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AS far as employment options go, the Internet has opened up a host of opportunities for people looking to make money outside their daily nine-to-five jobs. In fact, there have been many online ventures that started off at home and went on to find global success.

Those who watched the movie The Social Network will recall Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg‘s quest to reach “500 million friends” on the social networking-service website which kicked off from his Harvard dormitory room; online search engine Google began as a research project for PhD students Larry Page and Sergey Brin in a garage; and online auction and shopping website eBay was started by Iranian-American Pierre Omidyar from his home.

Of course, we’re not guaranteeing that you’ll be the next Mark Zuckerberg. But with some creativity, effort and a little passion, you might just achieve success that could land you a movie deal.

The benefits

There are plenty of benefits from starting an online business from home. A lot of it can start off as a hobby or a side income. That being said, one can do it on a part-time or full-time basis.

“You don’t have to be around all the time, says James Ang, 31, who in his part time, is a translator for a foreign-based website.

“I have a full-time job and do the translation jobs usually on the weekends,” he adds.

Amy Lim (not her real name), 33, co-founder of an online hair accessory store, says the best part about starting up an Internet venture is that one requires minimum capital to kick-start the business.

“Because it’s online, we can operate from anywhere and any time. It’s unlike a physical store, where you need to pay rent, work fixed hours and hire staff to look after the place,” she says. The online store offers hairbands, scrunchees, hair ties, scarfs and other accessories such as bracelets and anklets.

“The toughest part was setting up the website and sorting out the technicalities, which requires a bit of IT (information technology) know-how,” says Lim.

A home business can also involve doing something that you love.

Sukhdev Singh, 35, worked as a bank officer for five years and enjoyed exercising in the gym. His passion for working out grew over the years and he started selling exercise supplements to his fellow gym members.

Through word of mouth, his “side income” grew quickly and, before long, he was doing it full time.

“Through a partner based in the United States, I purchase the supplements in bulk and get quite a good discount. Now I supply my products to gyms all over the country,” he says, adding that he is also looking to expand his business to start offering gym equipment as well.

The Internet is also a great way to advertise and publicise your business for free. Many websites today utilise social network portals such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to promote themselves and the products and services that they offer.

“It’s free and is able to reach viewers all over the world,” says Lim.

Sunita Kaur, 37, a qualified lawyer and single mother of two, quit her job to start an online recruitment agency.

“I did it mainly because I wanted to have time with my children. Also, working from home provides flexible working hours,” she says.

The risks

Just because you’re doing something that you love and from your home, does not necessarily make it easier. Sukhdev says one of the biggest challenges about offering your products and services online, was the issue of credibility.

“There are plenty of online scams such as credit card fraud these days that people are always cautious and even skeptical about what you’re selling,” he says.

“A lot of people prefer to pay a bit more for something from a reputable organisation with a proven track record then from a new, unknown player for fear of being cheated.”

Working on a home online business does provide a person with the flexibility of working at their own pace – but that itself can be a drawback.

“The dangers of working at your own time is that there is no pressure to start work at a certain time, you do it as and when. Because of this, there’s the danger of slacking and your productivity can seriously decrease if you don’t the proper discipline,” says Ang.

Sunita admits that she sometimes gets side-tracked by her chores at home.

“Sometimes the housework can get in the way and it can get difficult,” she says.

Sukhdev says a big disadvantage of working on an online business from home means human interaction is usually limited.

“Having colleagues and peers help to keep the competitive spirit alive and enhance your productivity,” he says.

The following are non-exhaustive examples of online, at-home work that offer decent income prospects.

Writer/editor

Daniel Wong, 32, is a part-time editor for a local online website, editing some 20 stories a month.

“It’s a good side income and I usually do it on the weekends. Sometimes it can get a little tedious when there is a lot to do and it can encroach a lot into your personal time,” he says.

Teacher/tutor

Amir (not his real name), 29, a qualified economics lecturer, offers his expertise to students online as well.

