The Rise of the ‘Homepreneur’

There was a great article in Business Week recently about the economic importance of home-based businesses.

Based on a report released by Emergent Research, there were several interesting facts regarding entrepreneurs who work from their primary residence. From the article:

More than half of all U.S. businesses are based at home. These companies often are dismissed as quaint hobbyist ventures, but new research suggests that’s a mistake. An estimated 6.6 million home-based enterprises provide at least half of their owners’ household income. Together these “homepreneurs” employ one in 10 private-sector workers, and by many measures they’re just as competitive as their counterparts in commercial spaces.

The article is worth reading and illustrates not only the legitimacy of home-based businesses, but also their importance to the economy as a whole.

“So you sit in your pajamas all day?”
Anyone who works from home will tell you how common it is for people to assume it is “not a real job” or imply that you must not work very hard. However, not only do these businesses employ their owners, but over half of home-based businesses have additional employees and employ roughly 13.2 million Americans. In a job market like this one, that’s nothing to take lightly.

Hopefully, as more and more workers consider starting their own ventures and grow to hire others, home-based businesses will finally get the respect they deserve.

Source: The Rise of the ‘Homepreneur’