I have had so much fun owning and operating my home businesses in the past three years. When I first started my pet sitting business I just wanted to care for others pets and be my own boss –  I had no idea of the other benefits owning a home business could offer.  Here are my top five reasons that I believe everyone should experience owning their own home based business:

1. Tax Advantages

Many of your everyday expenses become tax deductible when you own a home business. Depending on the structure of your business these deductions can apply against your business and your personal income. Some examples of deductions include: a)     Home-office deduction – you can claim a percentage of your home expenses if part of your home is used regularly as an office for business use. These expenses may include maintenance and repairs (that are not capital in nature), rent, mortgage interest, house or apartment insurance, power, heat, water, and property taxes.b)     Vehicle expenses for business purposes. If you use your car 50 percent for business purposes, 50 percent of your car mileage, maintenance and repairs, vehicle insurance, gas and oil, car washes, license and registration, and auto club can be claimedc)      Office expenses such as telephone expenses, Internet access, office supplies, travel, books, and association memberships. 

2. Personal Development

When you own your own business you get involved in marketing, sales, customer service, employee management, and record keeping. Often the rate of growth of your business is dependent on the speed which you can learn and master these new skills. Growing my business I have learnt to talk to people about my business, give business presentations and improve my speaking, design effective advertising such as brochures and business cards, and publish a website and e-zine.  All these skills I learnt through reading great books, attending seminars, and learning from other business owners and with the attainment of these skills my personal confidence has grown.  

3. Making New Friends One of the greatest outcomes of running my business is that I have met a variety of people and made new friends. These people include clients and employees, other business owners that I have met through networking and Chamber of Commerce events, suppliers, and other distributors in my candle home business. These people support me and I support them.  When you start your own business you will inevitably meet as part of business associations or part of your business team if you are involved in MLM, other entrepreneurs and business owners. You will find that these people share your vision and goals and that you’ll feel an instant sense of belonging in this group of like minded souls.  

4. You Can Be Creative When you own your own business you have the freedom to choose how you will advertise, package your product, and maintain customer loyalty.  Some of the ways I have been able to express my personality in my business and be creative include designing brochures, business cards, and websites, finding value added benefits to differentiate my service, creating newsletters, and deciding on rewards to encourage regular customers.  

5. You Can Dream Big This one is my favorite so I saved it for last. When you are working for a corporation or even a small company your compensation is generally determined by industry standard. With your own business your income is determined by the amount of time and effort you put into the business, and your self development. A home business gives you the ability to dream big as no one puts restrictions on the growth of your business and your income but you. What are you waiting for? There are so many different businesses that you can start from home. Take a look at your current skills and interests and see how they can be applied to help people in need of your service or product. Take the plunge and start enjoying some of these great benefits that business ownership can offer!

I wrote this post to participate in the Top 5 Group Writing Project at Problogger.com.