gown if I really want to!

Time Freedom
Then there's the freedom of time!  This is a huge one for us, possibly even more important than money.  Now that we have 2 children, we want to be able to spend as much time with them as we can.  This is particularly important for Ian who has 2 grown up children from a previous marriage.  Back when they were small, he had a full-time sales role, leaving the house early in the morning and sometimes not getting home until they were in bed.  He missed out on many of his older childrens' "firsts" - those milestones in a child's life that we get so excited about like their first smile, first steps, first words. This time round, he was the first one that Sophie smiled at, he was there to catch her when she took her first few steps and she'd learned how to say "Daddy" ages before she said "Mummy" properly!  In addition to all this, being at home with them also means we don't have to pay for childcare.  I don't have to worry about how someone else is bringing up my child in these very early years.  

Fed Up with Standing in Queues at the Supermarket?
Even if you haven't got children, having the freedom of time that working from home affords you has many other benefits.  Not having to ask someone if you can take an hour off to go to the doctor's or dentist for example.  Doing the shopping when there's no-one else in the supermarket or not having to fight for the treadmill at peak time in the gym.  What about taking a Friday and Monday off to enjoy a long weekend away without having to worry about using up too many holiday days!  Or even just popping out on a sunny day to the local nature reserve for a picnic.  I'm sure you can think of lots of other things you could do if you had more freedom of time.

Profits are better than wages - Jim Rohn
So can you earn as much with your own business as you can in your job?  Well, it's really a case of what you believe you are worth.  If you are working 40-50 hours a week in a job and earning £30,000 per year, your boss is getting a pretty good deal!  He/She has decided that's how much you're worth.  With your own home business, the sky is the limit, particularly with the type of business we are in.  If you can learn how to make profits, you can learn how to make a fortune.  I know there are lots of things out on the internet that appear too good to be true, but the reality is, anyone can make a 6 or 7 figure income IF they want it badly enough.  It's mostly about mindset and attitude.  We work on ours everyday.

Is it Possible for Me?
If you are earning a 6 figure income in your job, you might be thinking "I'll never be able to earn that kind of income working from home", but in actual fact there are thousands of people out there earning 6 and 7 figure incomes working from home.  Just take our mentor Gregg for example, who introduced us to our business.  He earns in excess of $100,000 per month working from his beachfront apartment in the Cayman Islands.  Prior to that he was on the verge of bankruptcy living with his mum in the north of England. (Hear about Gregg here) 

Have You Got Job Security?
You might also be thinking "Why would I want to give up this great paying job?".  Well, only you can answer that question.  If you love your job and it gives you the work/life balance that you are happy with, then perhaps you wouldn't want to give up your great paying job.  It does beg the question of job security though.  You might not want to give it up but what if the company decide to downsize and make that decision for you! Just another benefit of working for yourself.  You're never in danger of being sacked or made redundant!

Big Business or Home Business?
So, would I trade working from home with my dream of being the CEO of a large company with lots of people working for me?  Mmmm, let me think about that one.....employees, payroll, sickness/absence, health and safety, disciplinary/grievance procedures, training, long hours away from home?  No thanks.  I'd rather have my 2 minute commute, my long weekends, my hassle-free shopping trips, even a screaming 2 week old baby than all that!!  

If you want to find out more about how you can escape the 9-5 and start your own lucrative home business, click here.