6 Benefits of Home-Based Startups

Over the pandemic, we have seen many home-based businesses taking off. Working from home has allowed so many people to venture into different types of businesses. 

In this article, I shall share some of the benefits of opening your startup at home.

1. You don’t have to pay rent 

By far this is the main benefit of opening your startup at home. You don’t have to pay rent.

The average cost of renting office spaces in the UK ranges from anywhere between £300 to £1400 per month. 

The cost of renting office spaces are very dependent on the location the size and amenities.

Setting your startup at home will save you a lot of money two directed to other important startup needs. 

Well, not unless you’re living with your extreme capitalist parents who will charge you for renting out the garage space.

However much having a structured work environment is important for businesses, during the start-up stage it is more important that you save money. 

Mismanagement of finances is one of the biggest startup mistakes. If you can comfortably work at home, why not?

2. Startup cost reduction

Working at home allows you to recoup your business expenses. 

• Utilities; 
• Internet – an average cost of broadband from internet services providers in the UK is about £30 a month. There’s no need to pay twice that amount by renting office space and home internet.
• Heat and electricity – the energy crisis in the UK has caused a surge in the cost of electricity in UK homes. With no office space, you’re guaranteed a reduction of that. 
• Insurance – office insurance is about £50 – £500 a year. By working from home, basic home insurance will cover you. 
• Commercial property tax – commercial property tax is the type of tax you pay because of renting or owning commercial property which includes business premises – shops, offices, warehouses etc. 
• Tax relief – running a home-based business does not relieve you from paying tax. You will be required to pay corporate tax because after all, it’s a business. However, working at home comes with tax relief benefits in the UK. You can apply for tax relief for additional household costs. gas and electricity, metered water, business phone calls, etc. 

This small amount of money that you can save from not owning office faces may seem insignificant but in the long run, they accumulate to a decent amount of money that can boost your startup. 

It is a very crucial step to always minimise your startup costs because of the high financial demands of startups.

There are other startup costs but we want to focus on light legal costs for incorporation, technology expenses, licences, marketing and others. 

3. Multitasking 

From the conventional understanding of productivity, multitasking is not a virtue to embrace. 

On the other hand, if starting your business has always been something you wanted but each time you’ve been held up with family issues or work, launching a start-up at home is the best option. 

You have probably seen stay-at-home dads and mums picking a side hustle or starting a business from the comfort of their homes.

Working from home allows you to segment your tasks and allocate time to focus on one thing.  

4. No commute 

On top of renting expensive business premises, you will have to commute to work. 

A 1 hour or 2-hour commute every day is not convenient if you have the option of staying and working at home.

On top of that, you will have saved about £250 a year on the train that it costs to commute to work.

Travelling by car is also expensive since petrol gases have risen. At the moment petrol is about £1.466 per litre. 

5. More time to perfect your startup

One of the most challenging parts of owning a business is running a start-up. 

A lot of things are going on at the same time and having the freedom to work comfortably at home will allow you to perfect the startup stage. 

You have more time to dedicate to the business considering you need not be travelling.

6. Freedom 

Lastly, working from home gives you the freedom to decide what to do and at what time.

The freedom from working at home will also allow you to focus on other businesses and you can switch startups much easier than when renting out a business premise.