As someone who makes a living working from home, I have to tell you that it is not quite as glamorous as you might think. Don't get me wrong – I love to work from home. I get to set my own hours, work in my pajamas all day, and take off time whenever I want to. On the downside, however, there are problems with job security, and of course the need to practice constant self discipline. Before you decide on a career of home-based business, you should carefully think out the pros and cons of working from home.

The pros of working from home are obvious. My typical day of work starts at about 10 in the morning – the time that I naturally wake up. I grab a quick breakfast, read the paper for about 20 minutes, and sit down at the computer. From there, I work from home for about five hours. After that, I take off a few hours to go jogging, practice piano, and read a little bit. I do a few more my hours in the evening and then call it a night.  

I can change this routine whenever I want to. Working from home allows me to take less jobs when I feel like it. I can go on vacation for two weeks as long as I have the money saved up. On the other hand, if I want to do more work and save up some cash, I can do that too. I am completely at liberty to work 10 hour days whenever I want to with no one telling me when to go home.

On the downside, of course, there are a lot of issues as well. One of the biggest ones is job security. When you work from home, you usually work on a contract basis. If you take typing from home jobs, you only have work as long as there is typing being sent out to you. If you write freelance, you have to constantly be on the lookout for jobs. This can eat up a lot of time – particularly when you are first beginning. You can make a career working from home, but not right away.

In the long run, I think the advantages of working from home definitely beat the disadvantages. If you have the ability to practice intense self-discipline and not let yourself slacked off, you can get your work done and be able to avoid the morning commute for the rest of your life.