“For now, I’m doing it for free for my students but I do hope to make it into a part-time income in the future.”

Amir says he was inspired by the Khan Academy, a free online education platform founded by Bangladeshi-American educator Salman Khan.

“Maybe some day, I can do it full-time when I retire,” he says.

Artist

Mizhal (not his real name), 25, is a qualified graphics artist working with a local advertising agency and does cartoons for a foreign-based online newspaper.

“The prospects are there. But it is really time-consuming and can be very tedious, especially when you work long hours in your day job. But it’s a passion I have and I love drawing cartoons and entertaining people. The pay is also not bad,” he says.

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If you think back not even 20 years about home-based businesses, you might envision a low-tech service business such as a daycare or landscaping company. To run a professional business, you needed to be located in commercial office space. Not only did commercial space provide the technical services you needed, but it also provided a professional atmosphere appropriate for meeting with clients.

Today, that is no longer the case. Many small, predominately service-related businesses are home-based and are able to perform the same functions that once were restricted to commercial space. There are some obvious advantages and some resources available that make the home-based business a good choice for the right person.

Before you decide to open up shop from your home, a serious self-examination should take place, and there are several questions you need to ask yourself. “Do I have the discipline to maintain a focus on my business if it is run out of my house? Is there an adequate space in my home that can be used as an office? Are there distractions that will pull me away from my business focus? Will family and friends respect my work time?”

These might seem like obvious questions, but if you can’t separate home from business while working out of the house, you won’t be successful.

With the incredible advances in technology over the past two decades, you can run a small business from your home with the same access to high-speed Internet that you get at many offices. What you may not have is a professional space for client meetings, which raises several considerations: How many of your interactions will be face-to-face? Is it expected that you will go to their place of business or do they need to come to you? What image do you want to portray?

For example, if you are bringing major clients to your home to showcase your engineering capabilities, will they hesitate or question your business acumen if the meeting takes place in your garage? This hurdle can be overcome by using fee-based conference space, such as that offered by I.O.S. in Portsmouth. Conference rooms can be rented for an hour or the day. This is a great resource for someone who can do most of their work from home but who occasionally needs a professional setting for meetings and presentations.

A home-based business can provide a great cost-savings, as you not only save by not paying commercial rent, but the space devoted to business purposes can be used as a tax deduction. A portion of the utilities can also be factored in as tax deductions, but they have to be in proportion to the size of your office space. You may want to have an accountant assist with this because it can become an issue with the IRS if done improperly.

Dianne Durkin, president of Loyalty Factor in Portsmouth, started her company 16 years ago with the express intent of keeping it based out of her home. She likes the home-based environment because, “I can be creative and innovative at any time with all the resources available to me whenever I need them.” For instance, she may wake up in the middle of the night inspired by an idea and being home-based means she doesn’t have to wait until typical business hours to flesh it out. Dianne often puts in some office hours over the weekend, but she says that when she is done for the day, she closes the doors to her office to help create the separation between home and workplace.

Loyalty Factor has four employees, including Dianne. One staff person splits hours between home and Dianne’s place, another works full time at Dianne’s home, and the third employee works part time at the business. Dianne and her employees dress professionally at the office, as they would in any other business setting. Asked about misconceptions of having a home-based business, Dianne said, “You won’t find home-based professionals working in their pajamas all day from a dining room table. It just isn’t conducive to productivity.”

There goes my dream.

Whether you have been in business for 20 years or are just getting started, we have the resources and the expertise to answer your questions. You can e-mail me at Christine.Davis@dred.state.nh.us. I look forward to hearing from you.

Christine J. Davis works for the N.H. Division of Economic Development as a resource specialist serving businesses in Rockingham and Strafford counties. Her role is to provide the support needed for businesses so that they may remain viable and growing entities in the community. Davis lives in Exeter with her two daughters.

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